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PrintWhat Would You Do: Surviving A Convenience Store Robbery
It's a fact - in the state of Florida, the number of convenience store robberies is on the decline ... But the number of people being killed during those robberies is on the rise. So what do you do if you get caught in the middle of a robbery? Seven's Charles Perez has the answer.
(WSVN) -- "Give me all your money ... Now! Now! Now!"
When a robber walks into a convenience store ... he has one thing on his mind.
"Are they after me? No. They want the money or something in particular... money cigarettes, alcohol... something of that nature."
And if you can remember that one fact ... And stay out of his way ... You can save your life.
"They have a weapon, you could be shot, stabbed... the rest you could leave it up to your imagination."
So what do you do?
That depends where you are in the store.
At the counter.
"J
ust a bag of chips.""
Give me all the money now.""Jesus. The guys got a gun ... what do I do?"
"In this situation ... slowly back off ... should I get down?"
"Slowly ... remember, everything is slow. Slowly get down ... at the same time back off."
"
Ride it out at this particular moment ... Let him do what he has to do ..."Do not run, or scream, or make any sudden movements ...
"
He's got a gun ... don't shoot, don't shoot. Wrong thing to do?""Yes. One, you brought that attention to you ... as you noticed his main focus was to the cashier. You've now redirected the attention towards you."
But if - on the other hand - you are away from the counter ...
"
First and foremost ... get low. The reason why is you don't know what his intentions are. If he turns around and has a firearm or anything in his hand, you're an easy target to hit."The minute you realize the store is being robbed ... Drop to the floor. Make yourself as small a target as possible.
If you can ... Move out of the robber's line of sight.
If you can get a description of him for police ... without him noticing ... go ahead and peek around the corner.
"That is a key thing. Yes. We need that because you're gonna be our eyes."
Walk in on a robbery in progress? ... Back out of the store.
If the robber sees you and gives instructions ... pay attention.
"
Get in and get down.""Then I should come in and get down?"
"Exactly."
Outside pumping gas and you notice a robbery... Same rules apply.
"
In this case I would hide behind the column. Literally get behind the pump itself. Why?""Because it gives you formal protection."
And don't move because again, you could get the robber's attention.
"Almost 99 percent of the time they're armed with some kind of a weapon. It's very rare that it's a hand to hand kind of engagement."
And that leads us to the number one rule: Whether you see a weapon or not never try to be a hero.
Next week, what would you do moves to Thursday. The topic - what do you do if you're driving and the gas pedal gets stuck?
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Contact: cperez@wsvn.com