Woman mugged in TJ Maxx parking lot
 

This was posted today: Woman hospitalized after mugging at TJ Maxx parking lot - **************: The Villages, Lady Lake, Wildwood, Fruitland Park (hope the link works). I hope the woman recovers quickly and fully, and the scum that did the crime is caught and pays a heavy penalty. Apparently, this occurred in broad daylight. Be careful out there, everyone.

From The Village News.com

How scary. The blush is truly off the rose now. Not at all like when we moved here 6 years ago.:sigh:

ok, that's it. the gun goes back in the purse...

.....or not at least that you knew of! This type of thing (unfortunately) can happen anywhere! It happened in my small mid-western town (gasp) where everyone was friendly and knew one another. I'm thinking we're just being made more aware of things as our community grows.

Be aware of your surroundings! Ladies keep your purse secured while you shop...don't leave it in your cart then practically ignore it while you shop. I've seen purses left in the cart while the person has turned their back or worse, walked several paces while they looked at the shelves or racks.

But the problem is that her purse was snatched. If you have a conceal permit, the purse is not the place to carry your firearm as it would have been taken.

Another dimension, for protection. :jester:

Don't mess with Miss Kitty. Mister Dillion!!!!

I love it!! But not in your purse. Just carry concealed Kitty.These people are cowards, when they go after elderly. Need to be really on the alert, no matter where you are. That's why its good not to key your car (unlock) until you get close to car. They could be lurking in the parking lot, and when you do so, they drive right up to your car. Also mentioned, is having your pocketbook on child seat of shopping cart. (not good) I get so angry when I hear these type of stories. Taxpayers, now will pay for his attorneys etc, while he gets about 30 days, and then comes out to only do it again. %#&+*!!!!!!!

35 Open Carry States
 

I am not suggesting target practice on a fleeing criminal who committed such a cowardly crime (at least not in a crowded parking lot where someone's car could be damaged) as that could be bad news for they carrier. My position is that someone considering such an act might change their mind upon seeing a number of the population with Glocks and S&W's strapped on their waists near by. Deterrence is a very effective strategy. Florida should be #36!

Kitty is tall and athletic looking and looks to be about 35. She doesn't look like a target.

I am reasonably quick on my feet, but believe me if I had a gun pointed at me I would certainly not start fumbling around for a gun, and trying to get a gun out of my waist band - by that time you would be dead.

BUT, there is another solution - carry a pepper spray in your pocket, or even in your hand as you leave a store, just in case. It would be easy for me to spray the b......d with as much pepper as I could spray rather than try to shoot him.

Amazon.com has Mace Pepper Spray Personal Defense Spray (Hot Pink) for $12.

Very good point. They think we are all old and dim. WRONG.

The area demographics are changing...it was bound to begin to happen.

I hate hearing this but let's be real. Crime happens everywhere and TV is not immune. Can't get all doom and gloom over a reality shot. Be aware of your surroundings and stop thinking you're in Nirvana.

Don't put your life on the line, with a $12 hot pink can of mace.
Get something "professional".
Better yet, just give them the purse.

Only this lady knows the circumstances.
She could have been smacked from behind, with no chance of reaching for anything...

Carry a firearm
 

I have lived in Florida for 23 years. In less than a year after moving to DeLand, I got robbed at gunpoint at the end of my street taking a walk. I lived in a very desirable neighborhood that attracts losers looking to steal and rob. My wife and I quickly got concealed carry permits that we still have. When leaving the bubble, we carry. I would not go to these shopping centers unarmed. These punks around here know the Villages is loaded with financially well healed residents. Common sense should prevail knowing that a senior citizen from the Villages is a easy target. Get a permit and get a gun. If you need to shoot, empty the gun. This is the ONLY cure for this behavior! :mad:

thanks, Papa, good advice. I am pretty wary, having worked in several institutions with criminals and crazies and crazy criminals...
what a hassle to wear a gun clothes shopping.

Remember, shooting at someone who has robbed you and is running away is not self defense nor "stand your ground". Also, shooting in a stressful situation is far different than at a target range.

Also, this mugging DID NOT occur IN The Villages. It was technically Lady Lake.

Florida does not permit citizens to legally "open" carry.

You are right Diane,
WE do live in lower Paradise and we are mostly smart as tacks. The SOB's aren't going to get the best of us.


Mace, Photograph, be aware of your surroundings. If you SEE something, call the sheriff, not our dear and beloved Villages Watch. They help us in many other ways.

Good points, Buggyone!

Macing an amped up meth head will do nothing, except maybe get you killed.

Excellent reply

Are you sure about that === the villages does not own that property == thought they did - but maybe wrong. ----

If he were a tweaker, he would have been white.

Hi buggyone TJ max is located in the VCCDD and literally in The Villages.

I am not an expert here but I believe a person who is threatened for his or her life falls under protection of stand your ground laws.

Florida draws good people and some the worst dregs of the earth. I never sought a need for a gun by have been rethinking my position about owning one

Personal Best Regards:

I do not know if the that shopping center is or is not defined as being part of The Villages - but what does it matter? It is in the close proximity of us even though it is located on a major highway that brings through traffic for many miles.

As for stand your ground, you should have the right to protect yourself and your property. There should also be a deterrence for someone who wants to harm you or take your property. Shooting someone in the back or running away from you is probably not a good defense to robbery.

If you have been knocked down and the robber is running away from you, he is not a threat to you anymore. You will be in a :loco: mind at that point and starting to empty your pistol at the fleeing person will likely result in others being hurt at that very stress filled time for you.

Rather than give your money, Give your lead. Drop the SOB before he can turn and run. Never give a crook a chance to turn and run because if he gets away, he will repeat the offense.

I think we have lost track of the real point, NOT where it is but who frequents it. Us older people called Villagers. We CANNOT let the outside world begin to see us as easy targets.


Keep aware of your surroundings. Keep cell phone in hand. Practice on your husband kicking them in vulnerable parts......or maybe not.

Girls, a little story about testosterone vs estrogen:
In my very healthy, fit as a fiddle late 40's I worked with crazy criminals. I was trained in "aggression control"...since these folks were in a "hospital" we weren't supposed to hurt them.
I practiced with my strapping 20 something son, to whom I announced, "and this will be the 6 point takedown with a hip roll---run at me"....so he did, and as I pulled him over my hip, or so I thought, he reached down and grabbed my ankle and dangled me upside down. I don't think he cared that his mother had her skirt upside down. He wanted me to understand the odds I faced. I had brought a knife to a gunfight.

"Keep aware of your surroundings. Keep cell phone in hand. Practice on your husband kicking them in vulnerable parts......or maybe not."

I guess the moral of this is "Never mess with a lady from Ohio!"

Dont Be An Easy Target
 

If you are going to rely on a pepper spray, get a military or police grade one. When you point it at someone, don't aim for their head...aim for the chest and they will instinctively duck into it and you will then hit them in the face. Hint: Be sure they are downwind from you or you will get it, too.

When walking to your car, if you have your purse on your shoulder, walk as close as possible to the car line on the side where your purse is with your purse swung in front of your body, not dangling loose. That makes it much harder for them to drive by and grab. If confronted, throw it as far away from you as you can and throw your keys in the opposite direction or hit the panic button on your remote, if you have one.

Don't put your purse in the front of your vehicle, leave in the top of the basket, or let it dangle from your shoulder while you unload groceries, etc. Put your purse and your keys in the back as near the front as possible and then unload in front of them. All the while, remain vigilant to what is going on around you.

When shopping, I put my purse in the bottom of the cart underneath the child carrier and strap it in. I then put my purchases by the purse, and even on top of it until I check out. It is the last thing at the checkout to come out of the basket. You don't need it until that point, anyway. I keep my grocery list on my phone and my phone in my pocket when I'm not using it; if you use a paper list, you still don't need your purse until you are ready to check out. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES DO I WALK AWAY FROM THE CART. Many times, if I am at Walmart and have to load my own stuff, I put my purse in the cart under my purchases to go out to my car (not on my shoulder), and unload it first putting it in the back nearest the back seat. I just leave it there until I get home when I am going to be coming straight home regardless of where I do my shopping.

Just a few simple suggestions, but keep in mind that these people are looking for the easy targets. Make it as hard as possible for them to target YOU.

YES I DO want to be part of your group! What a helpful post my friend, Dillywho.

I always wondered if...
 

it is smarter to park as close as you can to store and

if you should put shoulder strap of purse over your head...

Sure would like to know some of the details of this mugging...
Sure hope that she is recovering mentally and physically..

I do too. I feel so bad to read TraceyMoore RN the nurse, post that she had a head injury and a broken pelvis, she was visiting from another country.


AFTER WORKING HARD ALL OF HER LIFE to be able to come here and enjoy her senior time on this earth and some scum who doesn't want to work knocks her down and robs her.


I just want to stomp the livin' crap outa him.

Great post Dillywho, thanks.

If they could only catch this guy and I could be picked for jury duty. I have a dream.

woman mugged in TJMaxx parking lot
 

I was so upset when I read this in the paper today. I thank all of you on totv for all the great advice and I am taking some. Where can I buy mace around here? Thank you.

I'll tell you this. In my experience in prison environments, when mace is used, both the shooter of mace and the recipient are incapacitated. It is an aerosol available to every nose in the vicinity. Sticking to my guns.
K.

FYI parts of The Villages ARE in Lady Lake!!!