The victim of this carjacking was sitting along the side of a brightly lit street with traffic going by in Chicago. This ambush was executed extremely fast by a group of armed individuals who were serious about their goal of taking this guy’s vehicle.
Attacker number one is out of the vehicle instantly, pointing a firearm at the driver of the car they are stealing. The victim went to pull forward but hesitated, and the gunman was on top of him at his window.
The carjackers were surprisingly well coordinated and had this scenario planned out well ahead of time. The strike was fast, and the attacker’s two vehicles boxed him in. They outnumbered him six to one, and even though there was no audio, I’m sure they were shouting at him, confusing him even more. It’s an understatement to say that the victim was caught off guard.
What were his options?
First, let me say they are all terrible options except for the first one. I am not endorsing any of them because this ambush has many moving pieces. Training and skill will make a gigantic difference in what you might do. The victim had at most a couple of seconds to respond, and even then, his options were not good.
Option 1: Don’t stop there in the first place. Knowing what I know about the rise in crime in that area, I wouldn’t have stopped in that spot.
Option 2: When he hit the gas, he should have immediately gunned it and driven through the first car. He had a brief moment where he probably could have made it but I’m guessing he wasn’t mentally prepared to ram the front of the vehicle that was about to block him in. Get off the damn X and out of the kill zone whenever possible. If you are going to fight back, your primary goal is always to get away.
Option 3: Maybe, just maybe, if he had his firearm next to him, he could have gotten a couple of shots off to buy himself some additional time to escape.
Option 4: There was a brief window of opportunity to fight back or get away at around the 45-second mark while he was lying in the street.
Option 5: Fully cooperate and pray it’s not your day to die, which is what he did, and he got lucky.
Option 6: Get into a gunfight, but your odds of survival are slim against multiple armed individuals who have you boxed in.
This guy’s chances of survival were a roll of the dice, and it could have gone either way. The days of robbing someone and the thugs taking off are over. It seems to be happening more frequently where the criminals still beat or even kill someone even after the victim has given up their belongings.
Some people will say to always fully cooperate, and that’s a personal choice you have to make. Compliance, though, could also get you killed.
Survival is a mindset. It’s better to train and think of your options in advance than to wait until the day SHTF to try and figure it out.
The bad guys are learning, and the more they get away with this, the braver they get. Considering the current political climate, you’re fooling yourself if you think things will improve anytime soon. Now that no cash bail started in Illinois last week, it’s anybody’s guess what will happen next.
What would you have done?
Thanks, @CPD1617Scanner, for not one but two excellent videos this weekend.