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Hi All,
My "most interesting" brush with death came just over 10 years ago in my "former life" -- I was in the NSW Police for 22 years until 2004.
11pm, Easter Sunday 1997 I was sitting in my home watching T.V when there were was the unmistakable sound of several gun-shots from outside. As I then lived over the Rd from a 24hr/7day petrol station, it was the immediate suspect.
I raced outside and then a little more cautiously to my front yard. There I could see the attendant (who I knew on a first-name basis -- he knew I what I did for a living) holding a revolver pointing it across the shop. I could see he was on the phone.
I crept across the road (armed to the teeth with a tee-shirt and a pair of shorts) and onto the apron of the station -- luckily there were no cars there and I could see inside the shop. There were two Arabic looking guys lying/sitting propped up against the ice-cream freezer just inside the glass doors. The attendant (also Arabic) was conducting a heated "frank and free exchange of views" with them -- mostly in Arabic.
Hiding partly behind a petrol bowser, I waved and tried to get his attention. Finally he noticed me and he waved me over to the shop. I got to the glass doors, the Arabic guys had both been shot, one was bleeding profusely and already had the death-rattles, the other was still arguing the toss with the attendant partly in Arabic, partly in English and asking repeatedly "But why the f**k did you have to shoot me?".
There was a pistol (actually it turned out to be a convincing non-functioning replica) and a butterfly knife on the floor beside them. The attendant still had the revolver trained on them. After I finally got the argumentative one (he was shot in the thigh) to shut-up and roll on one side and the attendant to lower the gun I started to crouch-creep into the shop to kick away the weapons.
I was exactly between the attendant and them when the argument started again and suddenly the "crook" stirred. The attendant, out of instinct and excitement started screaming at him and raised the weapon. The last thing I saw as I was diving was the hammer going back. Somehow (don't ask me how), he failed to let that shot go. There was one more bullet in the gun. I finally flicked the knife and replica gun away with my hands and just then the cavalry arrived.
I was more than a little surprised that I hadn't defecated myself.
I administered basic first-aid to the one who was real bad (shot twice in the kidneys and liver -- surprisingly he lived as it turned out) and then about 10 minutes later when I was outside and shaking like a leaf, a car drove in and a girl hopped out and started shouting "What happened? Is that my boyfriend, oh my God they shot my boyfriend, oh my God why did you have to shoot him ..." and being closest to her I grabbed her and with the assistance of another threw her in the back of a paddy-wagon.
Yep, it was all on video.
The earlier video of the hold-up gone wrong revealed that these guys just ran into the shop full-tilt, hurdled the counter and stabbed the attendant in the forearm (huge gaping wound) all in one action without even getting to the point of asking for money. However, the attendant pushed one back who fell onto the other and then reached down and grabbed his 5-shot .38 cal Smith & Wesson and tracked 'em around the shop until he had two slugs in one and one in the other. 3 out of 4 shots on target ain't bad in the circumstances.
The wobbers got 2 1/2 years each. The girlfriend got a good behaviour bond for being an accessory before the fact (she drove them to the station).
I was recommended for a bravery award. It was declined. I got a 4-line letter congratulating me on "good police-work"
Was it attitude changing for me? Just a little -- in more than one way.
Les D
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