“Max Cabrera and his girlfriend Gabby Perez were on their way to the car when they encountered five men,” kxan.com reports. “’As they crossed us, one of the guys in the front, he reached over and groped me,’ said Perez. “Perez says she and Cabrera tried to walk away, but that things escalated quickly and the men started punching Cabrera. She says one of the suspects, described only as a black man, reached under her skirt, scratching her. Cabrera was left with a broken nose, fractured bones in his face and six stitches on his forehead.” This one happened in my backyard: downtown Austin, at 2:30 am. Which goes to show that . . .
a firearm is your third best defense against violent attack. Number one being avoiding stupid people doing stupid things in stupid places. Number two being escape and avoid violent assaults wherever possible. Relying on the police to protect you being number nothing, tied with depending on surveillance cameras for deterrence.
Austin Police say the public is not in danger at this time, and they are investigating the incident. There are surveillance cameras in the area, but it was not known if they will be able to help identify the suspects. No further details or descriptions were provided.
My apologies to Mr. Cabrera and Ms. Perez on behalf of my adoptive hometown. I’m ready to provide free firearms-based self-defense training when they’re ready, and hook them up with a concealed carry class for their concealed handgun license. As the NRA says, don’t be a victim. Again. Still. [h/t CGinTX]
Yeahhhhhhh…. Except that 6th-7th and Lavaca is basically all bars which carry the 51% sign precluding either of the interested parties from carrying legally. Even if Cabrera and Perez chose to be sober, and were there simply to enjoy the loud music and dancing available in Austin, they’d be committing a crime by carrying.
So they could certainly be on the street whilst carrying, but going inside a bar/nightclub would be a crime. So they are effectively disarmed. And since parking is basically nonexistent down there, they’d be making a long (disarmed) walk back to their vehicle.
Maybe the problem was that they didn’t park in a well-lit area.
Cause violent thugs always avoid well-lit areas.
Laugh.
And walk in a group, isn’t that something the authorities always advise? What? Sometimes criminals are in groups bigger than your group? Well, “Gosh darn!” say the authorities.
And have your car keys in your fist, with one key sticking out between your fingers.
And avoid high heels and tight skirts which make running awkward.
And have your cell phone programmed to speed dial 911.
And don’t wear flashy jewelry or watches.
And walk assertively. And fast.
And carry a rape whistle.
And whatever you do, don’t carry a gun because it’s more likely to be used against you.
It was not their fault. Don’t try to shift the blame. It lands solely on the scum.
“Yeahhhhhhh…. Except that 6th-7th and Lavaca is basically all bars which carry the 51% sign precluding either of the interested parties from carrying legally. Even if Cabrera and Perez chose to be sober, and were there simply to enjoy the loud music and dancing available in Austin, they’d be committing a crime by carrying.”
I think that goes under the idea of avoiding stupid people in stupid places at stupid times.
Walking to your car at 2:30a in downtown Austin is not any of those. Its incredibly normal for literally thousands of people – in fact I’ll be doing it tonight, and have done it on many nights before. Well lit parking is not always an option. I usually suggest to people that they travel in larger groups and try to park near each other even if it means parking farther away.
So you’re saying that the five guys were walking to their car too? What an amazing coincidence.
/sarc
Yeah. Austin is a city. Stuff happens in cities.
That said, in general the further north you stay, the less odds of shenanigans you will find.
I’m too old for sixth street now, so keeping it north of 183 can still result in a good time without having to constantly watch for morons with too much time and too little ambition.
Yeah, there is almost no crime in N. Austin /sarc
http://spotcrime.com/tx/austin
It sure as hell beats Riverside.
Sounds like a good opportunity to find a new place to enjoy adult beverages – and also, proves the inherent harm to law-abiding citizens to laws such as the 50% law in Texas.
Tyler –
Would a can of 30 foot range Bear repellant be legal in Autistic, er, Austin?
Bear repellent is for bears.
Seriously guys, if you want to use pepper spray against a human attacker, get one formulated to work on human attackers. Bear spray is not that stuff.
Learn self defense knifing skills: http://www.amokcombatives.com
Texas allows 5.5″ blades or less.
Carry a fixed and folder on either side if out at red 51% TABC signed establishments in downtown Austin.
More importantly, be willing to use a knife in self defense to stop the threat. Its emotionally different than a gun.
There are also lots of places you can go an legally carry downtown.
The couple had no self defense tools or likely skills to begin. Add a five on one disparity of force situation from five african american perps and this is what you end up with.
Police Chief Art Avocado on double time PR duty to keep the sheep from getting scared and hurting downtown revenues.
Check your math dude. Five on two and only one confirmed black guy. He could have been that groups token for all you know. There is no shortage on drunken idiots in whatever color you care to name, but most especially white idiots.
Recheck your math. Tactically its five on one with the lady likely unable to offer any help.
Moreover, your point is…what
Ill defend my wife/myself with all I have to however many threaten us using the tools I carry under legal articulation.
So what if there are five. Get to work and deal with whatever threat numbers present. What is your suggested alternative when they force your self defense hand?
What exactly are you saying with your second point? I never suggested remotely that they or you shouldn’t do everything possible or neccissary to protect your self. That statement of yours is completely incongruous to the conversation at hand. As to your first statement I think your minimizing the woman’s role in the attack is highly immoral. She is not some non entity. She is intact the first victim of assault in this case making the assault a five on two incident. For you to assume that she somehow counts less than the man who was also obviously “tactically” out classed is mysogonistic to the extreme. Had she decided to exercise her RKBA that tactical disposition would have been radically different and we may be commenting on the defensive gun use of the day instead and suffering through comments disparaging a man being saved by a woman.
Had it been my wife or daughter that was being “touched” by some random dude. The story would have ended much differently then this…. Let’s just say the gloves are coming off!!
I’d be slapping a different kind of leather, myself.
“Austin Police say the public is not in danger at this time…”
…unless you want to walk the streets without getting assaulted.
Really. How can they issue a statement like that? Dereliction of duty. At least offer the boiler plate “be alert, not afraid” tripe. The punks are still out there, and on any given night, a band of 3-5 different punks can provide a more dangerous experience.
Oh, sure, if you want to be picky about it.
Yeah, what the hell do they mean by that? There isn’t any crime in Austin or something?? Man, I am so glad I don’t live there anymore.
I’m guessing they released that statement in the daylight hours. So technically, I guess they were right?
That was my thought, “Well it is 4 pm now, so the public is probably not in danger at this time. At 230 am the public is probably in danger.”
Technically correct, but very misleading. I still call that a lie, because the listener was led to believe something that is not true.
Bet ya a shiny nickle most of the off-duty police officers are carrying a gun at 4pm as they walk around.
The *public* is everyone but you.
I never did like bars; I never drank enough to appreciate drunk people acting stupidly all trying to yell over loud music.
Which means I’m free to carry a weapon in 99% of the places I like to frequent.
Same here. No need to go to a bar or club, I don’t dance, I don’t pay bar prices to drink, and I’m not interested in picking up women (my wife would probably have an issue with it if I did). That said, it’s repugnant that people who do aren’t allowed to carry the most effective means of self defense that they can.
Yep. Other states that allow for bar carry of guns haven’t had issues with drunken shoot outs by law abiding citizens.
Yeah when they were proposing bar carry in NC or wherever a few months ago everyone at work was horrified and was sure people would be dying left and right. This discussion happened in PA – where bar carry is already legal. I politely informed them.
I doubt, if there is an arrest, that it will be the first for any of the 5 tough guys. And if one had bought the farm we’d be hearing about another unarmed minority de jour being “gunned down”.
Absolutely. We would hear that he was a gentle giant who was changing his life around. They will claim that it was a sandwich in his hand, and that the gun laying beside him was planted, that the GSR on his hands and chest was planted afterwards.
“Austin Police say the public is not in danger at this time….”
Yeah, and they’re stupid to say that because they’re not omniscient. These guys are out and about and, as we know from human nature and statistics, criminals, once successful, are highly likely to strike again.
Police departments need to stop saying stupid stuff like this. They have no way to prove whether the public is or is not in any danger. Maybe they should say “We don’t think the public is in any danger.” Why is it a bad thing to say you don’t know something when you truly don’t know?
Come to think about it, if the Austin po-po says the public is not in any danger, they just admitted that they’re unnecessary. Disbanding the APD would save Austin’s taxpayers a bunch of cash in unnecessary salary, equipment, and pensions. Thanks for the tip, guys!
The TABC has no standing and should be sued to oblivion.
Tom Gresham has a great saying….”nothing good ever happens after midnight”.
And it is soooooo wrong…
“the public is not in danger at this time”
Until they are…
I got over going to bars after working in them. Id much rather listen to some quality music(at a reasonable volume I can talk over) and drink whiskey at a price that will not bankrupt me. All while avoiding some meatheads looking to act cute, seems like a win win win to me.
“Nothing good ever happens after midnight” is something that only applies to those who dont work after midnight. Although I can think of a few good things that happened after midnight when I wasnt workin.
wink wink
I’m not comfortable with blaming the victims here.
I know Right? Every time there is a story about conceal carrying and restrictions or an attack at a certain place or a certain time, people start commenting about how they won’t go there or they don’t do that. Sporting events, concerts, bars, movies, etc. have all been mentioned as places that are avoided. Well who cares if all you do all day and night is sit in a dank room reloading .223 for your mini-14 and commenting on the internet about how stupid people are for getting out and trying to enjoy life. Some of us carry a gun so we can have more freedom, not less.
Ding ding. Winner.
Go out armed and live your life.
Right on
Blame the victim talk reminds me of Media Research Center’s Dan Joseph interview of protesters outside the NRA headquarters in Fairfax.
————
DJ: If I’m walking through a bad neighborhood and somebody sticks me up with a gun, then I shouldn’t be able to shoot back?
Protester: Well, why are you IN the bad neighborhood?
DJ: So I should stay away from the bad neighborhood?
Protester: Yes. There’s the question of common sense. You can choose to avoid illegal activity.
DJ: I wouldn’t be doing anything wrong.
Protester: Well. That’s most of the people…if you’ve ever gone to the open-air drug markets in southeast DC.
DJ: I’m not going to the open-air drug markets. Well, you’re saying people should not be able to protect themselves with guns in public streets and public areas.
Protester: Yes, because the only people who, in my opinion, should be allowed to carry weapons in public areas are current law enforcement and off-duty law enforcement officers.
DJ: Okay, so if you’re in the wrong place, you’re screwed.
Protester: Yeah.
————
What Triggers a Protest of the NRA?
“Which goes to show that…”
Which goes to show that there is little to no reason to be walking around at 2:30 in the morning. I have preached to my kids for years that NOTHING good happens on the streets between 11PM and 5AM. Nothing! Yes, a CCW would have been nice.. but its better to not be in a situation where you need your pistol, than to be in a situation where you have to use it.
You obviously don’t have any idea what downtown Austin is like at 2:30a. It not like they were walking around in a dark abandoned part of town after attending an illegal rave in a dump somewhere. There are 10s or thousands of people out and about at that time.
I’m not arguing simply for the sake of arguing…. but I really doubt there are tens of thousands of people on the streets at 2 am. And sorry, my own personal experience as a human being, and as a former member of the military police has shown me over and over that the best thing you can be doing at 2am is sleeping. No, not everyone who is walking around is drunk and looking for trouble – but many of them are.
On the one hand I understand and respect your point. I do agree about after midnight.
On the other hand, I carry, train, intimately understand TX deadly force law articulation, and am willing to go there and use it in a situation like this one given disparity of force articulation (along with 9.04 legal green light to draw down). I actively profile for this and variations of the theme.
I will live my life, which includes going out with my wife to downtown Austin and enjoying the evening.
If you find a need to hide after midnight, that’s completely up to you. Your decision to make.
The rest of us who enjoy the night and nightlife, are also free to be secure in our persons and belongings regardless if you think we should be at home in bed.
Exactly.
As someone who works swing shift, I’ve yet to have something bad happen during those hours, yet plenty of good. To me those hours are like 6-10 for day shift folk. Of course, you can just keep living in fear of the dark if you want.
I think these kind of acts of random violence are the worst. These people are nothing, but predators who will prey on anyone they see as weaker than them. As far as the not being out past 12am thing, life happens. That sounds a lot like “don’t wear sandals to the beach in case you have to run”. Be prepared, but don’t let your preparedness run your life.
I don’t spend money in bars- the drinks are too expensive, and the crowds are crazy, and I can carry my pistol and be safe!
I don’t go to concerts- the internet has all the music I need, and no crazy people or disarming there.
I don’t go to the post office- I arrange pickup, and don’t need to disarm.
I don’t see movies in theaters- see aurora?
I don’t have kids- that would require dropping kids off at schools which in a lot of places are gun free zones!
I don’t go to work- they are likely gun free zones, and there’s tons of shootings in workplace violence! When a jihadist comes to my work, I won’t be there, so they’ll have to disarm him themselves- losers!
I don’t date anyone- they can file a domestic violence restraining order, and besides, who am I going to find that has a hand that can give me such pleasure?
All I need is my steel handgun (1911 FTW! Who needs plastic when perfection was created over 100 years ago?), my lead, and my lead lined steel box under the dirt, because I am so happy you guys don’t know what you’re missing out on! Of course, I couldn’t show you, because it would involve risk. All I need is me, 1911, and if I get lonely I will take off my shoes and then I can take my socks and have 2 NEW FRIENDS!
Is this the same concern troll that was going after tdi the other day?
Wassa matter, Starbucks turned you down, despite the choomunications degree it took six years in your moms basement to earn? You are obviously so much better than anyone, message received.
Now run along. Kos kids will thank you for your blow against the VRWC or whatever…
Umm… not sure why you sided with Tdiinva. I replied to you too in the old thread- mostly praise, and basically saying he was a jackass for comparing bacterial infections with viral infections.
Not sure what your malfunction is… you like the steel walls of you bunker and it hit too close to home? Some people actually like to, you know, do normal people things, which involve socializing after hours, and those places are usually places that serve alcohol. Victim-blaming people for hanging out in the vast majority of places that serve alcohol is uncalled for.
Nonetheless, you think I’m a troll for going after Tdiinva and his ebola panic and supposed pro-life position when he was talking about murdering people. Carry on.
Sounds reasonable to me 😉 At a minimum, carry a knife if you’re going out. Even a Cold Steel Nightshade is better than nothing. Retaliate, drop the oxygen thief and leave.
That was hilarious 😀
Describes me almost to a T except I don’t have the bunker.
I grew up in Austin and never went down town, at night. 6th street is for fools
Chief Art Acevedo is much too busy holding press conferences showing his support for breast cancer awareness or creating a new task force to address a nonexistent problem or one to supplement the previous ten task forces that couldn’t reach his desired solution. Bringing that Southern CA style of law enforcement that has served LA so well.
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