Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Robbed

My eighteen year old son was robbed on the bus yesterday. No, there wasn't a weapon involved, but the punk threatened him, took his money and bus pass and stole my son's sense of safety.

My son is a pretty big kid, 6'2 and 220 pounds. The guy who robbed him was shorter, but he was also high and wearing a jacket that made it hard to tell if he was armed or not. So E opened his wallet, handed him his money and the guy told him he wanted his bus pass, too. So E gave it to him and said, "This is my stop, can I get off?" The guy moved out of the way and E asked, "Where are you getting off at?"

The idiot told him.

E was on the phone before the bus was out of sight and the cops got the guy as he got off the bus.

As a mom, I'm proud of the way my kid handled himself. He didn't try to play the hero, but was smart enough to take in the details of what the guy was wearing and ask where he was getting off. I am also angry that my son isn't sure how to feel about riding the bus... his sense of safety has been breached. This from a kid who loved the sense of freedom the mass transit system here gave him. We live in a suburb of Portland where the cops are so bored that six of them showed up for a petty robbery. This doesn't happen here. Except, I guess it does.

Pretty sad.

11 comments:

Heather Harper said...

Crime (or stupidity) doesn't pay. ;-)

As for your boy, tell him WTG! Sorry he had to go through that, but what a smart response. :-)

PJ Hoover said...

You should be way proud! What an awesome way to deal with a bad situation.

The (Mis)Adventures of a Single City Chick said...

Teri, that is awful! I'm so sorry to hear it. As a mother you are no doubt afraid to see this happen, angry someone took such senseless advantage and so very proud at how maturely and smartly your son handled it all. WAY too many emotions to be feeling at once. I'm just glad they caught the guy, so your son was able to have some justice.

Christina

Anonymous said...

So sorry to hear this happened! But you son handled it Really Well.

Annie said...

I'm just glad that E wasn't hurt physically. Scary stuff!

Jessica Burkhart said...

Wow, I would have been terrified. I'm sorry to hear he went through that, but he definitely did the right thing.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, im 6'3" 225. Get your facts right Mom! Thanks for the props though!

Anonymous said...

Wow. Your son did ALL the right things. What a hero he is! He didn't play macho and do stupid stuff like say no or try to stop the guy (you just never know what someone that's high and/or desperate will try to do). Instead, he was the smart one, got all the necessary info and then let the cops nail the dumbass.

High fives to your son! I'm so proud of him!

And I'd be freakin traumatized too, but I'm pretty sure that'll fade. I'd say you're probably in a safe area and this was an anomaly.

Sara Hantz said...

Yikes! He did so well though. Such clear thinking. You must be very proud.

Anonymous said...

Good for E! That was smart thinkin' Lincoln!

When my oldest DD and I were in Alexandria, VA several years ago (exactly three weeks before 9-11) I was almost robbed too. Growing up in Portland I knew how to "stare down" the potential robber. My husband, the farm boy, always told me he did not worry about me as I was pretty street smart (5'2" and when I was young 110 lbs soaking wet) - anyway, as this guy eyeballed my fanny pack I stared him down, looking at his eyes down to his shoes so I could describe him (my daughter was freaked out that I would do this) what did the guy do? Looked at me and walked away . . .

I say good for "E".

Rachel Vincent said...

I'm so sorry about E's trauma! How's he holding up?