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I am armed while at my car wash

I am armed while at my car wash...


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MEP001

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We have a single IBA that is unattended, but when I go there to collect from the entry machine and vacs, a friend assists me who is armed (open carry).
Did you ever the story about the car wash that was built across the highway from town there in Mathis and how they thought all their employees were stealing for years?
 

Sparkleclean

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I carry, but then again i am in nh and EVERYONE carries up here. We have experienced theft and vandalism issues and even though there is very little, in fact no cash accessible to employees, shitty people dont know that and i dont want to walk out the door to someone looking to rob me.

I would avoid having to use a firearm until i am absolutely forced to because i wouldnt want to deal with the legal ramifications that a previous poster mentioned. And where i recently moved from, r.i., the law is you cant use even the threat of deadly force to defend a property crime, i.e. Theft. ONLY to defend against a theeat to your life.

But i will be damned if i am UNABLE to defend myself. I liken it to car owners carrying a spare tire and jack everywhere they go, most people couldnt change their own tires nowadays and its not necessary when you could easily get AAA or other roadside service, but sometimes it is quicker and easier to just do it yourself!

A firearm is a tool to do a job, that job is to make sure that at the end of the day i arrive home to my wife and 2 kids safely.

I would be willing to be interviewed if you still need it?!
 

Eric H

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This is a video of an incident at my wash last week. It appears to be a guy in a Mercedes coming to the wash to either buy or sell drugs. He gets out and stands at the rear of the vehicle and 3 guys come from behind the neighboring property and smash out his windows as he drives away. I found the broken glass in the morning and a voicemail from the local police investigating an incident.
I don't think I can defend myself against 3 guys with baseball bats...

View attachment trim.EB6A9BC5-4061-428A-9A3A-33BC4FFD8D32.MOV
 
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MEP001

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I don't think I can defend myself against 3 guys with baseball bats...
Do you mean if you were unarmed?

I pulled mine on someone for the first time last night, was pulling money from vacuums and he went from the street around behind me to the next vac island and was about to start digging through the trash, so I turned around to ask him to leave. Before I could say anything says "I don't want no problems," I told him he didn't need to be circling around behind me while I'm handling money, he says he'll come back when I'm done, at that point I pulled it out (didn't point it at him but wanted him to see it) and told him he wasn't welcome on the property if he's not washing a car. There was another person with him but they had continued down the sidewalk.

I've let several homeless people see that I'm armed, and the amount of mess from them going through the trash and vacuum dirt has dropped to almost nothing.
 

Sparkleclean

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Do you mean if you were unarmed?

I pulled mine on someone for the first time last night, was pulling money from vacuums and he went from the street around behind me to the next vac island and was about to start digging through the trash, so I turned around to ask him to leave. Before I could say anything says "I don't want no problems," I told him he didn't need to be circling around behind me while I'm handling money, he says he'll come back when I'm done, at that point I pulled it out (didn't point it at him but wanted him to see it) and told him he wasn't welcome on the property if he's not washing a car. There was another person with him but they had continued down the sidewalk.

I've let several homeless people see that I'm armed, and the amount of mess from them going through the trash and vacuum dirt has dropped to almost nothing.

Be very very careful with what you are doing by brandishing a firearm without the intent to use it. Research ward bird in nh. He was at home down a long driveway with lots of signs saying do not trespass and turn around etc.... someone drove down his driveway and he went onto the porch and brandished his gun, never pointing it at the car. He was convicted and sentenced to a mandatory minimum 3 year sentence for criminal threatening with a gun. After a huge grassroots movement to free him the state eventually commuted his sentence but would not give him a full pardon. And this happened in a very pro gun, live free or die state! He still has a felony record and can not ever again own guns. Like I said in my earlier post, in most jurisdictions you can not use even the threat of deadly force to stop a property crime, ie theft. Only when your life is in danger! Tread very carefully!
 
Etowah

Sparkleclean

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This is a video of an incident at my wash last week. It appears to be a guy in a Mercedes coming to the wash to either buy or sell drugs. He gets out and stands at the rear of the vehicle and 3 guys come from behind the neighboring property and smash out his windows as he drives away. I found the broken glass in the morning and a voicemail from the local police investigating an incident.
I don't think I can defend myself against 3 guys with baseball bats...

View attachment 956

I find that car washes tend to be highly attractive to drug dealers. High traffic and it doesn’t look out of the ordinary to have someone pull in and sit at the vacs for a while until their customer pulls in. We see it at my laconia wash all the time. I make a point of going out to those vacs and doing trash etc while making comments like, “I appreciate your business, I can’t stand when people just sit here and wait for their drug dealers.” Which usually results in them driving away......

On a separate but related note, lately I have been afraid of finding someone in a self serve or auto wash bay O.D.’d on heroin or fentanyl thinking it is a safe place to use. I have now started keeping narcan in the wash just in case. I would rather Narcan someone and have them survive then have the news report my location as a high drug use facility after an overdose death........
 

Eric H

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Do you mean if you were unarmed?
I don't think it is a good idea to state openly on the internet that you have no problem shooting someone. The only thing I want to shoot are targets ;)! I love shooting Trap and I asst coach the youth team at our Sportsman's Club.

On a separate but related note, lately I have been afraid of finding someone in a self serve or auto wash bay O.D.’d on heroin or fentanyl
i find those people. There is an indescribable feeling at the very second I have to knock on a car window to see if the driver is just sleeping or OD'ed. That second is the difference between an easy morning and a very long day. The few times I've had to call the police the cop arrives and first asks me "Are they breathing?" I haven't had to say "no" yet.
 

MEP001

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Only when your life is in danger!
It's not like that in Texas. You can defend your property or your safety with deadly force, and with a bucket of money and someone intentionally circling behind me I did not feel safe. About the only thing I cannot do is follow someone off the property and shoot them.
 

MEP001

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I don't think it is a good idea to state openly on the internet that you have no problem shooting someone.
I wasn't asking that, I was trying to clarify if you were stating the obvious that you wouldn't stand a chance unarmed against three guys with bats or something else.
On a separate but related note, lately I have been afraid of finding someone in a self serve or auto wash bay O.D.’d on heroin or fentanyl
I did find a couple sleeping in their car with the engine running in a bay one morning and they didn't budge when I knocked on the window so I called police. They were there in two minutes and blocked them in so they could check on them without risk of them running in a drugged stupor. Cops told me they seemed like they were on something but there was nothing visible to give reason to search so they had to let them go.
 

Ayerule

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Always.

But remember to meet force with force.
Three guys punch you in the face? Wipe your nose, get on with your day.
You're on the ground and three guys are punching you unconscious...

Every individual and every situation is different.

It is a tool that you MUST be proficient in the handling, care and use of.

Four basic safety rules:
  • All guns are always loaded.
  • Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
  • Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target.
  • Identify your target, and what is behind it.
The weapon shouldn't be leverage or an excuse to take risks. Common sense can avoid most situations from escalating.

These are just my opinions, but I guess it's easier for me as an airborne infantry sergeant.
 

mgmtoo

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Yes I carry, every morning when I visit the wash. I'm also licensed and insured.
 

Alpine Dreams

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I usually work at night and I always carry my weapon visibly on my hip. My city has an elevated amount of crime and I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. I was in the military for 13 years as an Army Infantryman and we always had our weapon within arm's reach when we were deployed.

I read what Randy said and he's absolutely correct. If you are going to carry a weapon, you must be intimately familiar with laws in your area. I have some training and certifications from past employment that taught me about those laws. Mistakes can cost your freedom and may even haunt your dreams for the rest of your life. The decision to arm yourself should not be taken lightly.
 

Sequoia

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For all responding, be aware that words posted here could be searched and make their way into your trial should any charges be made for your future use of a firearm.

I've observed some comments on here that I believe would be harmful if one were in that situation-- just my .02 cents.
 

Car_Wash_Guy

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Always.

But remember to meet force with force.
Three guys punch you in the face? Wipe your nose, get on with your day.
You're on the ground and three guys are punching you unconscious...

Every individual and every situation is different.

It is a tool that you MUST be proficient in the handling, care and use of.

Four basic safety rules:
  • All guns are always loaded.
  • Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
  • Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target.
  • Identify your target, and what is behind it.
The weapon shouldn't be leverage or an excuse to take risks. Common sense can avoid most situations from escalating.

These are just my opinions, but I guess it's easier for me as an airborne infantry sergeant.
3 guys attack me I'm fearing for my life and will respond accordingly.
 

Sequoia

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3 guys attack me I'm fearing for my life and will respond accordingly.
Exactly what I was talking about.

You have announced a pre-judged decision that you will respond with deadly force in a particular circumstance. Before you are in such a circumstance and before any such details emerge. I would not want that floating around the internet tagged onto me.

In your trial:

YOU: I shot and killed him because I was in fear of my life.
ATTY: The victim only wanted his money back because of your defective equipment. His two brothers never touched you. When the victim reached for his cell phone you shot him dead. His mother is in the courtroom. Hotheads with guns like you need to be locked up. Long before this took place, isn't it true you wrote on a car wash forum that you were ready to shoot someone in these circumstances?

[Comment: To be fair, I do not believe Car_Wash_Guy is out of line, but I have seen (and am seeing more) where posts on social media come back to haunt. I like the carwashforum, but I believe this entire thread should be deleted. It is too touchy a subject to risk being a detriment to members instead of a benefit. Again, my .02 cents.
 

mgmtoo

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I agree with Sequoia, watch your statements Gentlemen!

I also agree that this thread should be deleted, my .02 cents.
 

mjwalsh

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A slightly intoxicated man came in the laundromat when it was partially full of customers a few years ago. I was carrying a cordless drill pointed down as I headed to the self service car wash portion of our facility. He shouts with a loud shrill theatrical voice "He has a gun He has a gun" I made sure he was shown to be the idiot shouting back "It is clearly a cordless drill!" He went after me trying to get in my face through the entire area of the laundromat actually trying to push me while shouting that "you don't own this property" "I own it you stole it from my ancestors" All while he was doing that I was making sure when he was physically pushing me we were in the best view possible from each of the 5 cameras in the laundromat. Early on as he went after me I called to one of my regulars to call 911... which he did immediately.

By the time the police came he was about a block away down the street. They did pick him up there & did take him somewhere not sure where though. The police did not press me to file assault charges ... I told I was not hurt so no charges were filed. They also did not press me to have a "no trespass" so I passed on that also.

I was trying very hard to notice if there was any chance that he had a knife on him during the episode!
 
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