Recently, a man and his wife were driving through Brooklyn, NY. They were sitting at a stoplight when a group of 10 teenagers started crossing in front of them. The light turned green and the teenagers were still in the road when the man honked at them to move out of the way.

As soon as he honked, the youths started kicking and pounding on his car. He got out of the car to assess the damage and they turned their attack on him. He was severely beaten by the pack of teenagers and according to the news, he had a fractured nose, broken septum, and multiple bruises on his body.

As the driver was getting beaten, his wife began dialing 911 as she was dragged from the car and beaten too. Thankfully, the couple didn’t have any life threatening injuries and they survived the attack by these 10 kids.

Stories like these are becoming more commonplace, such as the incident that happened in Virginia when a man was stopped at a red light and someone threw a rock at his car. When the driver got out of the car, he was attacked by a group of 100 youths. Thankfully he survived too.

The fact is, when groups of teenagers (or any group for that matter) get together they often do stupid and dangerous things. That’s why every time you get in your car you should first lock your doors. It doesn’t matter if you’re driving 2 miles to get milk, get in the habit of locking the doors as soon as you get in your vehicle.

Also, it should be obvious that you should never get out of your vehicle if it comes under attack. If kids start kicking your car or someone throws a rock at your car, hit the gas pedal and get out of the area. If people are blocking your forward movement then either run them over (depending on the severity of the situation and whether your life is in danger) or throw it in reverse and back up.

Drive to a police station or someplace safe, call police and only assess the damage done to the vehicle at that time. If you have no way out and you feel you can’t go forward, reverse, left or right, then it’s time to draw your firearm. If a group of people are surrounding your car then simply displaying your firearm will often get them to disperse.

Of course, you never draw a gun just to display it, you draw it because you believe you might have to use deadly force to save your own life or that of a loved one. And if the group of attackers starts smashing your windows and you or your loved one are about to get dragged out of a vehicle then that would be the time to defend yourself with a firearm.

Remember, you can easily shoot through your front windshield just as easily as a side window. So if people are smashing your car or threatening your life and they’re directly in front of you, you don’t have to wait until they’re at your door to protect yourself.

Besides using good situational awareness and hitting the gas pedal to escape a dangerous situation, don’t forget to practice drawing your firearm in your vehicle.

Do this in your garage with the garage door closed (so your neighbors don’t get spooked) and with a safe and empty weapon. Make sure you can quickly get to your gun while seated from wherever your carry position is. You should be able to draw your gun in your vehicle in two seconds or less, just like you should be able to do it in two seconds or less while standing.