When a man armed with a shotgun walked into a bar at closing time and told the customers to get on the floor, the bar’s owners and three patrons jumped him. After taking his shotgun away, they beat the would-be robber so badly he required 19 staples to close the wounds in his head. Police frowned on the enthusiastic pulverizing the bar’s clientele gave the ill-prepared bandit, calling it dangerous and saying they wouldn’t recommend others try it. 

Robberies are common. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which tracks crime trends via the Uniform Crime Reports system (UCRs), there were 420,637 reported robberies in 2002.That works out to a robbery rate of about 146 per 100,000 people. Of those victims, nearly 1,100 were killed — a statistic that’s stayed fairly constant over the past five years.

Although it’s true in some cases the robber intends to kill the victim from the outset, the vast majority of robberies occur without the victim’s death or incapacitation. Most robbery victims die because the robber decides to eliminate the witnesses or the victim offers resistance.

Here are some robbery strategies worth knowing:

Hand over your wallet and valuables. They aren’t worth losing your life over. If possible, toss them to the robber and run in the opposite direction.

If he has a gun, run. It’s hard to hit a running target and, depending on how far he has to chase you, he may simply give up and go the other way.

Don’t let him remove you to another place. If he does — he is going to kill you. Believe it. Take your chances and fight where you stand.

Cops know you stand a better chance of surviving a robbery if you plan ahead.