Spin off thread - anyone ever held at gunpoint!

I've had it happen twice. Once in BR and once in ATL. Both times attempted carjacking. No need to go into long exact details of the stories. What I'm interested in is the instant internal reaction/instinct.

The one in BR was a white guy pulled a gun on a group of 5 of us hanging around outside a gas station on highland outside campus. It was an instantaneous feeling he would not use the gun and we all started arguing with each other (you drove, I'm out of gas, etc) within 5 min the police surrounded us all.

Second time, 20 years later, 2 months ago in fact, on a parking garage at a CVS in ATL black guy walked up showed gun in his waistband and demanded car. I was with my wife and people were driving in and out of the garage and walking to and from their cars. Again it was instantaneous I felt he was not going to use the gun. I started screaming at him and by the time I jumped out of my car he was running off.

I'm no OT badass. I was raised in a yes sir yes ma'am, few fights other than horsing around with cousins, etc.

I reflect on these experiences as psychological experiments.

I never talked about what I'd do if that situation arose, etc. I was surprised by my gut reactions those two times. So I would think if a person really intended on using the gun I would have given up the car.

I was still in college the first time (no military training). I was 15 years removed from my last day in service second time. So military training is removed from the equation.

So is it a lack of biological survival? Or that untestable energy we pick up on in dangerous situations?