Gringo shot & wounded in Medellin

calipro says on Jul 11, 2006, 19:48:

A live and posting..... http://www.worldlovecollege.com/Messages/MessageEdit.asp?Mode=Read&School=Main&ScreenWidth=0&MessageID=28141&ParentID=0;

I know the guy. He was shot in the leg.

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tejasmarcos says on Jul 11, 2006, 21:11:

sure would like to know where he was at when all this occurred. what barrio? what intersection? bank?

CALIPRO - anyway to get him to post info at PBH?

trying to walk a straight line on sour mash and cheap wine...

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miamimike says on Jul 11, 2006, 22:13:

Intersting Thread but not surprising http://www.worldlovecollege.com/Messages/MessageEdit.asp?Mode=Read&School=Main&ScreenWidth=0&MessageID=28141&ParentID=0;


"On Monday, June 12, 2006, I was returning home in a taxi. I had spent the day running errands, in particular attempting to get cash advances and ATM withdrawals from a bank as part of getting my money together to buy a condo here. The bank branch where I usually stop in would not give me as large a cash advance as they might otherwise, so the always-friendly woman at the side desk wrote down the address of another branch where I could go to get another cash advance. One of the advantages of that other branch is that they have late hours. I got a cash advance and then got something to eat. At 7:20pm I grabbed a taxi and went home. The taxi had nearly arrived at the apartment where I am staying. There is a construction area nearby which had forced the taxi to stop, and make a hard left turn before proceeding up a hill. It was getting dark and I had trouble seeing very well. At 7:27pm, just seconds after the taxi started to proceed, I saw through the left-side rear taxi window a man running around crazily, apparently agitated and and waiving around a gun. I could not understand what the man was yelling in Spanish, and I froze up and didn't know what to do. I was also not completely sure at the time if he was yelling at me, maybe he was yelling at the taxi driver instead. (Later, the taxi driver claimed the gunman had said "Give me your money, you son of a bitch, all of it, or I will kill the two of you.") It was a surreal moment and I had trouble comprehending the meaning of the gun I was looking at. My first reaction could have been to move toward the left-side rear taxi window and find out what the man wanted. But I didn't move. I just sat there for one split-second too long."
Wonder if the Female and the taxi driver were both in on the Heist or just the bank teller who "Directed" him to another Bank Branch? SOunds like one or both of these had an eventful day planned for this guy! Damn lucky he is to be alive!

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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miamimike says on Jul 11, 2006, 22:48:

The Guy shot posted this in a subsuquent follow up on his Shoot ing.---"Some clarifications and responses regarding the shooting

**********1. I was followed after doing banking at Centro Comercial Del Sur, not El Centro. I was followed into Poblado.************

2. I agree with HEAT that this event would have been less likely to happen if all citizens of Colombia (or any country) were armed or had the right to be armed. A gunman would have to think twice about when somebody would defend themselves and fight back. Here there was and is no such fear. Every person has the unequivocal moral and human right to defend themselves against clear threats to their life.

3. HOWEVER, I agree with Pete that having a gun in this particular situation could well have escalated events into a fatal gunfight. I was up against a professional criminal who had the element of surprise, the darkness, and a partner on his side. This situation was better to be avoided rather than have a test of my gun skills versus the other [two] person's in this situation.

4. My leg looks relatively okay visually, but this is deceptive. The damage and inflamation are mostly on the inside where you cannot see it. The entire area below the wound all the way to my heel is painful to the touch. I engage in ongoing daily battles with my leg to reduce inflamation and improve motion. The biggest problem is there is damage or problems with the tendons such that my foot won't lay flat on the ground; it won't lay flat in a 90 degree angle to my lower leg. I have to tug on my foot with force just to get it to do 30% of what it used to do (bend up). And I don't quite understand why yanking on rock-hard tendons is supposed to be good for those tendons. Obviously I need somebody to explain to me the physiology. I need to resolve this situation so I can walk again.

5. Obviously I need moral support."

Had this happened here in Miami or NYC, that Treatment would have ran him minimally $30,000 instead of $2700!

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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miamimike says on Jul 12, 2006, 13:18:

went to the eltiempo.com archives and was surprised that this story wasn't the archives. Not a mention,,

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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Ctg Bound says on Jul 12, 2006, 15:09:

miamimike I doubt this sort of thing would get much of a mention in any City, it happens all the time around the world.

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miamimike says on Jul 12, 2006, 16:23:

True but usually when some Gringo gets nailed it makes the news(or a footnote) in Colombia, it did that other time in recent hsitory when that College Prof got shot and killed in Cali (if I remember correctly)

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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utopiacowboy says on Jul 12, 2006, 17:23:

Much of a mention in any city? No, Senor. In San Antonio, it would be the lead story on the nightly news. Occurrences like this don't even get reported in Medellin or else they get a five line story on page 8 of El Colombiano. Talk to anybody in Medellin and they've got a long list of stories of friends and acquaintances getting shot. If two guys on a moto shoot and miss their target but hit a bystander, my wife calls it an accident.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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miamimike says on Jul 12, 2006, 18:38:

In Miami, The Herald Reports all Murders and Shootings This would have made the news for sure; Moreso the victimn being a Tourist.

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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calipro says on Jul 12, 2006, 21:48:

I wasn't shot but have pity on me anyway..... I LIVE IN PHOENIX !!!

We have two serial killers on the loose that have killed at least 20 people in the past year. Maybe it doesn't make any difference for the rest of you but I'd like to die for a reason even if it's because someone wants my money. My real fear is to simply die for no reason like what's happening here in Phoenix.

Here's a news article from today's paper.

More deaths tied to 2 serial killers

Judi Villa
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 12, 2006 12:00 AM


A serial killer who has been terrorizing Phoenix for nearly a year murdered his first victim in Tempe, beginning his killing spree three months earlier than initially suspected, authorities told The Arizona Republic on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, police said two other series of random shootings in Phoenix likely are the work of one predator and not two. A fifth murder has been added to the death tally from those shootings.

Residents in some of Phoenix's most at-risk areas remain paralyzed by fear, as police continue to work round-the-clock to find the predators. advertisement




"I have no doubt that we will catch the people responsible for both of these crimes," Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris said in an interview with The Republic. "My concern is that we can solve it before there's another victim on either one. These are deadly crimes being carried out by very cowardly people."

About 80 officers are assigned to a task force looking for the "Baseline Rapist" and an additional three dozen are focused on the serial shooter.

The "arrest of these animals" remains a top priority for the city, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon said. The reward for information that would solve the series of violent crimes rose to an unprecedented $100,000 on Tuesday.


Random victims
Since August 2005, the Baseline Rapist has been raping, robbing and killing victims who appear to be chosen at random. He now is blamed for six murders and 15 other crimes, including a Sept. 28 robbery in Tempe that was added to the list Tuesday.

Police had believed he first killed in December. But, on Tuesday, Phoenix police said he murdered a Tempe woman in September.

Georgia Thompson, 19, was found shot in the head and lying face down in a parking lot outside her Tempe apartment on Sept. 8. In December, Tempe police arrested James Dewayne Mullins, 32, after they said Mullins admitted killing Thompson after he was arrested for burglary in Kentucky.

"We have irrefutable evidence to link their homicide to our homicides," Phoenix police Cmdr. Bill Louis said. Louis would not elaborate on what the evidence was.

Mullins is in a Maricopa County jail awaiting trial involving Thompson's murder, and it was unclear Tuesday if he would be released. Tempe police Sgt. Dan Masters said his detectives remain convinced they arrested the right man. But, he said, the investigation is continuing, and "we will look at other possibilities."

"At this point, we believe the person responsible for the murder of Georgia Thompson is in custody," Masters said.

Thompson's father, Bill, said Tuesday that he was skeptical about any evidence that would link his daughter's killing to the Baseline Rapist, pointing out that Tempe police "caught somebody who admitted to it."

"The only one it serves is the guy that confessed to shooting her," Thompson said. "There's nothing we can do to bring (Georgia) back or help with the case."

Thompson was killed at the Saddle Club Apartment Homes, near Mill Avenue and U.S. 60. The Tempe robbery was in the parking lot of a drug store on Baseline Road near Priest Drive, just east of where the attacks began in Phoenix. Most recently, the Baseline Rapist has targeted the central Phoenix area bounded by 24th and 40th streets and Thomas and Indian School roads.

Finding the Baseline Rapist has been particularly troublesome because the attacker wears disguises and appears to pick his victims randomly. The only common link between the attacks is that the victims mostly are abducted after dark from secluded areas, making it difficult to "profile and predict where it's going to happen," Harris said.

"In my experience, the most difficult shooting cases or homicide cases are the ones that are most random," Harris said. "There is no rhyme or reason to figure out why this is happening.

"The frustration is extremely high."

Phoenix police have consulted with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and detectives have culled cases involving other serial killers across the country looking for patterns and profiles that could help them. They also have been canvassing neighborhoods to distribute information about the Baseline Rapist and encourage people to call with any information. There is a composite sketch of the Baseline Rapist, but Louis said the drawing "is more than likely a disguise."

"He may not look like that," Louis said. "We don't know who we're looking for. That's the difficult thing. He could look like anybody, drive anything, and we wouldn't know it."


Valley gunman
The serial shooter has been equally perplexing. Even though the string of random shootings began in May 2005, with people and animals targeted, he has remained so elusive that no suspect description has emerged. Police believe the shooter is a different person from the Baseline Rapist.

Thirty-four shootings, including 13 in the past two months, now are attributed to this predator, with five people dead and 18 wounded. Louis said similarities in the method, the times of day when the shootings took place and the profile of victims led detectives to believe that all the serial shootings "may be related."

Previously, the string of shootings that began in May 2005 was investigated independently of the 13 random shootings in the past two months.

Police also confirmed Tuesday that a May 2 shooting death in Scottsdale is likely linked.

Claudia Gutierrez-Cruz, 20, was walking on the sidewalk in the 6100 block of West Thomas Road when she was shot at 10:30 p.m. The latest two victims, a man and a woman, were shot 20 minutes apart early Saturday. The serial shooter targets people walking, biking or outside alone, generally between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.

A 44-year-old Phoenix man, who was shot May 31 while taking a night stroll at 86th Street and Camelback Road, called the serial shooter "the scum of the earth."

"There's a lot of fear out there," he said. "I'll feel a whole lot better when they catch the guy."

More deaths tied to 2 serial killers

Judi Villa
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 12, 2006 12:00 AM


A serial killer who has been terrorizing Phoenix for nearly a year murdered his first victim in Tempe, beginning his killing spree three months earlier than initially suspected, authorities told The Arizona Republic on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, police said two other series of random shootings in Phoenix likely are the work of one predator and not two. A fifth murder has been added to the death tally from those shootings.

Residents in some of Phoenix's most at-risk areas remain paralyzed by fear, as police continue to work round-the-clock to find the predators. advertisement




"I have no doubt that we will catch the people responsible for both of these crimes," Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris said in an interview with The Republic. "My concern is that we can solve it before there's another victim on either one. These are deadly crimes being carried out by very cowardly people."

About 80 officers are assigned to a task force looking for the "Baseline Rapist" and an additional three dozen are focused on the serial shooter.

The "arrest of these animals" remains a top priority for the city, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon said. The reward for information that would solve the series of violent crimes rose to an unprecedented $100,000 on Tuesday.


Random victims
Since August 2005, the Baseline Rapist has been raping, robbing and killing victims who appear to be chosen at random. He now is blamed for six murders and 15 other crimes, including a Sept. 28 robbery in Tempe that was added to the list Tuesday.

Police had believed he first killed in December. But, on Tuesday, Phoenix police said he murdered a Tempe woman in September.

Georgia Thompson, 19, was found shot in the head and lying face down in a parking lot outside her Tempe apartment on Sept. 8. In December, Tempe police arrested James Dewayne Mullins, 32, after they said Mullins admitted killing Thompson after he was arrested for burglary in Kentucky.

"We have irrefutable evidence to link their homicide to our homicides," Phoenix police Cmdr. Bill Louis said. Louis would not elaborate on what the evidence was.

Mullins is in a Maricopa County jail awaiting trial involving Thompson's murder, and it was unclear Tuesday if he would be released. Tempe police Sgt. Dan Masters said his detectives remain convinced they arrested the right man. But, he said, the investigation is continuing, and "we will look at other possibilities."

"At this point, we believe the person responsible for the murder of Georgia Thompson is in custody," Masters said.

Thompson's father, Bill, said Tuesday that he was skeptical about any evidence that would link his daughter's killing to the Baseline Rapist, pointing out that Tempe police "caught somebody who admitted to it."

"The only one it serves is the guy that confessed to shooting her," Thompson said. "There's nothing we can do to bring (Georgia) back or help with the case."

Thompson was killed at the Saddle Club Apartment Homes, near Mill Avenue and U.S. 60. The Tempe robbery was in the parking lot of a drug store on Baseline Road near Priest Drive, just east of where the attacks began in Phoenix. Most recently, the Baseline Rapist has targeted the central Phoenix area bounded by 24th and 40th streets and Thomas and Indian School roads.

Finding the Baseline Rapist has been particularly troublesome because the attacker wears disguises and appears to pick his victims randomly. The only common link between the attacks is that the victims mostly are abducted after dark from secluded areas, making it difficult to "profile and predict where it's going to happen," Harris said.

"In my experience, the most difficult shooting cases or homicide cases are the ones that are most random," Harris said. "There is no rhyme or reason to figure out why this is happening.

"The frustration is extremely high."

Phoenix police have consulted with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and detectives have culled cases involving other serial killers across the country looking for patterns and profiles that could help them. They also have been canvassing neighborhoods to distribute information about the Baseline Rapist and encourage people to call with any information. There is a composite sketch of the Baseline Rapist, but Louis said the drawing "is more than likely a disguise."

"He may not look like that," Louis said. "We don't know who we're looking for. That's the difficult thing. He could look like anybody, drive anything, and we wouldn't know it."


Valley gunman
The serial shooter has been equally perplexing. Even though the string of random shootings began in May 2005, with people and animals targeted, he has remained so elusive that no suspect description has emerged. Police believe the shooter is a different person from the Baseline Rapist.

Thirty-four shootings, including 13 in the past two months, now are attributed to this predator, with five people dead and 18 wounded. Louis said similarities in the method, the times of day when the shootings took place and the profile of victims led detectives to believe that all the serial shootings "may be related."

Previously, the string of shootings that began in May 2005 was investigated independently of the 13 random shootings in the past two months.

Police also confirmed Tuesday that a May 2 shooting death in Scottsdale is likely linked.

Claudia Gutierrez-Cruz, 20, was walking on the sidewalk in the 6100 block of West Thomas Road when she was shot at 10:30 p.m. The latest two victims, a man and a woman, were shot 20 minutes apart early Saturday. The serial shooter targets people walking, biking or outside alone, generally between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.

A 44-year-old Phoenix man, who was shot May 31 while taking a night stroll at 86th Street and Camelback Road, called the serial shooter "the scum of the earth."

"There's a lot of fear out there," he said. "I'll feel a whole lot better when they catch the guy."

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Ctg Bound says on Jul 13, 2006, 05:58:

miamimike The professor was killed, also he wasn't a tourist, nor was the guy in this post, they were both living in Colombia as somebody else was saying.

As to all robberies being reported in all the Cities, no way, unless San Antonio is some sort of place that not much occurs.

I never forget living in London, two guys were killed in a pub at the end of the street, didn't see it on any news channels, only place I read it was in the local free paper. I have seen many other things in differant Countries, though not killings and rarely seen anything mentioned in the press, let alone making the TV, so many people robbed and wounded each day in differant Cities, there would be no room for any other news.

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Ctg Bound says on Jul 13, 2006, 07:12:

DonGringo So every murder is reported in every City on the international press, BULLSHIT.

Sorry to say that I have spent a lot longer in Colombia than your few years, plus have several gringo friends who live here and retired here that are ex law inforcement people from the US, they ALL tell me that they feel the streets in general in Colombia are safer than the major US City counterparts where they worked until they retired.

They nor I believe anywhere is 100% safe (Colombia included), but I have NO idea why you live in Colombia as GIB and now Don Gringo you report the same mix of truth and fiction, go home where you can live in your ficional safe world called the US.

YOUR A JOKE GIB.

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Ctg Bound says on Jul 13, 2006, 13:24:

DonGringo I suggest YOU RE-READ my post then first, "As to every robberies being reported in all the Cities no way...."

What was your comment YEAH RIGHT then bring up the German murder, what is that to do with every robbery and murder being reported, because obviously in that case it was, but you are talking about the international press, which I never even mentioned in the miamimike post, I was talking about national/local press.

I also didn't say NO robberies and murders that were commited were not reported in the press, just not all of them, some murders are not, most armed roberies and woundings are not reported in the national/local press, maybe if you look through every paper that a Country has you will find every murder reported on in that particular Country, when the two people were killed in my local pub, I looked through several tabloid national papers, nothing, but found it in the local free newspaper, so it was reported, but I would hardly class it as being a well reported incident.

So I suggest YOU stick to what we were taking about first, before complaining about me.

As to the press not reporting murders etc in Colombia, you must watch differant news channels to me, where it is constantly on the news here, far more than I see in other Countries.

You say in another post...

"I beleive the press is being stifled here as far as reporting anything that would put a black eye on tourism."

You keep coming up with this one, yet surely the press being the press, this would have been reported on long ago, wether in Colombia or from outside, any news link artciles to back up what you keep going on about.

As to my ex US law enforcement friends, they have on average also LIVED here longer than you, they were not office Police, but for most of the time in the US they were on the streets, so I will take their word over stranger off PBH. They also do not say that Colombia is 100% safe, but did I not post that.

As to knowing about you, well you like to post a lot about yourself on here, so anybody who reads PBH, will know what you post here and can take what views they want from your posts, a number of us know that you are making stories up mixed in with the truth, so if you tell us that you have only been here a few years, I suppose that it could just be another one of your stories, you know what they say about the boy who cried wolf.

I don't live in Ctg, don't know where you get that idea from, maybe the handle, but whats in a handle?

But why are you saying over there, are you not even in Colombia, interesting.

As to me, on a personnel level I don't care if tourists come to Colombia or not, I have little to do with foreigners here. Although I am quite happy for Colombia if more foreigners do come.

But maybe thats the problem, you want to be the only gringo in Bogota, could that be why you go by Don Gringo, maybe there is more to this handle business than I thought.

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aztec says on Jul 13, 2006, 14:29:

Ctg Bound, calm down... ...you just got here.

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Ctg Bound says on Jul 13, 2006, 15:43:

aztec Not really, been here since 1999.

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utopiacowboy says on Jul 13, 2006, 17:09:

There is never an end to the gringos' standard line that Colombia is one of the safest places on earth. I guess they need to believe it.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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tomtom33 says on Jul 13, 2006, 19:03:

CB has been around on PBH for a long time under another name. And he has lived in Colombia for many years. He didn't just fall off the turnip truck.

Damn, UC. You mean I am not that safe living in Colombia? I mostly just hang around my apartment in Laguito and don't go out much at night. I must admit that the chicas do seem a little dangerous. But I like 'em that way.

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miamimike says on Jul 13, 2006, 19:28:

Ctg Bound I think you are splitting hairs.;.Bottom line they got Shot!!! True while the two victims were not short term tourists, they were both Gringos and they both got Nailed, one permenently. Actually if they were short term visitors there would be more of an Excuse but since these guys were there long term they should have known the Ropes and what to avoid. Especially making Large withdrawals and hitting the street...

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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Gomezman5 says on Jul 13, 2006, 19:47:

I love this quote "the press is being stifled here as far as reporting anything that would put a black eye on tourism."

From DonGringo

You are right. I think the press is being stiffled and if you ask me it is being stiffled because of some threats coming from PBH's Go Go Colombia Club. Their influence is expanding well beyond hurling insults at the G5 for calling Colombia a dangerous country.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Jul 13, 2006, 20:46:

Puleaze The press is being stifled? By whom? The tourism goon squad?

The murder of the professor in Cali DID get press, first of all. And another person robbed at gunpoint and wounded, whether gringo or Colombiano, just isn't newsworthy. Even in big American cities a very small fraction of violent crimes are covered. Basically, to get your murder written up in, say, New York, you either have to be a celeb, be murdered by a celeb, or be a child killed in a very gruesome way. Plain old high-speed lead poisoning just doesn't make the cut.

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miamimike says on Jul 13, 2006, 21:37:

Gotta Disagree with those who say ATM Robberies or Murders don't make the News. As Evidence of my claim, I went to the Tampa Tribune Now to check what murders were on the front page and by chance a ATM robbery was there on the front page,. This makes the news here also:

"2nd Arrest In ATM Robbery
Skip directly to the full story.




By CANDACE J. SAMOLINSKI The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jul 12, 2006

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EDITOR'S NOTE: The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says the second suspect has taken into custody, and Temple Terrace police have scheduled a 10 a.m. news conference to discuss the case. Stay with TBO.com for updates.

+ + +

TEMPLE TERRACE - Stan Jackowski stood outside a bank on Fowler Avenue early Tuesday with a pistol pointed at his abdomen and wondered, "What if?"

What if he had followed his instincts against stopping at the ATM at 2:30 a.m.? What if, instead of trying to reason with the young men who stood before him, he simply had handed over his wallet and the cash he had withdrawn? What if he never again saw his wife of 36 years, Shirley?

Jackowski sat in the living room of his Valrico home Wednesday and pondered an even bigger question: What if the gun had not misfired?

"I probably wouldn't be here," said the 60-year-old truck driver. "I guess my wife was right when she said my guardian angel was watching over me."

Temple Terrace police identified the two men late Wednesday night as Sherman L. Bryant, 17, of Tampa, and Brandon J. McMillan, 16, of Brandon. Authorities arrested Bryant on Wednesday night and were searching for McMillan. They are accused of robbing Jackowski and a man who asked that his name not be released.

The robberies happened less than 24 hours apart outside the Wachovia bank at 5880 E. Fowler Ave. as the men left the ATM, said Lt. Chris Jeffords. Images of the robbers were captured by a surveillance camera in the ATM.

The first robbery was at 6:19 a.m. Monday as traffic clogged Fowler Avenue near 56th Street. That victim, who is 45 and from Thonotosassa, was forced to withdraw additional money, Jeffords said. The robbers shoved him and threatened to shoot him. He was robbed of $250.

In Jackowski's case, he stopped at the ATM, which he has used about once a week for several years, on his way to a job. He made the stop to avoid late-day traffic but ended up spending the afternoon at his doctor's office.

Looking back on his ordeal, Jackowski said he wishes he had done what police recommend: Just hand over the money.

"I saw them and I thought, 'They don't look so bad.' So, I told them, 'You don't have to do this. Just walk away and let me finish my business,'" he said. "The bigger one said, 'Give it up or I'll shoot you.' Then he lifted up his shirt and the gun was under there. He pointed it at me and pulled the trigger."

When the gun didn't fire, the teenagers began beating Jackowski. He's nursing a bruise where he was kicked in the area of his right kidney as he lay on the ground. His face was bruised and scratched. He was robbed of $60.

"One of the fellas was beating the tar out of me while the other one went through my pockets," he said. "I didn't fight back. I [was] trying not to get them mad."

Jackowski holds a concealed weapons permit but was not carrying a firearm because he was on his way to work and his employer does not allow workers to be armed.

At first Jackowski was hesitant to talk publicly about the robbery, then he asked himself another question: What if his story helps to stop the thieves before someone is killed?

"I hope somebody will please call the police if they know them," he said.

Anyone with information about the robbery can call Temple Terrace police at (813) 989-7118.

Thank God the Gun misfired and he's here telling the story! And Beleive me, the Tampa Tribune(a big city newpaper by any standard)would also have run the story had he been killed!

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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Ctg Bound says on Jul 14, 2006, 06:03:

UC Don't know about Colombia being the safest place on the World. I certainly avoid doing certain things in Colombia, but then I avoid doing certain things in other Countries.

miamimike

Most robberies with woundings do not get reported in the media, its just not news worthy, although some will. It will depend where you live, if nothing happens in San Antonio, everything is going to get reported.

Only a small percentage of crimes even get reported to the Police in developed Countries let alone developing ones, of those just a few make it to the media, ones like Mr. Hollywood describes.

The only large scale study that I have read about in recent years was commissioned by the UK goverment which was blaming media hype on the criminal problems there, they set up a independant group led by a judge, to do a study into crime in the UK, which took three years to report their findings, which came out in the spring of 2005, the report was hushed up and was not reported on much, because it reported that only 10% of crimes were being registered by the Police. If 90% of crimes are not getting reported to the Police (although most of the 90% are not going to be seriouse woundings etc) and not all reported woundings to the Police are being covered by the media there, what percentage isn't being covered...?

Also the reason I added is that the foreigners lived in Colombia, was because people kept calling them tourists and on another thread that few tourists go to Colombia etc. How many foreigners are killed in the US each year, if you include the ones that live there, probably in the high hundreds.

If you go back to my original post I only said, "miamimike I doubt this sort of thing would get much of a mention in any City, it happens all the time around the world." which I stand by.

One question that I haven't seen anybody ask, did he even report it to the Police.

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Ctg Bound says on Jul 14, 2006, 06:22:

DonGringo I have yet to see a post by anyone saying they should change their habits in Colombia, they should change their habits wherever they are in the world when they move to differant enviroments, isn't there actually threads on PBH related to that topic, under Colombian safety.

As to tourist expert, I don't know much more about tourism in Colombia or elsewhere that you can see with your eyes and read in the press, so I am certainly no expert on it.

As to your posts on what happen to people in Colombia, do all of them actually happen, aren't you the person who wrote the article of the big shoot out on the street in Bogota that you witnessed and bullets flying everywhere etc, yet when questioned by other people living in Bogota where exactly this happened you clam up.

Also dodn't you also write a artcile about blood on the floor with some gringos stabbed in a certain bar in Bogota, yet when you were questioned on that stabbing in the bar by another member, you clammed up pretty quick on the details, because it never actually happned.

I could go on, but to me you are a bit of a joke, I sometimes mention you to other foreign friends who live in Colombia for a few years to forty who I see occasionaly, we have a good laugh about you.

So I tend not to pay much attention to you, because I never know which parts are true or not.

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Ctg Bound says on Jul 14, 2006, 07:51:

DonGringo Sounds like I am winding you up nicely, isn't that why you post your garbage on here GIB.

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miamimike says on Jul 14, 2006, 10:43:

CTG, Last I knew Tampa was(and still is) a Pretty Major US City with lots of people.....

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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Miguel says on Jul 14, 2006, 12:25:

I loved DG/GIB's line... "Too bad people can't feel free to post their experiences here without being attacked."

No shit.

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Ctg Bound says on Jul 14, 2006, 13:24:

miamimike "CTG, Last I knew Tampa was(and still is) a Pretty Major
US City with lots of people....."

Still doesn't mean that everything is getting reported.

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Ubu says on Jul 14, 2006, 14:05:

Did anyone else notice that a lot of the details in the story sound like bullsh#t? He may well have been shot, but I'd say he's definitely making parts of his story up. Not sure why - perhaps to make it sound more impressive, or more real. Seriously, who, on writing the story of a terrifying experience in which they were shot (terrifying to the point where he froze up and said "I had trouble comprehending the meaning of the gun I was looking at") would be able to (or inclined to) relate details like:

- He got his cash advance, then grabbed a taxi home at 7:20pm, then the incident happened at 7:27pm. Was there a giant flashing red digital clock in the taxi reading 7:27pm? In circumstances like that, people just don't notice or remember that type of detail. They might say "a few minutes later" at best.

There are plenty of other details that don't fit very well, but mostly it's just that the story overall really smells off.

I don't dispute that this sort of thing happens (I defer to the experts on this forum on that count), but I'm tossed up over whether this entire incident was fabricated by the poster (to what end I don't know - maybe he heard a similar story and decided to make it his own), or if some incident happened and he just embellished a lot in his story. Maybe the comment on things being safer if everyone had guns (a refreshingly comical idea - everyone knows that societies without guns have more gun violence, right?) gives some insight, maybe not. I don't doubt that there are a lot of kidnappings in Mexico, but I don't think that "Man on Fire" is a documentary.

Just figured I'd post this perspective since nobody else seemed to mention it.

ubu

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toneloc24 says on Jul 14, 2006, 14:18:

Yeah, I noticed some details were a little off, but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. I think he did get shot and robbed.

It's the idea that he thinks that anyone can make it from a Centro Commercial in El Centro to Poblado within 7 minutes during the 7:20 pm traffic timeframe.

What I still do not see is anywhere where this dude reported anything to the police, if only for the documentation. He went through all the trouble of blogging this experience, but didn't go to the cops? Something's off, esp. since he's not a tourist there.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

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corazon en colombia says on Jul 14, 2006, 16:35:

Don gringo The attitude of some people me cae muy mal. Yeah, first they put a big target sign on them by their clothes and their habits(like being obnoxious, insulting and waving their money around), then they refuse to take precautions, and then they wonder why things happen to them...I wonder if they still are feeling so powerful when that gun is stuck in their face? I'd probably be peeing my pants. Like I have said before...dress like the natives to blend in, keep a low profile(no money waving for me, I am very discreet and polite), and follow safety precautions for heaven's sake!!!! This is not directed at all gringos, but just the ones who need an attitude reajustment about security in Colombia. It is a wonderful place, but some people need to take the blinders off and quit believing it could not happen to you. Anyway, I prefer to be safe than sorry.

Colombia = paradiso

Colombia = paradiso

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Ctg Bound says on Jul 14, 2006, 16:43:

Ubu I have a friend who knows the guy, who told me about the story a few weeks or so ago, so there is a good chance that the majority of his story is correct, I know a few bits more that were repeated to me that were not in the post, but they don't affect the basic story in any way.

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tomtom33 says on Jul 14, 2006, 17:08:

Corazon Very few 6-foot Gringos of Norwegian ancestry are going to blend in no matter what I wear.

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robi666 says on Jul 14, 2006, 17:25:

Tom, drink a bottle of Ron, wear like a Marimonda and go to the Barranquilla carnival, and you'll be blending fine! ;-)

"I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present."

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Ctg Bound says on Jul 14, 2006, 17:27:

robi666 You haven't seen tomtom33, he won't blend in anywhere in Colombia.

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tomtom33 says on Jul 14, 2006, 17:49:

Thanks, CB. I don't drink, either.

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robi666 says on Jul 14, 2006, 18:25:

Then your Norwegian ancestry must be very, very far... I was just joking Tom, it makes me smile when people tell to foreigners to blend... here, every Colombian will know how much shit you have in your pants in a day, no matter what you do to hide. And if they don't get it, the "chismosos" will invent more! I am not saying that it is useless to take precautions, of course. But chances to blend? Naaa...

"I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present."

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mcraig says on Jul 16, 2006, 17:26:

referral Miamimike,

I have read several post addressed to your dental referrals. I am going to be in North Bogota in mid september having some plastic surgery done. I would also like to find a good reasonable priced cosmetic dentist to have some extensive bridge work done. Can you help out?

Thank You
Mcraig

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mcraig says on Jul 16, 2006, 17:34:

handguns Here in Texas where I am from its legal to carry a handgun for protection. I thought it would be a nightmare when the legislation was brought back. But , it has actually worked to bring down the crime rate just like in Arizona an few other states. I am liscensed by the state an carry my handgun in the car under the seat an in the house locked up. I cant tell you that alot of people with guns doesnt bother me because in my case. I have been around guns my whole life with my father hunting as a child an have seen what they can do. Alot people (women mostly) that carry guns are the ones I worry about because women are not usued to the emotions of violence an freeze an if they pull a gun out somebody can just take it way from them an kill them. So its a damm if you do an damm if you dont kinda deal.

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Miguel_Clavo says on Jul 18, 2006, 15:06:

Ctg Bound....You mentioned that you knew several law-enforcement people living in Cartagena as retirees. I am in that same boat and just retired this month. I will be living in Ctg where i have an office, and was interested in meeting some of the people who you wrote about. Let me know how i can contact you off-PBH....Thanks!

By the way, i worked in law enforcement in one of the 10 largest "safe" cities in the US, and we still have 50-60 homicides per year, thousands of armed robberies per year, and in just about every other category as well. So, to the victims and thier families, it is not safe, but to the people not touched by crime it is totally safe! So, is the cup half full or half empty?? and remember, it is the same city (cup) that we are talking about! I feel totally comfortable in all the major cities in Colombia, and i do use the ATMs at night....i just am always aware of my surroundings is the difference, and that comes almost naturally with my occupations.

Just my opinion...

Miguel_Clavo...Listo!! Libertad!!!...Colombia es pasión!

"F.A.R.C..S.U.C.K.S"

"I would rather die living life, than to live a dying life."........ Oh, and my PM is always ON. Great Bumper Sticker: "Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"

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morphus says on Jul 20, 2006, 18:47:

"I heard though a friend in Medellin, that recently a gringo was shot and killed in Medellin taking money out of a ATM"

Thats nothing! Theres was a gringo at my job that died on the job after eating a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. He was sitting at his desk and started having chest pains. Then he collapsed and died. At that moment, I was thinking that I would rather be shot at the ATM in Colombia, rather than croak on the job. That sucks!

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Ctg Bound says on Jul 23, 2006, 04:27:

Miguel_Clavo Sorry they don't live in Ctg, I don't think I said that they they did, they live in Medellin.

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morphus says on Jul 24, 2006, 21:30:

Ok, I think I will be the next gringo to get shot in Medellin. I bought a United States soccer team T-shirt. I hate soccer but i'm going to wear it around Estadio and see what happens.

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tomtom33 says on Jul 25, 2006, 06:47:

Estadio is pretty safe. Try walking around in La Sierra.

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parcero says on Aug 9, 2007, 03:42:

i got an idea how about all u gringo hijueputas stay out of colombia and leave us alone in our own country, im sick an tired of seen gringos walking around colombia thinking they're the shit and to all u gringos who live in compton u think u come out of the ghetto and live life hard i wood love to see u step into a slum in colombia to really see how tough u are i rekon u woodnt survive lol bad neighbourhods in america are like heaven for bad neighbourhoods in colombia

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