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Home  Write Spot News Reflections on a Robbery
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Reflections on a Robbery |
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Written by Jimmy
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Tuesday, 02 October 2007 |
Just as I opened the office door, I sensed something behind me. I turned my head and that’s when I saw him. He was pulling a gun out of his pants. I rushed into the office and tried to slam the door, but I wasn’t fast enough. There was a foot keeping the door from shutting and a pistol pointed at my heart. “Open up or I’ll shoot you.” He said. I let go of the door and took a few steps back, the gun advancing with each step I took. In the bored tone of a person ordering coffee, he gave me the command “Open the safe and give me all the money.”
I was trapped in an office, alone, with a gunman who had already twice threatened to shoot me. Nobody in the store had any idea what was taking place. So of course, my first thought was “Is this a real gun?” Coming to my senses, I realized that I wasn’t going to bet my life for something like money, especially money that wasn’t even mine. These thoughts flashed through my mind in what seemed less than a second of time. Without a word, I got down on my knees and opened the safe. “Give me all the money or I’ll shoot you,” the thief said again.
At this point I didn’t know if I would live long enough to ever stand up again. I was looking at the barrel of a gun from about a foot away. I reached into the safe and gathered all of the bills together, handing them to my assailant. He stuck the bills into his pocket. “Don’t try to follow me or I’ll shoot you.” With those words the robber disappeared out the door. I grabbed the phone on my desk and called 911. I reported the robbery, and the 911 operator kept me on the line until the police arrived. That’s when the employees knew what had happened.
As I reflect upon the experience, there are a few observations and statements that I’d like to make to my assailant. First off, you don’t have to keep telling me that you’ll shoot me. If I let you into the office and open the safe, then I really believe that you will shoot me. Second, you don’t have to threaten me to give you the money. If I’ve opened the safe, it’s a good bet the money is coming out. “No, you can’t have the money. I just opened the safe to taunt you.” That isn’t what I was thinking at the time. The third observation should be pretty obvious. If I opened the safe and give you the money, you don’t have to worry about my following you. I want you to be as far away from me as possible. As the mantra you kept repeating said “I will shoot you”, that’s a pretty good guarantee that I don’t want to be near you.
I also learned that fear and stress helps sharpen your focus. From looking at the barrel of a gun, I was able to give the police a description of the weapon that told them exactly what weapon it was. (It was a Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol.)
Truth to be told, at the time I was already going through a personally stressful time and was faced with the thoughts of whether life was really worth living. When a gun is pointed at your heart, you find the ability to answer that question very quickly.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 02 October 2007 )
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