Situation

[texasccw]

I was recently a victim of a flood here in El Paso and my business was flooded. Since this was the second time that this has happened the property management gave us the option of moving to another facility and they would assist with the move. I agreed and they hired the local moving company to move all the office furniture, tables, etc... Once they arrived I knew that there were going to be problems. I am not a person to judge a book by its cover, but these guys looked like your regular street thugs tattoed, baggy clothes and rude looking. One of the guys even told me he had just gotten out of prison. I am an easy going guy so I told them what it was that I needed moved and they did as asked. We arrived at my new facility and they unloaded all my stuff. I made sure to keep an eye on them since I had a lot of tools around as well as new and used copper wire laying around for my machinery. Needless to say my furniture was somewhat damaged, but I could live with it. Here is the situation which I would like some feedback from you guys here on the forum. Later that evening I had to return to my shop for some paperwork i invited the misses (and 2 year old son) so she can help me to decide how I should put my office furniture. Once I stepped into my conference room area I quickly noticed something on the table which was out of place. The hairs on my neck stood up and I immediately took my wife outside and told her to lock the door and call 911 if there were any issues. In the back of my mind I made a quick mental scan of the days events and I realized that I had not checked to see if my backdoor had been locked before I left for the day. I had a gut feeling that maybe someone had intentionally left the door open (unlocked) with the intention of returning for some items. I got my gun from my vehicle and swept the building all the while my heart was racing. There was nobody in the building, but it has really opened my eyes to situations that happen in a split second. What if we would have caught a person what would have been the reaction, etc...
They say hindsight is foresight so I believe I need to do something to protect myself when I am walking in and out of my business as well as in and out of home at least until my CHL is in hand. What are the laws concerning carrying while at work if it is your place of business? Can I have a loaded gun in my car at arms reach? What would you have done?

[longtooth]

A law abiding citizen can have your gun in your car any time. As owner you can even Open Carry at work if you choose. You can do that w/o the plastic.

Good observation as you walked in. Good check of the building. You will probably get a lot of other suggestions but I see no major holes in your response.

[lrb111]

You can carry in your business teh same as at home. Even open carry if you want. as long as you are the owner, or manager. You can concealed carry on your person in your car..
Since you own your home, car, and business, and you did not get out of the car until getting to work you could be legal all the way to the office, if you just put the gun on at home.
If you think however that you would be getting out of the car at anytime during your route, you would have to leave the gun in the car.

Sounds like you handled the situation admirably.

[Kerbouchard]

Police don't clear unfamiliar buildings by themselves and you probably should not, either. If there actually is somebody in the building, what would you have done if you found him? As it was your first day at your new building, you don't know the guys around you and you don't know who is supposed to be there, and who isn't.

If you actually believed something was wrong, I think you should have called the police and waited for them to arrive.

Just my .02.

[TexasComputerDude]

As owner you can even Open Carry at work if you choose.

does it have to be owner? what about owners son or grandson? or employee with permission?

[texasccw]

Thanks for all the responses. Kerbouchard, you are right. Next time I will call law enforcement and let them handle the sweep of the building. Once the officers arrive am I supposed to let them know that I have a weapon or not? From now on I will carry while I am in the building. If I leave to throw trash in the dumspter should I leave the weapon inside? Still a lot of unknowns.

[10mmillie]

Even throwing the trash you are still on your property so yes you can carry in fact that is one way robbers hit you. Good job being aware and clearing the building.

[Kerbouchard]

Thanks for all the responses. Kerbouchard, you are right. Next time I will call law enforcement and let them handle the sweep of the building. Once the officers arrive am I supposed to let them know that I have a weapon or not? From now on I will carry while I am in the building. If I leave to throw trash in the dumspter should I leave the weapon inside? Still a lot of unknowns.

If you had to call the police, then yes, you should let them know you have a gun. You should also let the 911 dispatcher know. One of the funny quirks of Texas law, is that since you do not have your CHL yet, you are not technically required to inform the officer that you are carrying unless they ask, but in Texas I believe you should ALWAYS inform an officer if you are armed.

As far as carrying in the parking lot to take out the trash, as long as you are concealed you shouldn't have any problems. Out of curiosity, what type of building is it? Is yours the only business in the building, or are there several businesses? Is your business open to the public or just a shop area?

As far as the clearing the building, I don't know the lay out or even the size of your office or shop space. Only you know if you can do it safely. Next time you're in there, think of a place where a criminal would be likely to hide, and then run the way you 'cleared the building' through your head. My guess is you would have been under his observation much sooner than he came under yours. Plus, you just think there might be something wrong or somebody around. He already knows you are there and what direction you are coming from.

Any time you are clearing a building by yourself(especially one you are unfamiliar with), the criminal almost always has a huge advantage. Whether you choose to do it or not, is of course, entirely up to you.

[texasccw]

I am in a business park so I have a few neighbors. The whole area is considered to be an industrial park so there is quite a bit of traffic from customers as well as semi's. I have very few customers come through my building since about 90% of my business is delivered from out of state. I have a crossbreed supertuck on its way and this is what I will be using indooors until I get my license. I appreciate all of the responses. Watch your 6!

[bryang]

texasccw You have already received some good comments concerning carrying your weapon and I think you did a great job, however, I don't think going in before the police arrived was a good idea. But you handled it well.

Let's just hope it will not take to long for your CHL to come in. Then you will not have to worry about when you can carry or not. In the meantime... stay safe, and we are thankful all went well for you.

-geo

[bdickens]

As far as clearing the building: I have people I pay to do stuff like that for me.

[KBCraig]

As owner you can even Open Carry at work if you choose.

does it have to be owner? what about owners son or grandson? or employee with permission?

The charge of unlawfully carrying a weapon does not apply to someone who is on property he owns or controls. For anyone other than the owner to have the exemption, they would have to be clearly in charge of the place.