This has been a couple months now, and I’m OK with sharing it :
Apologies for the long post.

About midnight on a weeknight the doorbell starts ringing over and over.
We live in a two story plus basement house.
Because of some recent medical issues, my wife & 10 year old daughter were sleeping on the main floor & I was in a bedroom upstairs.
My wife, thinking it was someone we knew(Who else would be at the door?) called me downstairs, started to turn on the entryway light & unlock the door.
I stopped her from unlocking and turned off the entryway light, leaving on the outside porch light.
The door is solid with a narrow vertical window next to it.
My wife was looking out this window when the doorbell-ringing man suddenly leaned to his right and appeared in it, startling both of us.
He started shouting “Let me in, let me in, they’re after me, they’ve got guns”
My wife then dashed for the phone to call 911.
I shouted through the door “Go away!” and “I don’t care, Leave!”
He went off the porch to the West.
My wife went upstairs and put the 2 dogs into our 12 year old’s room, telling her to keep the dogs quiet. This gave her something to do in all this.
I ran upstairs and got the S&W model 67 out of the lockbox, then back to the main floor, checking the locks on the sliding glass doors to the back deck & turning on the exterior floodlights by both doors.
I ran to the basement, checking the walkout door & turning on that exterior light.
I saw him go around the East side of the rear, so now he had gone around the house.
I returned to the main floor wondering if I would see him go North past the window in the room where our 10 year old was still sleeping.
Instead, he came up onto the deck and started pounding on that door!!
So now I’m standing about 12 feet away from that door, I have the .38 in kind of a “low ready” position and there’s a ton of things going through my head :
Index finger on the frame ABOVE the trigger guard - not a good time for an accident.
This isn’t a castle doctrine state, there’s a duty to retreat.
I’m standing with my back to the door our 10 year old daughter is sleeping behind - I’m done retreating.
If he breaks the door , that’s not reason to shoot.
If he comes through the door, I guess it’s time to.
Please don’t come through the door.
Where the heck are them cops?
I could hear my wife talking to 911 upstairs.
When the guy showed up on the back deck, my wife, being upstairs and thinking about our 10 year old sleeping on the main floor, called out to me to see where I was.
I told her where I was, and that the guy looked about 5’7” but stocky and I didn’t want to fistfight him - if he came in I was going to have to shoot.
The guy on the deck now got tired of shouting at & hitting the door, turned away, put his back to the door, and slid down until he was sitting on the deck.
He still gave the door a whack with his elbow every few seconds, but not as hard.
At this point, my daughter behind the door I am at wakes up and starts asking what’s going on.
The 911 operator now grew concerned about MY gun.
“Can you get your husband to put the gun down?”
Well, where’s them cops?
Upon being assured the deputies were in the driveway and coming around the house, and with the intruder sitting down with his back to the door, I set the revolver on the kitchen counter.
“Can he put it in a drawer?”
What?!
Okay, fine, I move it into the top drawer, the catch-it-all one.
I can tell by the guy’s behavior that the deputies are at the deck steps, so I look into the bedroom to calm our 10 year old.
I hear a noise on the deck and look that way to see him standing, facing the deck steps, holding a small bench over his head.
Is he going to throw it through the window, or at the deputies or what ?
I edge toward the drawer where the revolver is.
3 lasers light up on his chest.
Even in his condition, this gets his attention.
He drops the bench and goes out of sight down the steps.
I step into the bedroom to comfort our daughter, telling her someone tried to get in, he didn’t actually get in, and the cops have him.
My wife comes downstairs and we send the 10 year old upstairs to her sister’s room.
A deputy comes to the deck door and tells us that there ISN’T anybody after this guy, he’s just paranoid.
They already had contact with him earlier that night, he was acting paranoid then also, but wasn’t being a danger.
Now they’re bringing him in.

We all go to our 12 year old’s room now:
Mom, Dad, 2 girls, & 2 dogs.
We’re talking, sharing, all the stuff you’d imagine.
We can see in the driveway an ambulance and 3 squad cars with a couple more in the road.
It’s about over now, kids...
We hear running footsteps and banging on our front door!
Help, help, the cops are gonna kill me !!
HE GOT AWAY !
The deputies, of course, were right on him, but it took a bit.
The door he was banging on is almost directly below the room we were in so we heard very well.
Mom, can I use those words ?
No, sweetie you can’t.
We watched the ambulance gurney leave with him strapped down about 6 ways, still squirming.
We then heard scraping noises from our porch.
When we looked, the deputies were using a snow shovel to clean up after a tipped planter.
That’s OK guys, we’ll sweep it.
Our kids now added some badly needed laughs.
12 year old :
Hey, it’s past midnight - Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad !
10 year old :
Oh, I forgot - I have homework that’s due tomorrow !
Well, there ain’t nobody sleeping now, kiddo, let’s go do your math.

Bottom line : I am VERY thankful I didn’t have to shoot.

I like how you used caution in both respects. Caution in being prepared to use the firearm protect your family, and caution in not "jumping the gun" and firing the firearm without a clear need to.
Seems to me, being on the outside of all this, and reading AFTER the fact, that your handling of this was a win-win for all concerned.

(not sure I agree with the dispatcher asking you to put firearm in drawer, but,,,,,,,not really what matters, right?)

Kudos to you, and glad all worked out as well as it did.

It would be interesting to know what kind of mischief he had been up to when the police contacted him earlier that night?
It is a shame so many serious crimes, including murders,, are committed by people with a rap sheet a mile long often including violent crimes. What if you had not been there at home!
Steve W - very glad to hear you and your family are ok.

My mother was never without a dog. Many years ago she adopted a Doberman that she called Misty. Misty; long floppy ears, a long tail, and a mouth full of fangs. Misty adopted us as her family, she was very protective, and honestly there were times when she scared me.


Our front door had a small window about 5 feet from the floor that Misty could look out when she stood on her hind legs.


One day someone tried to force open the front door while we were home. Before I could grab my .22 rifle from my closet, Misty was at the front door in her protective mode. The man at the front door heard the growling and saw a mouth full of fangs looking at him through the small window. He turned and ran. I honestly believe that had the man entered the house, Misty would have tried to kill him and might have succeeded. Misty, to the family, was like a big baby. Always trying to sit on my lap for hugs and petting. I miss you, Misty.

Things I carry away from your tale here:

1. You handled yourself very well during the whole incident, in that you didn't panic and freak out and pop a cap on the nut job through the door. As long as he stayed outside he wasn't a direct threat to you or your family.

2. Makes me glad that I live down South where the Castle Doctrine is law where if I do have to use deadly force to defend my family I don't have to worry about being prosecuted for defending my family.

I'm glad everything turned out good for you and your family in this incident, MNruss.

He was a houseguest of a neighbor, had thoroughly worn out his welcome, & was just off a 4-day bender on who-knows-what.
The neighbors involved were very stand-up about it, came over the next day, explained the situation, how he’d shown up after four days, been very paranoid, how they had called 911 on him earlier in the evening, and wished he’d been taken off then so he wouldn’t have caused all the ruckus.

This was actually good news in a way, because the guy is not a local resident and therefore won’t be around the area causing problems.

Meth head is my bet. The get very paranoid, no sleep and brain revving away.

You did good.

My favorite line from your report:
(emphasis mine)

On internet gun forums, the readers typically "Monday Morning Quarterback" what they have read, we always have a different view because we didn't experience it and we only know the parts you were able to capture with words.

I think you did a phenomenal job in a WAY beyond intense situation.

If I get one freebie to complain, I take the tiniest issue with:
I'll disagree with extreme vigor! From my view, if he makes contact with that door that breaks it or compromises the barrier between him and your home, it's time to put him down like a rabid animal.

I say this because for certain, you don't know if he has weapons and you really don't know if he has accomplices. And the accomplices part should give at least the slightest pause to folks that believe "six shots is enough for anyone!"

You lived through a situation that none of you will EVER forget. Ask me how I know. Thank God you weren't harmed and you didn't have to suffer the aftermath of blood loss.

Also, I appreciate you sharing this story, and opening yourself up to a bunch of guys sitting in chairs and on couches who will pick apart what you've written. You've got a great style of writing, by the way -- I also very much liked the quick line:
That paints a picture and captures the moment.

I would have only done 2 things different.

1. I would have come downstairs with the gun

2. Wife and both kids would be upstairs as far away from the doors as possible.

__________________
Retired Career Security Guard

[QUOTE=Sevens;140129786]

If I get one freebie to complain, I take the tiniest issue with:

I'll disagree with extreme vigor! From my view, if he makes contact with that door that breaks it or compromises the barrier between him and your home, it's time to put him down like a rabid animal.
(Quote)

I get what you’re saying and the truth is I don’t know where I would have drawn the line exactly.
“Breaking the plane” of the wall with an arm may well have been enough.


Glad I didn’t find out.

Thanks though for the kind words.

Well done, MNruss.

I hope that if it ever happens to me that I will do as well.

Glad everything worked out for you, and the event did not progress any further. I am wondering about the location of your home (suburban/residential/small town/rural), since you were concerned with response time from the police...how long did it take for them to get there?

Also - I was a long-time resident of Minnesota... I believe that although they do not have a specific Castle Doctrine, state statutes clearly state that you DO NOT have a duty to retreat before using deadly force to protect yourself OR prevent a felony from occurring INSIDE your residence.

(The emphasis in capitals are mine, and I am not a legal expert or attorney). I only bring this to your attention because at some point you expressed hesitance to act because of your understanding.

__________________
Do or do not. There is no try.

Are you sure you have a duty to retreat in your residence? My recollection (and it is only that) is that only MA has such a duty. Tactically, retreat is rarely a good idea in the situation in which you found yourself. The time period involved from the door breach to the need to shoot is measured in hundredths of seconds.

I hope your wife has reconsidered her view of the likelihood of a welcome visitor, and this is another example of why one's doors should be closed and locked at all times other than to go through them. Mine are when I take out the trash in the AM. A modest inconvenience, priceless when it matters. Back when one could get to our doors without scaling a 6 foot chain link fence, I did not go to the door without a gun in my hand unless someone had called first. Regardless of the fencing, the yard was posted, and going past the signs was itself a crime. Anyone who is that far from law abiding that they ignore the sign is more likely to be a threat.

Also: the failure of the deputies to handcuff and if necessary leg shackle that offender with alacrity is a major discipline issue. We're talking time off, and a lot of it.

__________________
NHI, 10-8.

Having had a burglar actually start breaking through my door ...I agree with Smoke. If I had had to run somewhere to obtain my gun, the guy would have been well into the house by the time I could return to confront him. I either wear my gun at home, or I keep it "strategically located" if not on my actual person. Because I had it on my hip that day, I was able to intercept him at the door and he never gained entry.

__________________
Smith. And Wesson. And Me!

It is good that you did not have to shoot - always better. Even if it is a legal shoot, there is a lot of difficulty when the house is sold, insurance, and vengeful, litigious relatives or common law dependents of the attacker posturing as victims.

I’m not at all sure of the legalities, I was remembering that we don’t have a specific castle doctrine & assumed the duty to retreat part.
That’s what assuming gets you.

As far as not having the revolver in my hand, I probably should have, but the way it played out, the few seconds it would have taken would’be delayed me to the point that the door would’ve been opened - so just as well.

We were lucky the doors held.
I never would’ve thought the slider would take that kind of pounding without giving way or coming off the track.

I put a suitable length of lumber in the sliding door track at night. The screws that attach the latch to the mullion do not give me much confidence. Other doors have reinforced dead bolts. I count on an invader having to make enough noise to wake me. No dogs, and no internal doors between exterior doors and bed.
As I understand it, we do have a de facto "Castle Doctrine" in Wa State. The judges have so proclaimed it. I hope to never have a need to find out!

Best,
Rick

Dogs are a great first line of defense. Burglars often won't bother a house with a dog. They will go down the street to the house without one. In this case, he was not a burglar, but I wonder if he would have been so intent on gaining entry if one or two dogs were making a ruckus on the other side of the door, even small dogs...Any bad guy coming into my house better be wearing iron britches or he will resemble a lawn sprinkler the next time he drinks a glass of water...Bella will make sure of that...and Bella loves people and kids...but don't bring malice to the palace.

Over all a great job and glad you didn't have to shoot the guy ..

The one Fail I hope you will reconsider in the future is bring the gun with you and after a certain hour when the door is locked it shouldn't be unlocked by anyone until you are aware of who is doing the knocking and that you would normally let that person in not just know them ..

I can relate to this. Late last year, a man began pounding on my door well after midnight, soon trying to break in and using vile profanity. I thought he was probably on drugs.

Armed myself as I was by the computer, where a gun resides, and called 911. I took limited cover behind a table and decided that if he broke open the door and popped the chain off the wall, that would be evidence of him having forced a safeguard, and indicating that I was in reasonable fear for my life.

I yelled for him to go away, but can't prove that he'd have heard me. I did yell that if he broke in, I would shoot him and that it wasn't a bluff. If he heard me, it had no effect.

I called 911 again and asked when the police might arrive. The dispatcher was vague, so I repeated that I was in fear and would shoot if needed. She said, "Well, they're on the way."

When the cops arrived, a half hour or more had elapsed. They said the man was a drunk who had been dropped off at the wrong address by an Uber driver, and thought he was home and that his girlfriend was mad and wouldn't let him in. They took him home.

It was scary while it happened. And that violent slob was lucky the door held. If he'd broken that door chain off and swarmed in, he'd be dead now. Hopefully, I wouldn't have been in trouble, but am glad that I didn't have to find out.

I think the OP did well, apart from not arming himself when he came downstairs. And I hope his wife learned a lesson about opening a door casually late at night. Even in daytime, the caller may be a threat, or at least, a salesman.

Time to get out of Hubert Humphrey land. In Indiana, where I live, I'da'
12 gauged him to the point of a non threat.

You absolutely do.

Caste Doctrine states that there's no legal obligation to retreat in your own home. It has nothing to do with justifying a use of force. In other words, if you find an intruder in your home, his unwanted presence alone does not justify lethal force. Most jurisdictions require the usual--an immediate, unavoidable, grave threat--before the use of lethal force.

Now, different states consider different things justification for deadly force inside the home. Some of them are better-written than others. For instance, deadly force may be justified if the intruder's entry was "violent", but violent clearly means different things to different people. Know and understand what the particular inside-the-home rules are in your state.

The OP chose the correct course of action regardless of his legal obligations. He retreated as far he could while still protecting his family, took a defensive position that protected him from flanking, issued verbal warnings, and withheld use of force in the absence of an overt, immediate threat.

In Minnesota, if you are in your house you have retreated as much as you are required to. You can’t wander around outside with a gun chasing noises, that’s what the Police train for, but you are not required to hide behind a bed in a locked room in the furthest part of your home. We cannot shoot to defend property, but self defense or defense of others is allowed. We really need legislation preventing frivolous civil suits for justified self defense...one day...

Think before posting.

Anything you post here can and will be used in a court of law should you ever be involved in a altercation, home or away.

Even if you shoot someone braking down your door in a state where there is a castle doctrine, there WILL be an investigation, how much and how deep is up to your local authorities, but some of the statements people make would not appear in the best light to a prosecutor or a jury if it came to that point.

If you wouldn't say it with a dead guy, with YOUR bullet hole(s), laying in YOUR doorway, you probably shouldn't say it on the web for everyone to see, basically forever.

Yes, you might prevail in court, but, why even have the possible problem.

Threat...or the perception of a threat is a common theme, no matter what State we live in. But I'd ask the simple question, isn't some methhead freak simply standing in your living room uninvited, and with bad intentions threat enough, justification enough to pull the trigger???

IMO it is

__________________
Smith. And Wesson. And Me!

PLOT TWIST:

The guy wasn't "paranoid". He was a former government employee with a high-level security clearance who had stumbled across a massive and secret plot to enslave the entire population via mind control and introduction of a foreign substance into the nation's water supply. He was trying to get vital information to the underground resistance movement and was running from the Men in Black - who really did have guns. Instead of saving America from imminent doom and being a hero, he was whist away to a government "black site" where he will now be tortured for days in order to gain intelligence that will ultimately crush the heroic rebel underground before finally being dispatched and thrown into a rural drainage ditch somewhere.

But ultimately, IN THIS CASE, nothing happened. No reason not to post and I appreciate the info on how an emergency situation goes down.

--------------------------

The OP handled this EXTREMELY well. Yes, there would be an inquiry if someone got shot, but with my kid asleep right behind me and others in the house and someone breaks in the door they can inquire me or put me on trial. If I retreated, I'm leaving the rest of my family vulnerable. The OP used the gun as responsibly as it should have been. No immediate threat to life, no shoot.

I'm glad I live in a state where if he had crashed through the door and somebody ended up dead., I might have to go to the police station and give a statement. I'd be just as glad that it didn't happen because I would be burdened with the killing of a mentally ill person, which I don't care for. I'd extend relief to the OP that nobody got killed, or in this case, even hurt. That's the best ending possible. Oh, and I'm glad the police showed up when they did. It was a close one.

Oh, P.S. I wish oe of those snibblers would ask the OP,, "Why do you have to have a gun? What are you afraid of?"

__________________
"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I wasn't pointing at the ops post or his informattion or mostt of the comments.

But, a statement like "I'da' 12 gauged him to the point of a non threat." might not shine the best light on you in a court.

Gotcha there. You really have to be careful about any post. If it's something that people can misconstrue goes viral, you have problems.

They say not to print anything you wouldn't want your mother to see. Well, I could tell my mother a lot of things I wouldn't tell a court.

__________________
"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Sounds like your Mom grew up in the same environment mine did.

*
It is actually broader than so called "Castle Doctrine". I did some quick research (I already knew the answer and just did the work so I can provide actual authority), and found this as to Washington law: "No duty to retreat exists when one is feloniously assaulted in a place where she has a right to be." State v. Allery, 101 Wn. 2d 591, 598, citing State v. Hiatt, 187 Wash. 226, 60 P.2d 71 (1936); State v. Lewis, 6 Wn. App. 38, 491 P.2d 1062 (1971). It is reversible error to fail to give the instruction if there is any basis for it in the evidence. This is long established and the first case to that effect appears to be State v. Cushing, 14 Wash. 527 (1896). See also WPIC (Washington Pattern Jury Instruction - Criminal) 16.08.

As to Texas Star's post: Once you have an answer on the 911 call, do not hang up. I know of two cases in Spokane County in the last few years in which the recording of the call as things went fecal that supported the victim's statement about the offender's actions. Not critical, but nice - when the breaching of the door, your shouts at the offender, the barking of your dog, etc. are on the tape, it helps. Make sure you have a hands free option if at all possible.

Also: There are reasons I have regularly recommended certain texts for reading in other posts. The more you can show you knew beforehand about the nature of violent offenders; pre-assaultive cues; physical disparity between yourself and the offender; substance abuse and assaultive conduct or the difficulty of controlling a person without lethal force; the tiny time constraints (hundredths of seconds to decide and act); the difficulty of stopping a violent offender with a handgun (which is why you used an AR as one should, for example), etc., the better off you are. What you learn after the incident is not relevant.

Simple example: I can articulate easily that my home is properly posted "no trespassing", and that anyone who goes past that sign is a criminal and shows a higher level of risk due to non-compliance. I have a 6' chain link fence, with padlocked gates, so someone has to climb it to even get to any part of the house (doors or windows), showing an even high level of risk. We have two mid-sized dogs (rottX at 82 or so pounds, a rott female at just under 80) and they sound like you are not welcome when they alert - anyone who keeps coming after hearing that is showing even more risk than before. Then ... we have all that stuff from the paragraph above that I can describe.

A firearm is just a tool, and one of many components to the safety system.

__________________
NHI, 10-8.

Reasonable person standard legal definition of Reasonable person standard

It's never about what you think or perceive. It's about what 12 strangers consider reasonable.

If you find a stranger in your home, just standing there, then most people are not going to consider that a grave, imminent, immediate threat. Yes, criminal. Yes, a violation of one's home. But not a deadly threat. Even as a gun owner, I am inclined to agree that such an individual doesn't constitute a deadly threat.

Think about that for a second. I'm about the best juror you could possibly hope for. I'm a gun owner, a CCW-holder, and I read Tom Givens for fun. There is no way in hell a prosecutor with two functioning brain cells would let me anywhere near the jury box.

If I think that deadly force isn't justified in that situation, what conclusions do you think 12 random jurors are going to draw?

But if he:

• Verbalizes a threat
• Brandishes a deadly weapon
• Advances on you despite verbal warnings and a displayed firearm

Those are articulable justifications for a use of force.

And of course, all of this ignores the fact that your chosen starting point is the "Going to prison" mindset. You're arguing for why killing this person should be allowed. This is wrong. You should be trying to judge whether force is necessary.

Protip: Not killing people if you can help it is an excellent way to avoid prison.

Yep-heavy meth or similar substances produce schizophrenic type symptoms-including paranoia, hearing voices, etc.

Hopefully you will institute a plan with your family and practice it until it is second nature. Establish some rules for everyone, like never opening the door without knowing who it is that is coming ahead of time. Take measures that will make your house undesirable to bad guys-think outside the box, it is very important-this is the world we live in and it is not getting any better. PTL.

“It's about what 12 strangers consider reasonable.

If you find a stranger in your home, just standing there, then most people are not going to consider that a grave, imminent, immediate threat. Yes, criminal. Yes, a violation of one's home. But not a deadly threat. Even as a gun owner, I am inclined to agree that such an individual doesn't constitute a deadly threat.”

_________________

In my rural community, it would be difficult to pick a jury that would NOT
consider an intruder, “just standing there,” especially in the nighttime or
early morning hours, as an “imminent, immediate threat.”

In fact, there have been a few similar cases locally over the years
to bear this out. Most such cases will never come to trial, because
a grand jury will not issue an indictment.

__________________
Georgia On My Mind

Wow. That's quite a lot to have to mull over in your head during the moment some freak walks in on you and your family. Sounds to me like you're talking "book learning" and have never personally experienced anything like this. Having worked in a jail, and in a drug rehab/halfway house, and having my own home broken into twice during my lifetime...I have. TBH you are an "overanalyzer" and the very last type of person I would want serving on my jury.

__________________
Smith. And Wesson. And Me!

That could happen, but only after quite a few other things took place. The shooter's/homeowner's computer would have to be seized under warrant. Ditto for his cellphone and tablet, if he has any. The hard drive would have to be accessed. The contents could be under First Amendment protection, and the actual seizure could be under Fourth Amendment protection as well. It would also have to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the shooter/homeowner was the one making any posts/comments on any Internet forum. It'd be a legal can of worms involving hearsay and circumstantial evidence.

This is true, but the burden of proof would still be on the state regarding who made the comment and what he meant by it. "12-gauging to the point of a non-threat" could be taken to mean simply hitting the would-be invader over the head with it.

And let's face it. Not singling anyone out here, but we all know that Keyboard Kommandos and Windows Warriors can and do say anything on gun forums in order to give the impression that they're capable of heroic actions in defense of life, family, and property.

Touching just briefly on this thread's opening post by the OP (edited for brevity):

Just the idea of waking from a sound sleep at midnight (or later), turning on inside lights, and opening the door simply because someone is ringing the doorbell is incomprehensible to me.

So true. And these types are equally balanced out by the "legal eagle" "Boy Scout" types who swear they would handle these situations "by the book" and do everything within the boundaries set by law. These types have amazing powers of foresight regarding their own future actions....and amazing powers of hindsight in judging the real world actions of others...."I would have done this instead, I would have done that instead of..."

__________________
Smith. And Wesson. And Me!

Holding on with the dispatcher is a good idea, but it took police over a half hour to arrive, the offender all the while trying to break in and uttering threats. (See my post, No. 20)

In big cities, dispatchers often don't want to hold on; they have other lines to answer. I told that dispatcher that I was in fear for my life and was armed and concerned that I might need to shoot if the intruder broke in. She seemed unconcerned and just told me that police had been sent.

But thanks for your thought. It plays well in theory, at least.

They do not have to take your computer to find the statements you made here or anywhere else on the net. Hardly. All a smart investigator would have to do is some computer searches on gun related sites. Besides getting a warrant isn't that difficult when investigating a homicide. Even if justifiable its still a homicide.

The ability to articulate why you consider a person's conduct a threat is important, and why I posted what I did above. A person may or may not actually be a threat - but that is not the test. It is the reasonableness of your belief about that person. And a person who is "just standing there" in your house should have had to force his way in to start; he should have had it made known he was unwelcome in some of the ways I have described; and you should have done enough of the reading I regularly suggest so that you can articulate how you knew that person could go from not moving to lethal threat in the briefest portions of a second.

This is serious stuff, and you need to study it well before hand, and incrementally improve your knowledge of these topics and the layered security of your home as you are able to (everyone has different incomes, needs for the money, etc; I have largely prioritized this stuff - I have no need for a boat, most vacations, and other fluff).

__________________
NHI, 10-8.

Thing about them "book" thingies is, they're really cheap.

Generally I would agree with you. When it happened to me my gentle dog let out a wale at the front door at 4:00am that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. The would be intruder was not deterred. He continued his assault on my front door despite my dogs vicious bark and growl. It was a Crimson Lasor sight pointed through the front door glass that brought him to reality and he finally fled. Lack of logic in a criminal or disturbed mindset is often counter intuitive and can't be overstated.

__________________
"The Dude abides"

I am sorry this happened to you, but you handled it well. don't let other second guess you.

__________________
Carpriver.

You did very well under tough circumstances and with wife and children at home.

I live in the country, not too far from the city, but far enough that strange things can happen.

I occasionally have a car drive past my house at night with their lights off, we get the high school or college kids that are drinking and driving and throw beer or other beverages out their window. We also get the odd person walking at 2 AM in front of our house. This is on the weekends and my wife is a night owl.

My wife has taken self defense classes and trained for an agency, but went a different career path. She has told me that in the few years we have been here, there have been men who parked outside our home (no other home for half a mile at least) and just watch her while she does yard work. When she realizes this, she stops what she is doing and heads into our home. Pay attention to your surroundings.

With the people that drive past occasionally without lights on, we turn all our outside flood lights on.

Thankfully, we have not had an issue yet.

Stay safe and be mindful of your surroundings my friends.

__________________
Rather be outdoors

And do many know just what we would do ?? We think we know how we would act but till it happens we really just don't know for sure ..

We hear a lot of I would do this and that but through experience I have found that might not be near the truth when the nity grity gets down to it .. I've seen the people one would least expect loose it and do all the opposites .. So its best to keep ones thoughts to themselves sometimes ..