PLEASE READ!! COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!

Etruett

Etruett

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Mods, if this is posted in the wrong place please move it.
Yesterday a personal friend of mine in Greenville SC got a response to an Armslist ad he had placed for a Glock he wanted to sell. Information was exchanged and and the caller agreed to buy the gun. A meeting place was agreed on yesterday afternoon after work. When my friend arrived, he got a call from the buyer stating he could not find the place and could he meet at an office center just down the road (1st red flag). My friend agreed. Met the guy, exchanged pleasantries etc and everything was a go with the deal. They had agreed to a money exchange electronically. (Heard the name of the electronic deal, but can't remember it. Something fairly new if I understand and much like paypal but new technology?) For some reason, the seller couldn't get the money to transfer to my friends account (2nd red flag). They agreed to part and meet again when the seller got his crap to work. As my friend got back in his truck and put the Glock back in the box, the buyer snatched open the passenger door of the truck and pointed HIS gun at my friend, snatched up the Glock, fired 3 shots and fled. One shot grazed him, the other 2 lodged in the door. He thinks the only reason he was not hit was when he realized it was going south, he slammed the truck in reverse and stomped the gas. My friend was very lucky. Now the back story. My friend always carries at least one gun and most of the time 2. Because he was at work, and in a hurry to get the transaction done, he decided against going by his house and getting another gun. (he unloaded the Glock to present to the buyer). Bottom Line is he let his guard down one time and it came within inches of costing him his life. Of the people I know in the Gun Community, he would one that I would have bet would never be caught unarmed. It only takes one time! I may have a few of the details a little off as it described to me by a mutual friend who got the information straight from the victim. The Police have some video and as of last night were tracking the crook's phone, but have no info if the guy has been caught or not. I apologize for being long winded with the post, but wanted to include all the details as best I could. Hopefully passing this along to everyone here will make someone if not all who read this be more aware of your surroundings and not be complacent. It will certainly make me more alert to what goes on around me.
 
Its why I leave armslist alone. I did armslist some prior to joining this forum. I've never had nothing but positive transactions with the fine members on this forum.

Glad your friend is OK. Hopefully law enforcement will catch the thug.
 
Was there anything about him that gave it away.
Not finding the place and having troubles with the transfer could’ve been legit quirks in a normal transaction.
Any reason they didn’t agree on cash?
How was he dressed, mannerisms, speech etc?

anything else?

Just wondering if there was anything else we might add to our list of things to keep an eye on.
Any idea what flipped his switch from “hey my name is Joe” to “give me the gun”?
 
I'm so glad your friend is ok and acted quickly once he realized it was about to hit the fan. I hope they catch the ahole.

I've only ever met people from here for transactions, and always in places with people nearby when I hadn't met the person. I'm just a suspicious type, I guess.:rolleyes: One meeting was in a Harris Teeter lot, and another in a Wendy's lot. Many people around.

(Both of those people did bring another person with them, though. lol. Maybe they were suspicious too?)

I can't imagine I would ever want to do business with someone that was not on the forum, anyway.
 
Thanks @Etruett. I hated reading the story but hopefully your friend’s horrendous experience will save one of us. I know lots of deals are successfully completed thru Armslist but, I’ve never been comfortable with it.
 
Tailhunter said:
Was there anything about him that gave it away.
Not finding the place and having troubles with the transfer could’ve been legit quirks in a normal transaction.
Any reason they didn’t agree on cash?
How was he dressed, mannerisms, speech etc?

anything else?

Just wondering if there was anything else we might add to our list of things to keep an eye on.
Any idea what flipped his switch from “hey my name is Joe” to “give me the gun”?
Click to expand...
That’s about all of the details I have now. The electronic transfer thing was agreed on up front from what I understand. Not familiar with that kind of stuff except PayPal, but understand it’s becoming more popular but will not be for me. According to our mutual friend who told me about it, the only red flags looking back was the change of location and the fact that the transfer wouldn’t go through after several attempts. Nothing else stood out even after reflecting back.
 
It’s been a few years but back on the NCGO board we’d have tag along meetings for Armslist sales where 3 or 4 members would show up with the seller or buyer depending on the deal in a WalMart or Best Buy parking lot. The other person in the deal were told straight up others would be there so pretty much if they showed it was a good sale ... there were a couple no shows too ... but after everything was settled we went to eat at Smithfield’s and sometimes that even included the other person in the deal!

Moral of the story ...

No matter if you’re carrying and aware ... never go alone ... have a friend and preferably an armed one.
 
Thank God your friend is OK and had the presence of mind to slam the truck in reverse and avoid getting hit close range.
 
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NCFubar said:
It’s been a few years but back on the NCGO board we’d have tag along meetings for Armslist sales where 3 or 4 members would show up with the seller or buyer depending on the deal in a WalMart or Best Buy parking lot. The other person in the deal were told straight up others would be there so pretty much if they showed it was a good sale ... there were a couple no shows too ... but after everything was settled we went to eat at Smithfield’s and sometimes that even included the other person in the deal!

Moral of the story ...

No matter if you’re carrying and aware ... never go alone ... have a friend and preferably an armed one.
Click to expand...
May be time to start that up again.
 
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Jeppo said:
Thanks @Etruett. I hated reading the story but hopefully your friend’s horrendous experience will save one of us. I know lots of deals are successfully completed thru Armslist but, I’ve never been comfortable with it.
Click to expand...
I’ve done a lot of transitions on Armslist with not a problem except one no show and looking back, I’m sure there are occasions that I probably could have been caught off guard especially after being with a person for a little while and all is going normal. I’ve never gone unarmed but I’m sure there have been times when I have been complacent. I do always pick the place and it’s public but that wouldn’t bother some crazies. This will make me be more aware of things everywhere I go. Ironically, this friend and I just met last Thursday and did a gun transaction.
 
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Had someone laugh at me the other day after I mentioned situational awareness. Several red flags here. Glad your friend didn’t get hurt worse Eddie. @gunbelt had someone attempt something like this with a car for sale. Tell em your story Curt
 
Burt Gummer said:
Had someone laugh at me the other day after I mentioned situational awareness. Several red flags here. Glad your friend didn’t get hurt worse Eddie. @gunbelt had someone attempt something like this with a car for sale. Tell em your story Curt
Click to expand...

People who are just going through life have questioned why I always carry and why, if walking down the street, I step out from blind corners and glance in before proceeding. Why I am wary of any strangers and if I'm meeting someone for the first time on a sale of any kind, at a location unknown to me, I drive around first to make myself comfortable before meeting.
 
Burt Gummer said:
Had someone laugh at me the other day after I mentioned situational awareness. Several red flags here. Glad your friend didn’t get hurt worse Eddie. @gunbelt had someone attempt something like this with a car for sale. Tell em your story Curt
Click to expand...
Chdamn said:
People who are just going through life have questioned why I always carry and why, if walking down the street, I step out from blind corners and glance in before proceeding. Why I am wary of any strangers and if I'm meeting someone for the first time on a sale of any kind, at a location unknown to me, I drive around first to make myself comfortable before meeting.
Click to expand...
I’ve been called paranoid for preaching situational awareness but what’s the difference between paranoid or prepared? Basically it comes down to who and how a person looks at a situation ... or if the thing blows up like described in the OP. I may screw the pooch one day but I will be damned if ifs because I do not listen to the little voice in my head ...
 
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I Just this minute saw this....I gave up years ago discussing My reasons and How I carry with "people". The folks on here are another matter. I have shared with you before the letter from Evan Marshall of 30 years ago. The gist is Always Take Two. This is now preached by Clint Smith. I carry every step and every day, that alone is No Good. Remember the Hackathorn Triad of Survival..Awareness-A Plan-A Weapon. The first two will usually be all you need, But the Marshall Plan of Always Two will never let you down.
I too have done Armslist deals. I recently decided that if the seller will not meet me in the parking lot of the PD or Sherriff's Office...No Deal.
Eddie, thanks for posting and let All have the same take away......Carry Every Step.
 
Thanks for sharing your friend's experience, @Etruett . And, Armslist is how you and I met the first time.
 
Thanks for sharing, I’m looking forward to seeing the mug shots.
Years ago the only Armslist sales I’ve made, they met me at the lgs, FG&G, and pay them for the transfer.
If I don’t know you, or haven’t been here a while with a + track record. I’ll most likely pass.
 
Is there video so that John Corriea at ASP can breakdown what he did wrong? :D


Glad he's OK.
 
I'm seeing "I always carry" being mentioned quite a bit, and I do carry, but is it possible to have a false sense of security? At the distances were talking (literally handing someone product or monies), the pistol on your hip or in your pocket is just another accessory if you can't get your hand on it.

How is that overcome?

Edit: And I've probably met more Armslisters for transactions than I have forum members. Only one gave me a bad enough vibe that I ceased communicating. The second worst I still met, but I had back up with me. But, he turned out to be a down to earth fellow, just couldn't get the right words across in emails.
 
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Wow. I trust so few people that I don't like to sell junk via Craigslist much less guns via armslist. I've always brought armed backup with me on sales of any kind. Never had a bad experience, but it only takes one bad contact. I've had decent experiences selling stuff to online friends from forums like this one.
Eagerly awaiting an obit (people who live like that, die like that)or news of an arrest.
 
kcult said:
I'm seeing "I always carry" being mentioned quite a bit, and I do carry, but is it possible to have a false sense of security? At the distances were talking (literally handing someone product or monies), the pistol on your hip or in your pocket is just another accessory if you can't get your hand on it.

How is that overcome?

Edit: And I've probably met more Armslisters for transactions than I have forum members. Only one gave me a bad enough vibe that I ceased communicating. The second worst I still met, but I had back up with me. But, he turned out to be a down to earth fellow, just couldn't get the right words across in emails.
Click to expand...
I do think that carrying does give some a false sense of security. If you can’t use it properly when needed, you might as well have a rock. I’m thankful to @BatteryOaksBilly for allowing me to shoot at the Oaks, but more so for some of the drills we have done like shooting from the ground or out of a car window. None of us knows how we would react in a situation like this, but doing drills certainly would make you more effective if need be. I never even thought about shooting from the ground until 2 weeks ago. Now I know I can
 
SPST said:
The poster above had a good idea from NCGO. Post up and get a couple of members here to go with you. I'd be up for that if anyone in Charlotte needs back up on a deal. I'd still prefer to meet at a PD or high traffic parking lot.
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You could just circle them on your bicycle.
 
Glad to hear he’s OK and the police have a lead. Stories like these are why I will only meet strangers (fb, CL, GB etc) at very public places like Target or Harris Teeter and during daylight hours. You can’t be too careful.

I had a guy want to meet me at 830pm to buy an iPhone. Not worth the $200.

I once traded a subwoofer for a G34 with someone on CL. I brought 2x armed backup for that. He had armed backup too. It was kind of funny.
 
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kcult said:
I'm seeing "I always carry" being mentioned quite a bit, and I do carry, but is it possible to have a false sense of security? At the distances were talking (literally handing someone product or monies), the pistol on your hip or in your pocket is just another accessory if you can't get your hand on it.

How is that overcome?
Click to expand...

Honestly, always be thinking about how you are going to punch someone in the face. if you're thinking about how you are going to hurt them the entire time you are meeting with them, you'll usually get the drop on them.
 
premise said:
Honestly, always be thinking about how you are going to punch someone in the face. if you're thinking about how you are going to hurt them the entire time you are meeting with them, you'll usually get the drop on them.
Click to expand...

You going to Battery Oaks in December?
 
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