LA - Mickey Shunick, 21, Lafayette; 19 May 2012 - #19

[LafayetteMom]

Did she have a backback or a purse?

We were told it was a light brown leather backpack.

Does anyone know what all she was carrying in her backpack?

We were told (by BW and other friends): hot pink container of mace/pepper spray (there was confusion as to which it was), an LG slider phone, a pipe, possibly makeup/tampons, a black and yellow Vera Bradley wallet.

Being that I'm not a "verified poster" you can take my word as you will. You can google search and find some of these things listed in various articles. The pipe is not listed in any such article and not all search parties were told about it. The makeup/tampons were not listed in any such article either, but BW just told us it was possible she had those things with her.

 

[ChiTownLass]

Its not so easy if your short,tiny,and petite. I was short,tiny,and petite like Mickey was.No way could I have fought him off.Also,when it happens it happens so fast that you are too scared to even move.

Maybe not so easy...but in a fight for your life...adrenaline kicks in and you would be amazed at what kind of strength that can give a person. I am only 4' 11" and barely weighed 100 lbs most of my life, and I have done some damage to some people. :blushing:

 

[Isabelle]

So she gets a text at BW's house, then within a few minutes of that, she says she's ready to leave because she isn't feeling well (but yet she feels well enough to go to TB for food).

Hmmm...

Sounds like the stage was set for her to meet some sort of connection. Booty call, or just hanging out, or maybe to score some MJ. Thoughts?

And couldn't the telephone # of the last person who texted her be gleaned thru phone records from her provider?

I would think that information if definitely available, since it appears on the bill that is sent out. Do we know if LE has gotten same from phone carrier?

 

[LafayetteMom]

Its not so easy if your short,tiny,and petite. I was short,tiny,and petite like Mickey was.No way could I have fought him off.Also,when it happens it happens so fast that you are too scared to even move.

Mickey was small, but she was very athletic. A coworker of hers stressed that to me the other day, and said she would have put up a fight if she were in the position to do so.

 

[nutkin]

Did Mickey work or just go to school?

 

[wfgodot]

Good morning all, and my usual credo, LET THIS BE THE DAY.

 

[tresptip]

But, you can't be. You have to be proactive because when it comes down to it, it is up to you to save yourself.

I am a very petite woman. My boyfriend is 6'7" and 300 lbs. of solid muscle, but I have learned self-defense techniques that can bring even him to his knees.

And, as I stated before, I exercise my right to carry my gun with me at all times and I bet I can shoot a perp before they shoot me.

I honestly can't picture a parent allowing their teenage children to walk around carrying a gun.If parents were to get their children self defence classes it would help,but in my opinion the best defence is to not put yourself in a vulnerable situation.

 

[nerdita]

Did Mickey work or just go to school?

She taught horse riding lessons or something of the sort.

 

[cluciano63]

It is one thing to fight back and take someone "down" if you are in a training setting, etc...quite another when ambushed. The other person knows what he/she is about to do, and you do not. That gives them the edge; they have their weapons at the ready, etc...whether it be hands, gun, knife, mace, chloroform, etc...you are busy with your thoughts, your bike, your phone, or whatever. By the time you know you are in danger it is probably too late to start reaching for all of the things you have learned, or for your own weapons. JMOJMOJMOJMO

 

[LafayetteMom]

Did Mickey work or just go to school?

She was teaching horse riding lessons to kids. The coworker I spoke to is someone who works at the stables.

 

[BunnyHop]

Another important point to repeat as far as safety goes:

If someone tries to force you to leave where you are with a weapon (whether gun or knife) or even if they just try to physically remove you from where are - DO NOT GO WITH THEM! If they are going to kill you, make them do it right where you are. Hit, kick, bite, scratch, head butt, and SCREAM, anything you can think of to make them think it just is not worth the trouble.

History has shown, when women really fight back, the perp is more apt to leave because there is a bigger chance of someone noticing.

And, as horrible as it is to think this way, at least IF they do kill you where you are, there is a crime scene and most likely, a body. Many, many, many missing people are NEVER found.

I took Tai Chi years ago with a great instructor. He taught me--straight (rigid) hand to the eyes and to the throat. Rapid and hard. Enough to stop them so you can get away. Scream, kick to the groin.

 

[HouDat]

I'd have to wonder (just wonder), too, if a phone ping (before it was turned off or whatever) might have contributed to choosing to search that location.

I've wondered that, myself.

 

[nutkin]

I honestly can't picture a parent allowing their teenage children to walk around carrying a gun.If parents were to get their children self defence classes it would help,but in my opinion the best defence is to not put yourself in a vulnerable situation.

You are correct that the best defense is not to put yourself in a vulnerable situation. But, there are people abducted in broad daylight walking to their car in a parking lot. People have car trouble and are abducted. Awareness is the first defense.

Mickey was 21, not a teenager.

My children absolutely know how to use a gun and have been raised around them since they were small. I would have absolutely no issue with my daughter carrying a gun at 17, 18 years old. Before that, she really has no business being anywhere alone.

 

[HouDat]

Well, I was fighting you earlier as I was farther down the learning curve, but Breshear is the only option if neither 216 nor the two LCG cams have her... unless she got picked up right there in front of Circle K!!!!

Or maybe...the cameras weren't in operation, or the recordings were destroyed/missing/never made, etc....and LE doesn't want to release that to the public, so as to tip off the perp.

 

[Isabelle]

Eileen, think about what you just wrote. Mickey was on a bike and had mace. How I wish that mace had been a gun.

Not sure if true, but when DTL was on the loose, I had a mace spray and asked my husband how I can be sure it would work if I tried to use it, he shrugged his shoulders and told me not to test it, because that would empty it out. Don't know that I'd feel safe with the spray. I prefer my kubaton, it's aluminum and has a sharp point! And, I don't care if it is illegal.

 

[HouDat]

A.C.I., I don't know if you saw, but I talked to a guard at Lourdes earlier who saw Mickey often, and the guard volunteered without being asked that Mickey's route was St. Landry, left on St. Julien, right on Johnston, and right on Cajundome.

Does anyone else but me find it odd that a supposedly-stationary security guard would know MS's route to that degree?

 

[nutkin]

It is one thing to fight back and take someone "down" if you are in a training setting, etc...quite another when ambushed. The other person knows what he/she is about to do, and you do not. That gives them the edge; they have their weapons at the ready, etc...whether it be hands, gun, knife, mace, chloroform, etc...you are busy with your thoughts, your bike, your phone, or whatever. By the time you know you are in danger it is probably too late to start reaching for all of the things you have learned, or for your own weapons. JMOJMOJMOJMO

Speaking for myself and I know it is atypical - my weapon is always ready. If I am walking in a parking lot, my hand is on it. I have been in enough bad situations and areas with my job, that I am always ready.

 

[katydid23]

The areas where higher % of population carry guns have higher crime rates, not less.

Try again.

The higher crime rates are not because of the guns. It is the opposite. Because of the high crime rates in an area, then more people carry guns there. So you cannot say carrying the guns have an affect on the overall crime rate. But on a personal, singular basis, it is better to carry a gun if a woman is living in a very high crime area. JMO

 

[nerdita]

Does anyone else but me find it odd that a supposedly-stationary security guard would know MS's route to that degree?

Might have been looking out for her. Didn't he mention that the guard often talked to mickey?

 

[liltexans]

I honestly can't picture a parent allowing their teenage children to walk around carrying a gun.If parents were to get their children self defence classes it would help,but in my opinion the best defence is to not put yourself in a vulnerable situation.

But Mickey isn't a teenager.