This experience I had a couple of years ago is "kind of" relevant, if only to give members a sense of scale.
I was returning to my car from shopping, had my cart, and was about 20 feet from the front of my car.
About 5 feet behind my car was a young man (30?) and a woman, and the woman had two dogs on a fixed leash, best I can recall.
The guy was behind her slightly. When they came around the back passenger side I was already vectored to go to my driver's side door. I was already feeling my pulse pounding and not just from getting a good deal on my milk and eggs.
The guy smoothly went wide of her, but still almost 30 feet from me and started with a 'spiel':
"Excuse me, sir..."
Now I almost NEVER yell, swear, stomp or shout, but before I knew it, I yelled:
GET THE FOXTROT BACK...
...and maybe that was it, because I had reached my driver's side door and hit the fob once.
The couple was, and this is an understatement, staggered back and was now 30 feet laterally from me, otherside of the car.
I got in, some struggle, got the bags in the passenger seat (and unknown to me dropped my phone on the ground), and got the door shut and locked.
I had the key in the car, the engine on and no other cars around me. I heard something fall but chose to ignore it.
The GUY, now suddenly grew a set of nads and started walking towards the car, arms apart, telling me I needed to take a course in civility and decorum but I just drove sharply to the right and was off. I should have sat there or maybe circled back because they 'followed' me, and didn't go see the parking area. (Fortunately).
But it was clear to me that even experienced grifters/predators with a "Dog Brigade" as backup, and a plan to 'get 'er done' and scare people enough to drop everything and run, could be startled, scared, back off involuntarily and that is all it took.
IF I had not made it into the car, been boxed in, not immediately locked doors, not had a key fob, not been broad daylight...
I could go on, but 'LUCK' was all on my side and having an AR slung over my shoulder would NOT have saved me if it had gone pear-shaped which it could have done with two dogs and two people who trained this ploy and were not armed.
It was a "Traveler" level ploy, and they were experienced grifters who had used this low level, but scary tactic to get their task done.
FWIW