Woman Shot in Face on Atlanta Interstate

[BarryLee]

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/los-angeles-woman-shot-1467656.html

A couple of visitors were traveling on an Atlanta Interstate when the wife was shot in the face as she drove the rental car. They maintain the incident was totally random and that they did not know the attackers. They also state that they were not involved in any type of road rage incident that preceded this shooting

So, what preparations do you make to respond to an incident like this?

If possible I avoid letting people pace me on multi-lane roads. I generally keep my handgun holstered while driving, but not sure how quickly could I access it if needed. Maybe I need to investigate alternative ways of securing my gun so it is easily accessible. Also, I suspect in a situation like this “defensive” driving would be of more value than attempting to return fire.

 

[jmr40]

More recent reports indicate that the couples story is not making sense to police. This may prove to be random, but police at this time are looking deeper for other reasons why they may have been targeted. Seems when questioned separately they gave very conflicting stories.

If truly random, there isn't much you can do other than just try to get away. Fortunatley that late at night there is very little traffic leaving you more options.

 

[Frank Ettin]

Okay, the point of a thread here is to help us learn things, not just shoot the bull about poorly understood incidents.

Let's keep this open for just a bit longer to see if there might be something we can learn from this. But if a good learning opportunity doesn't show up soon, the thread will be closed.

 

[Tom Servo]

I'll say it.

There are things for which we simply can't be prepared. This looks like one of those situations.

(The sidebar demonstrating poor gun handling was also somewhat dismaying.)

 

[JohnKSa]

Other than having a first aid kit in the car and the knowhow to make good use of it, there's not much that can be done to prepare for something like that.

If possible I avoid letting people pace me on multi-lane roads. I generally keep my handgun holstered while driving, but not sure how quickly could I access it if needed. Maybe I need to investigate alternative ways of securing my gun so it is easily accessible. Also, I suspect in a situation like this “defensive” driving would be of more value than attempting to return fire.

I don't see anything indicating that the person who fired the shots was pacing them, nor does it look like avoiding having people pace you would provide much defensive value. If it really was a random shooting, it actually seems more likely that they wouldn't pace you, or wouldn't pace you for very long since that would give you more time to identify them.

Having a handgun readily available is of limited value in a situation like that. The point of having the gun would be to prevent being injured or prevent being injured more after being initially injured. It's hard to see how being able to access a firearm would have prevented the injury or made the situation any better. Sometimes things happen so fast and/or in such a way that preventing them is not really possible.

Shooting back while driving (even if the circumstances made it prudent and legal) is pretty tricky.

 

[jrothWA]

A difficult scenario to respond to...

but best way is to keep vehicle moving.
Avoid getting bunched together.
Be aware if there is a vehicle pacing you in your "blind spot".

IF caught in a situation consider doing opposite of normal reaction, hit brakes, instead SPEED-up, turn into the attacker not away.

Only situation that I ever had to deal with was a on=coming driver in the middle of winter in the UP, kept flashing headlights at him and made up my mind to douse my lights and drive on his side of road around him. At the last minute he woke-up and steered to his side of road.

It it was going to be a head on, I was willing to take the hit on the RH fframe corner to allow what-ever chance I had. [Was driving a 72 Maverick, then]

 

[Glockstar .40]

for a situation like this a gun is obsolete. they flew to georgia and im assuming they didnt have a firearm on the airplane. 2 bullets hit the windshield so the shooter was probably in front of them. with those circumstances the best thing to do is to hit the brakes and hope they keep driving.

 

[MTT TL]

If the bad guy has the drop on you then there is not much to do about it. It well could have been a case of mistaken identity. They probably were not even thinking about threats.

 

[Steel Talon]

So, what preparations do you make to respond to an incident like this?

*We always carry a first aid kit in our vehicles.
*When we travel we also have a paper map available to us besides the GPS.
*For pistol carry in the truck I will stick my revolver between the passenger and driver seat it's easy to grasp and people dont notice it.
*I also have rivited a kydex holster to the center console to carry my pistol when driving the car.

Remember to check with state laws for reprocity etc.

 

[Marquezj16]

Only thing I can think of adding to this is situational awareness. Know what is going on around you. Too many times I see distracted drivers who have no clue of what is next to them on the road and sometimes what's in front of them.

 

[Skans]

If it was a gang initiation (not saying it was), and some person is heck-bent on just putting some lead into some random person for whatever reason, there is little that you can do to protect yourself from this....especially while driving on Atlanta interstates. Situational awareness isn't likely going to do didly-squat.

 

[Baba Louie]

A. Nothing good happens at 2:00am.

B. If you must be out at that time, be very aware of your surroundings, especially if it includes a man holding "long gun with both hands" in the car next to you (obviously not the driver). "Honey, does that guy have a..."

C. Brakes. Use them. The second you see the above next to your car.

D. If you can, try to remember color/make of assailants vehicle as I doubt you'd be able to get plate numbers after the fact.

Other than that, I got nothing.

Kudos to driver who did pull over to stop and change drivers. Kudos on getting to nearest hospital ASAP. OK, so maybe add...

E. When traveling in strange cities, do you know where the closest ER is? Might want to look that up beforehand.

The disbelief of seeing B. and recognizing a threat can take a second or twelve for some people. Don't be that person, I suppose. Isn't it sad that we have to "What If" these types of considerations instead of just enjoying life?

Maybe, after re-reading the article a third time and my response, I should add the last bullet point in regards to the victim who had the ability to pull over...

F. Have the will to live and survive.

 

[ScottRiqui]

E. When traveling in strange cities, do you know where the closest ER is? Might want to look that up beforehand.

If you have a Garmin GPS, it's worth remembering that some of their models have the "Where Am I?" feature, which will tell you your current latitude/longitude, nearest intersection, nearest address, nearest police station, nearest hospital and nearest gas station. All very good information to have in an emergency, if you have the presence of mind to use it.

 

[Marquezj16]

Situational awareness isn't likely going to do didly-squat.

I have to disagree with your opinion.

Situational awareness would alert you even if it's just a second or less. If you see someone pulling up to you and you look over and see something like a gun it gives you a chance to hit your brakes or accelerate or swerve. The gun had to be pointed in your direction for them to shoot. Being aware of your sorrounding might help you spot the gun and act.

 

[Glockstar .40]

Situational awareness would alert you even if it's just a second or less. If you see someone pulling up to you and you look over and see something like a gun it gives you a chance to hit your brakes or accelerate or swerve. The gun had to be pointed in your direction for them to shoot. Being aware of your sorrounding might help you spot the gun and act.

do you look at EVERY vehicle that passes you on the interstate? granted this happened at 2 am so there probably wasnt too much traffic on the road. but lets face it, the last thing they were thinking as they visited atlanta for their kids tournament was that a car was going to drive by them and a man was gonna shoot at them through a sunroof their first 2 hrs there.

 

[Frank Ettin]

Situational awareness isn't magic. Nothing is magic. Many things can help you protect yourself, as have been outlines here. But sometimes, no matter what you do, your adversary is going to be luckier than you.

 

[BIG P]

TOM & FRANK are right, I work in Atlanta at night Hauling cars.The city or interstate is no place to be after midnight.My truck was hit twice at a red light by two thugs shooting at each other when they passed me.Noway you have time to prepair.The two rounds didnt pass through the truck, one in the body & one in the door frame.Both were 9mm ball ammo.I do CC & it was NO help.

 

[Marquezj16]

You guys are right, you can't prepare for it when it's random.
However, I still think that situational awareness (SA) can help even if it's a split second reaction. During my last tour downrange, SA was key to our convoy getting around Kabul and the countryside safely. Our team was in constant lookout for anything suspicious. Granted we were trained that way.

do you look at EVERY vehicle that passes you on the interstate?

As a matter of fact I do glance at them, whether I'm passing them or they are passing me. It takes less than a second.

I think you guys are taking SA the wrong way. Situational awareness is not some protective bubble or magic like Frank says. SA is a component that you can use, that may help you avoid trouble.

Well you all have a safe 4th of July. I'm out.

 

[LockedBreech]

Unfortunate. Not much to do to prevent something like that. Fortunately, the odds of something like that happening are very, very small.

 

[Jason_G]

Situational awareness isn't magic. Nothing is magic. Many things can help you protect yourself, as have been outlines here. But sometimes, no matter what you do, your adversary is going to be luckier than you.

That's where my head's at, I think. I didn't read the article, but I agree that there are just some things you can't prepare for. Sometimes your ticket just gets punched. I believe in being in "condition yellow" anytime you are out and about, and having a means of defending yourself, as well as visualizing what the most likely threat would be in a place/situation, and what your response should be, but there is a line between preparedness and paranoia. If there's a driver that obviously means you harm (or any other threat, for that matter), and you have the opportunity to notice it, then that's one thing. A truly random shooting (if that's what this was), such as the DC "sniper," etc, is just not something one can really spend their sanity worrying about IMHO.

YMMV.


Jason