Attempted crime last night

This happened to a friend who is well known by many of us. Please let's not mention any names here.
I want to post this because his quick thinking and swift reaction saved him from what might have been a kidnaping, robbery or car jacking. He makes some important points in this post about how to stay safe.

The libramiento is a very dangerous road at night and should be avoided.


""""A scary thing happened tonight. I was driving home on the libramiento between Ajijic and Chapala, heading towards Chapala. A red sporty sedan was in front of me. It made a sudden left and right swerve, then abruptly angled left to block both lanes and stopped. Out jumped 3 armed men wearing bandanas over their faces. In the heat of the moment, I recall at least one of them having a rifle, maybe more, but all 3 had guns pointed at me.
Needless to say I was scared sh*tless! I put the car in reverse and backed up rapidly. At this point, the men appeared startled and looked at each other like “holy shit, what is he doing? We have guns pointed at him, isn’t he supposed to co-operate?” I backed up and turned the steering wheel sharply to execute a 3 point turn. The road had no shoulder so the car went off the road a bit, and I was praying I had not gone so far that the car was stuck. I slammed into drive and praise be to Almighty God, I was able to get back on the road and headed towards the safety of Ajijic. The red sedan was speeding away from the scene towards Chapala as I turned left towards Ajijic, grateful that I had not gotten stuck.
I went to a friend’s house and called the Chapala police and reported the incident. The police were very helpful, taking my report and then heading back to the libramiento to look for the criminals.
To all my friends who live here in the lakeside area, here is my advice: be aware at all times. Keep a safe following distance from any car in front of you, especially at night. This was most likely a carjacking attempt, but I was not about to let them take me if there was anything I could do about it. If they were cartel kidnappers and I had not taken evasive action, who knows what might have become of me? If there had been a second car behind me, escape would have been more difficult. So again, be aware of what is around you. If you are in your car, do whatever it takes to escape, be it smashing into the car behind you, or in front of you. Try to stay as calm as possible, and keep your car in driveable shape.
To my friends in the United States, please hear me- I cannot have a gun to protect myself and my loved ones legally here in mexico. If I had been stranded on this dark stretch of road and the crooks chose to pursue me rather than run away, I might not be alive to tell this story. I had a concealed carry permit in the US, and I could defend myself there. So if you still think “gun control” is the answer to gun violence, let me tell you that unarmed law abiding citizens are easy victims to criminals emboldened with the knowledge that potential victims are helpless.""""

Sorry to hear, but such is life.

He/she CAN have a gun legally in Mexico. However, it's ONLY for home protection and may not be taken in the car.

Why turn this into a gun issue? This kinda stuff happens everywhere, you are alive put on your whitie tighties and deal with it or move where you can carry.

I was only pointing out the victim's rights. Many people believe non-citizens cannot own a gun. They can.

What an awful experience.  Glad they had their wits about them...Sounds like the bad guys thought they were being chased/confronted and when he made a u-turn, they realized it wasn't who they thought so went on their way.  What time of night did this happen?  Not a good idea to follow too closely but there have been times at night that I tried to follow another car because I can't see the road.  Actually, since I drove on the wrong side of the road, my dh hasn't let me drive at night, for which I am grateful! lol  

Twice this week we have seen state police w/covered faces ready traveling through Chapala and Ixtlahaucan during the day.  Thursday, they also had some sort of smaller white cargo truck with them that had the back doors open, I couldn't see if there were dogs or what was the reason the doors would be open but they signaled for people to get over.  Friday, at 7 a.m. I was awakened by boom's, then a short set of booms.  Did not sound like fiesta fireworks which are spaced out.  Sounded like heavy guns.  But the girls in SL told me there is a fiesta in Chapala, which I then discarded the booms....but if there's a fiesta, why haven't there been booms since then?  Is there a fiesta in Chapala right now?  If so, they always bring in the hoodlums.

While some people like to think that having a gun to protect themselves would improve their odds, it most often is not the case. If the driver in this story had a gun, was he going to get into a shootout on a dark road with three armed men, at least one of them with a rifle? Would he wave the gun at them and hope they would go away? They most likely would have shot him dead and taken that gun. What he did was the best thing to do.

To answer my own question...I hear fireworks now! :)

MyHomeSweetHome wrote:What an awful experience.  Glad they had their wits about them...Sounds like the bad guys thought they were being chased/confronted and when he made a u-turn, they realized it wasn't who they thought so went on their way.  What time of night did this happen?  Not a good idea to follow too closely but there have been times at night that I tried to follow another car because I can't see the road.  Actually, since I drove on the wrong side of the road, my dh hasn't let me drive at night, for which I am grateful! lol  

Twice this week we have seen state police w/covered faces ready traveling through Chapala and Ixtlahaucan during the day.  Thursday, they also had some sort of smaller white cargo truck with them that had the back doors open, I couldn't see if there were dogs or what was the reason the doors would be open but they signaled for people to get over.  Friday, at 7 a.m. I was awakened by boom's, then a short set of booms.  Did not sound like fiesta fireworks which are spaced out.  Sounded like heavy guns.  But the girls in SL told me there is a fiesta in Chapala, which I then discarded the booms....but if there's a fiesta, why haven't there been booms since then?  Is there a fiesta in Chapala right now?  If so, they always bring in the hoodlums.

hoodlums be damned! why are you always so paranoid? st francis is the patron saint of chapala and the fiesta lasts 9 days. every evening the fireworks tower[i forgot the name in espanol] is set off in the early evening. yvonne tells me the carnival rides etc. are set up, no doubt attracting many hoodlums. you'd best stay in your enclave.

I thouight St. Andres was the patron saint of Chapala, but indeed it's St. Francis of Assisi.

There is a festival in Chapala, I watched a parade go by ...St. Francis I think? There have been fireworks all day and night so that is what the booms are all about.
I have had the feeling that there might be something else going on because there has been a very high state police presence all week long. Yesterday there was a very slick looking police bus parked in front of the Juzgado (I think that's what it's called) on Zaragoza in chapala, and maybe 30 or so camouflage clad - rifle toting soldiers lining the street. But things have been peaceful here in town as far as I can tell so who knows what that was about.

from what i can remember,every night there will be a parade for a group to be blessed at the church. eg. truckers. all blasting their horns off course. that fireworks tower is set up in front of the church by the way and is quite impressive.

Just to clarify: Each town has its own patron saint and a yearly festival in his or her honor. The patron saint of Ajijic is San Andres and the full name of the pueblo is San Andres de Ajijic. The patron saint of Chapala is San Francisco (Saint Francis of Assisi). However, I have never seen Chapala referred to as San Francisco de Chapala.

Each barrio has its own saint and fiesta as well...

Right.

(quote) every evening the fireworks tower[i forgot the name in espanol] is set off in the early evening.(quote)

I believe the fireworks tower is called a castillo.

Pedro: The fireworks towers are castillos, and Chapala´s are magnificent.

So were there fireworks at 7 a.m. Friday morning?

Probably not, but the cohetes go off anytime day, night or morning--or all three.

MyHomeSweetHome wrote:So were there fireworks at 7 a.m. Friday morning?

Yeah, there's a barrage of cojetes at 7a.m. every day of the fiesta...which is why I'm wide awake and responding to your post right now.

Back on topic: Yes, you can have a permit here to carry a gun. It is about $600usd a year, and a lot of paperwork. Conditions are limited. Spencer would know more in this area.

I love gun control debates. Here is a good, objective report, with all the bias, hype, and drama left out:  http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlpp/Vol30_No2_KatesMauseronline.pdf

As for crime, it is back in season. This was not the only case in the last two weeks.

Dr. Sam Thelin wrote:

As for crime, it is back in season. This was not the only case in the last two weeks.

This is the rumor zone, what else has happened in the past 2 weeks? Are you talking about the libramiento or another area lakeside? My question to the op, do you know what time of night it happened? Yes, there are times when we must travel in the dark and yes we do use the libramiento. This evening we followed a long line of cars out.

If there is a new spate of crime, why would the head doctor of Cruz Roja drop a teasing hint on a web board and leave it at that? As MHSH rightly wonders: what has happened in the last two weeks? Where has it happened? What precautions should we be taking?
People in respected positions of authority who have access to information we do not should be providing answers to the community they serve. Instead, Dr. Sam Thelin drops teasing hints generating uneasiness and generalized fear among the susceptible. Way to go, Dr. Thelin.

MyHomeSweetHome wrote:

Dr. Sam Thelin wrote:

As for crime, it is back in season. This was not the only case in the last two weeks.

This is the rumor zone, what else has happened in the past 2 weeks?  Are you talking about the libramiento or another area lakeside?  My question to the op, do you know what time of night it happened?  Yes, there are times when we must travel in the dark and yes we do use the libramiento.  This evening we followed a long line of cars out.  

It was shortly after 11:00 p.m....and there was no one else on that road at the time. But there are always a lot of cars on the libramiento on Sunday evenings and last night there must have been even more because of the fiestas.

That road is not safe at night, a lot of bad stuff happens on that road at night . That maneuver of abruptly stopping and blocking the road is a common move used by the bad guys . The libramiento is pitch dark at night and most of it has very little shoulder to facilitate a turn. Who uses that road at night? I have not been on that road at night in 2 years.