Ahh, vacations! A time to relax and unwind. Completely? No, not completely.
Criminals know that vacationing tourists have their guard down. Thus, criminals often target vacationing tourists for this reason. That is why criminals targeted us at a hotel in a state that I will not mention. Such targeting of tourists can happen easily in most states.
My wife and I were sunning ourselves by our hotel pool. I noticed a nearby man on a lawn chair, and he seemed out of place. He did not have on a swimsuit. He seemed alert rather than relaxed. From time to time, he talked quietly on his cell phone.
My wife asked me to get something she had forgotten in our hotel room. I took the elevator up to our floor and got out.
Standing next to the elevators was a fully clothed man who did not enter the elevator when I exited it. He seemed to be just hanging around the elevators.
I walked down the hall to our room and noticed that this man had followed me at a distance. Furthermore, I estimated that he would be close to me by the time I inserted my key and opened my door.
Push in burglary alarm bells rang in my head. For this reason, I did not insert my key. As he approached, I watched him carefully. Then, he kept walking down the hall and turned into the exit so he could take the stairs.
There were several reasons why I felt suspicious of him:
1) Why would someone wait for an elevator that was not busy and then walk down the hall and take the stairs?
2) Why did he pass me just when I might have been ready to enter my room?
3) Was his partner in crime the man on the lawn chair that I mentioned earlier?
I suspect that he did not attempt to rob me because there was less privacy in the hallway than in my room. I also believe that my alertness might have made him believe that my robbery would not be as easy or as safe as with a person more distracted by other thoughts.
If, despite your precautions, you are trapped by a man who wants to rob you of your money, your car, etc., it probably is better to give him what he wants, especially if he seems to be a desperate drug addict. Doing so is better than risking your life. Many criminals have no regard for Exodus 20:13 that reads, “You shall not murder.”
Have you ever had an encounter with a criminal? What did you do? What happened?
