Panhandlers stab couple

OK, so Tony just had a run in with a panhandler in Denver on Monday, and on Tuesday a couple is approached on Colfax by a pair of panhandlers. The asked for money, the couple said no, and one of the beggars jumped the male. They went to the ground, when the second looser started stabbing the male victim. The male victims female companion tried to help out, but also got stabbed in the frey. Here's the story: http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=124513&catid=346

I don't have any more facts that what's posted on the story. When I hear more about how it went down I'll update everyone, but at least we can learn a few valuable lessons from this.

1. Of course there's no way to know for sure, but I'm fairly certain that the fact there were TWO of them working in tandem was a major factor. Every asshole is braver with a 2nd asshole nearby. They feed off of each others violence and aggressiveness. It's safe to say that if you are approached by panhandlers working together, alarm bells need to be ringing like mad.
2. Going to the ground should be avoided if possible. It may not have been possible in this case, I don't have all the facts, but if you already know there are more than 1 aggressor, your first priority is to stay on your feet and stay mobile.
3. If you are going to get involved in an altercation from the outside of the original fracas, use an entry tool that's likely to create space or do serious damage. You need to control the situation quickly and violently.

I recently posted a video online created by Daniel Carlini, one of our instructors, that has a little bit of footage of us training to engage as a 3rd party in an altercation. We've been training for several weeks on entering an altercation with a kick to make space against an aggressor and removing either a known or unknown person from the area. Great training, and an invaluable lesson on dealing with multiple problems.
I think that as long as the economy remains bad and the system offers less and less deterrence's, we will see more and more of these kinds of street criminals pairing up or even forming roaming mini street gangs (evidenced on 16th street mall lately).

We hope the two victims recover and the suspects are caught before it gets worse.