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Exciting surreal time in The Old West


gypsydan

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It is mid-afternoon in the old west of Alamogordo, NM, and I am parked in a large parking lot. Two cars pull up in front of me, with one being 5' away, and the other on the other side of them, maybe 12' away.  I'm talking with a friend on the phone as they park in front of me and exchange some thing in a box, of whch I have no idea what the content was.

I'm causually watching this, talking with my friend, as the car nearest me drives off, and the person making the exchange gets back in their car.  Then I see the driver get out of their car, walk to the back of the car, lift his arm with a glock in it, and fire across the lot, then casually get back in the car and drive of.  The entire episode lasted maybe 15 seconds.

As a boondocker, some questions which come up are:

  1. What would have happened if he had turned and seen me looking at him?
  2. Would you consider carrying a gun while traveling, if you are not already? If I did have a gun in my rig, there is no way I could have gotten to it in time, if it was needed.
  3. Should I have called the police?  And reported what?  Would they have made me come to the station and look at mug shots? etc.
  4. Would you change parking locations?  Maybe even leave town?
  5. Are there any safe places in America today?
  6. Do I need to consider traveling and parking in a different manner? 
  7. Has something like this ever happened to you?

I am interested in reading what others think, as, needless to say, having someone shoot a gun in front of you toward people and cars in a parking lot, was surreal.  Luckily nothing was hit, so now I'm wondering if there were even bullets in the gun, or was it a blank.  Probably not!!

Safe travels.

Edited by gypsydan
remove name of store

2009 Four Winds Chateau - 25' class C          2002 Chevy Tracker

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18 minutes ago, whj469 said:

I park in RV parks only, full hookups only. I also carry a handgun, license to carry from Texas.

OK, a part of this catches my attention. The old CCL and now RTC let us carry under a reciprical agreenment in other states. Now that the genius's running our state (Tx) have done away with any need for any license how do we have a reciprical  agreement with another state?  Really would like a true answer to that question.

Edited by bigjim
still can't tipe or spell
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18 minutes ago, bigjim said:

Really would like a true answer to that question.

The TX carry permit is still available and if you have it the reciprocity still exists, according to the reports from my state senator. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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All of the above, about carrying a gun with a permit, etc., is fine. But, what would happen if you were in my situation and the guy is 10 to 15 feet away from you firing a pistol and he happens to turn and look and see you in your RV watching him?

first, where is your pistol, would you be able to turn and run and get it inside your RV, especially if now he recognizes you saw him and he needs to get rid of you as a witness, are you going to enter into a fire fight with him? Especially if you’re not alone and have family in the RV with you?

it’s nice to talk about permits, but let’s talk about a real life situation of a gun fight in a parking lot. While I real life gunfight did not happen, in my situation, the questions I asked are still germain,  “what would’ve happened if he had seen me watching him?”  At that point I would NOT have had a gun in my hand to defend myself. AND, I could not have gotten up in time to close my door. 

what would you have done!

2009 Four Winds Chateau - 25' class C          2002 Chevy Tracker

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Sorry you had to see what you saw, but it's most likely just going to get worse. 

I appreciate your sharing of the information, but am troubled by your asking much later if you should have notified law enforcement. That in my opinion is what will allow the bad to get worse and unfortunately a lot more dangerous. It's illustrated and maybe normalized by all of the video's of someone doing something obviously illegal or immoral  by the masses and included in the video is more people holding up their phone to obtain their own copy of the event and very rarely anyone stepping up to challenge the event or end it. 

I'm not saying you should have jumped out of your RV and accosted the person firing the gun, but if there were persons, vehicles, homes in the area of where the gun was pointed to and fired for me it's a no brainer. Call the police, write down the license number and a detailed description of the person, persons, car and their direction of travel when departing the scene. 

The choice of gun ownership, carrying, and use is a huge responsibility and should be met with a huge penalty if used in an unsafe, illegal or immoral way. I do not believe discussions regarding who is carrying and who is not is useful. Immediate actions against those who use a gun illegally  to intimidate or harm another should be the norm.  Call law enforcement to report any crime or what you may think is a crime. 

 

Rod

 

White 2000/2010Volvo VNL 770 with 7' Drom box with opposing doors,  JOST slider hitch. 600 HP Cummins Signature 18 Speed three pedal auto shift.

1999 Isuzu VehiCross retired to a sticks and bricks garage. Brought out of storage the summer of 2022

2022 Jeep Wrangler Sport S Two door hard top.

2007 Honda GL 1800

2013 Space Craft Mfg S420 Custom built Toyhauler

The Gold Volvo is still running and being emptied in July. 

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3 hours ago, gypsydan said:

While I real life gunfight did not happen, in my situation, the questions I asked are still germain,

If we are to play "what if" we could do that with so many different scenarios that involve just about every aspect of RV travel. One could easily take nearly any news story of violence and apply "what if it happened to or near me?"  I will continue to take my usual safety precautions and travel on, not injecting myself into events that might/could have happened. 

13 hours ago, gypsydan said:

Should I have called the police?  And reported what?  Would they have made me come to the station and look at mug shots? etc

I suspect that had you called the police they would not have bothered to send anyone out since you really didn't see anything that you could have testified to. 

Edited by Kirk W

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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Woah. Right out of Breaking Bad. I'm sooo glad you are safe and unharmed.

Honestly I'm not sure what we would have done. I fear that we would have not been thinking fast enough to duck. 

Fifteen years on the road and we've never seen anything like this happen. I hope we never do.

I'm curious, what kind of parking lot were you in? Were you boondocking? And what kind of rig are/were you in? Just wondering.

 

Rene & Jim
Exploring North America since 2007. SKP #103,274

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What is our country coming to?  Anyone can get a gun nowadays.  Look at what pain and harm it's causing to the innocent.  Murders are commonplace out on the streets.  Look at the mass shootings we've having.  We've never felt a need for a gun and what we see is making us sick.  We really feel bad for our children and grandchildren in the coming years.  It's only going to get worse.

Gypsydan:  To answer your question, if you were that close to what happened I might have ducked low so he couldn't see you.  Other that that, nothing you could have done.

As far as boondocking in the boonies; not on a parking lot..... you'd be much safer out there than in town.  How often have you heard of situations in the boonies?  We boondocked for 16 years and never felt uncomfortable except for one time around Borrego Springs, CA.  Two of us were parked.  Along comes a car.  The occupants got out and started unloading their gear. The came up to us and politely stated they were going to do some target practice down into the ravine ahead. They offered us ear plugs.  We decided to move because we didn't want to listen to the racquet.  We didn't feel threatened in the least.  That was the only issue in 16 years.

Full-timed for 16 Years
Traveled 8 yr in a 2004 Newmar Dutch Star 40' Motorhome
and 8 yr in a 33' Travel Supreme 5th Wheel

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Frankly I went on a tangent because in trying to consider your situation I could not come up with a good answer and I still can't. 15-20 seconds is very short and an eternity some times.  Maybe the most likely is to try not to be seen but you would also limit your ability to know what is happening so you might be able to take some evasive action, If my vehicle was running I would maybe consider  using it as  offensive or defensive weapon.  I just know I would not have wanted to be in your position.

 

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20 hours ago, gypsydan said:

It is mid-afternoon in the old west of Alamogordo, NM, and I am parked in a large parking lot...

As a boondocker, some questions which come up are:

  1. Would you change parking locations?  Maybe even leave town?
  2. Do I need to consider traveling and parking in a different manner?

I guess it is semantics, but I do not consider staying  in a parking lot boondocking. Staying in an unattended lot in an urban area would, to me, seem to present far greater risks than staying in the actual boondocks. Even more secure locations like Walmart and Lowes make the news with some frequency these days although the incidents rarely involve RVers. I believe, there is both BLM and Forest Service land open to dispersed camping in the Alamogordo area. The Free Campsites Website lists some of them. Contact an agency office or search online. For the National Forests get the Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) to locate dispersed camping areas. I know of at least one Harvest Host location in Tularosa. Also checkout Boondockers Welcome.

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I may be wrong but I did not believe Dan was staying in the parking lot, just stopped to talk on the phone.

I don't know if you are staying anywhere in that area for any length of time but I think I would consider relocating to another area as if something came of it they might remember your vehicle and target you if they considered you a possible witness. I don't want to sound like I am trying to scare you but do want to help you avoid any unnecessary problems. You might want to consider if there are any cameras.  i can see doing civic duty for some things but at this point it sort of doesn't make a lot of since. I truly am thrilled you are ok. 

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In all the years I have been RVing or reading about RVing yours is only the second first-hand experience about gun hazards I have heard/read about. I refuse to worry about something that happens so seldom.

Linda

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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On 10/3/2021 at 2:57 PM, sandsys said:

In all the years I have been RVing or reading about RVing yours is only the second first-hand experience about gun hazards I have heard/read about. I refuse to worry about something that happens so seldom.

Linda

A very good policy. I feel the same way, but it can be kind a little unnerving after it has happened to you for the first time. What is interesting, though, several days later I see a man walking around in the park I’m staying at wearing an open carry gun, which is legal in NM.

2009 Four Winds Chateau - 25' class C          2002 Chevy Tracker

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