A National Guardsman told WLS-TV his military training kicked in after three males converged upon him in a Chicago alley Friday morning, when one of them held a gun to his head and said, “I’m gonna kill you unless you give us your wallet.”
What are the details?
Ryan King, 30, is stationed in Terre Haute, Indiana, and was in Chicago last week visiting family, WFLD-TV reported.
After a workout at a gym, King turned into an alley near the corner of Wabansia and Oakley Avenues around 11 a.m. to get back to his mother’s apartment when a dark-colored vehicle pulled up and three people got out, police told WFLD.
“One of them had a gun, and he showed it to my face, and he brought it to the side of my head,” King told WLS, adding that’s when the gunman threatened to kill him unless he gave up his wallet.
Image source: WLS-TV video screenshot
At that point he told WLS his military training took over: King said he was taught to not panic in life-and-death situations.
“I wasn’t Jason Bourne; I wasn’t knocking 20 guys off me all at once,” he noted to WLS, adding that “all I had to do was just remain calm, and most people can do that, too … they can train themselves to do that.”
Image source: WLS-TV video screenshot
King told WFLD that moments later, a passerby saw the mugging and yelled, which is when more of King’s training and instincts helped out — and video shows him throwing a hard elbow at one of the crooks and running from the stick-up.
Image source: WLS-TV video screenshot
Image source: WLS-TV video screenshot
WLS said King ended up not handing over his wallet and got away without injury.
Advice
King also offered advice to others, WLS said: “People need to remain aware of their surroundings at all times … you should do that pretty much anywhere you’re at … it doesn’t matter if it’s night or daytime, you know anything can happen at any time.”
He also told the station that people should get training on how to remain calm under pressure, adding that he believes that’s what helped him during the attempted robbery and that his calm demeanor caught his attackers off guard and confused them.