Interesting B&E last night

[Rett Skutt]

I’m so glad to hear that you and your daughter are safe.

I live far out in the country with four neighbors on the same road. One is a paramedic and the rest are farmers and ranchers. We all know each other. We worked out an alert system several years ago in case one of us needs immediate assistance. We use our car or truck alarm. Press the button and let the alarm continue. One or all of the neighbors will come within minutes carrying a gun just in case.

Hi Jinglebob,

The car alarm(s) is a great idea!! I will pass that along. I never would have thought of that. In the area they are located, the sound of the alarm will travel a long way...

Thanks again,

 

[shamrocker]

My 2 cents worth

I have taught CCW classes in several states for 25 years now. One of the things I stress to my students is every story (like this one) or the one you see on the news tonight or read in the paper, or whatever. Take a moment and ask yourself "what would I do" run those scenarios in your mind. That way when it comes up, you already know what you are going to do.
Your daughter needs to educate herself (or you need to do it for her) about carry laws in your state, use of deadly force laws in your state, and if your state has a castle doctrine law. Buy her a seat in a CCW class, I had many folks that didn't want the card, they just wanted the information.
If she is going to pack that ruger, it needs to be every time out the door, not just when she thinks she might need it. It also needs to be "close at hand" and in the same place when shes in the house. High stress situations, are not the time to be thinking "damn, where did I put it?"
Not to make her or you paranoid, but your best defense is situational awareness.
I live in the very rural, closest neighbor is half a mile away, my wife's city girl friends say to her "aren't you scared way out here, with your husband gone half the time, the neighbors wouldn't even hear you scream"
She tells them "If there's any screaming being done it'll be the bad guy doing it"
I like strong women.
I'll stop now, like I said my 2 cents worth, your mileage may vary.

 

[Iggy]

Welcome to country livin'. We all accept that we have to handle things on our own. When it's 45 minutes to an hour before LEO's arrive, you are the law until relieved.

 

[Rett Skutt]

I live in the very rural, closest neighbor is half a mile away, my wife's city girl friends say to her "aren't you scared way out here, with your husband gone half the time, the neighbors wouldn't even hear you scream"
She tells them "If there's any screaming being done it'll be the bad guy doing it"
I like strong women.
I'll stop now, like I said my 2 cents worth, your mileage may vary.

That's funny - "If there's any screaming being done it'll be the bad guy doing it"

As for my daughter. She has signed up for a CCW class. As for "castle doctrine". Michigan has those laws in place, and open carry on your property is also allowed. So right now, any future issues should be covered.

As for always carrying, I don't think that is her plan right now. When the fiancé is gone, absolutely. He has a CCW and always carries, so she does not feel the need when he is at home. This might change, but right now "always" probably isn't in the cards.

Take care and Thanks for the good laugh,

 

[i1afli]

The OP's story also illustrates how quickly these things happen...I bet it wasn't but 30 - 45 seconds between the time that the front door opened to the time that the perp came thru the back door. Not enough time to go retrieve a gun from a safe, especially considering the time that you'd typically spend standing there trying to figure out what's going on.

 

[pmanton]

One never knows-----
Last year 3 elderly people were murdered near here. One of the ladies belonged to my wife's women's club.
We too live out in the sticks.

 

[inspcalahan]

This...

Damn good thing you were there and armed. Does your daughter have a firearm for defense? Is she open to the idea of having one?

Thanks for sharing the incident - good reminder of being self reliant. Glad everything turned out ok.

 

[Skeet 028]

One never knows-----
Last year 3 elderly people were murdered near here. One of the ladies belonged to my wife's women's club.
We too live out in the sticks.

Was anyone arrested in the said murders? Locals or transients??

 

[JohnSW]

and green laser on his head.

A real attention getter.

 

[klondike]

Having lived in rural areas most of my life, there are certain things that you just learn to take for granted.

First, because you are fairly isolated, you have to realize that you may be prone to criminals who think it's going to be easy to rob you because there aren't a lot of neighbors around.

Second, it's going to take law enforcement a good 30 minutes or more to reach your place in case of an emergency, so you need to be prepared to handle things yourself. That means having access to and being able to handle a firearm."


I used to work with a woman who lived about one block outside of the city boundary. She thought that it was wrong for anyone to own a firearm because that was the police's job. Well one night when her husband was away, the detached garage was broken into and the perps even were loading their truck with her husbands tools. The city police declined to respond because she was in the county and the county sent a deputy but he was 45 minutes out.
She became a believer in the need to be able to protect yourself and to not assume that the police were seconds away.

 

[Doug627]

I hate to say this, but I do not believe this guy was there to steal anything. I believe your daughter was the target. He did not have a vehicle close by to load stolen property in, and when he ran, he ran a long way. I believe he came to the house the same way he ran from it, across the field. If his vehicle was that far away, he was not wanting to leave evidence of tire treads or a possible direction he had come from or was going when he left. I have two daughters that I taught to shoot and have given them Browning Hi-Powers for defense. Hopefully, the dog was a surprise and he will not return. I would make sure the house has good outside lighting, especially at the entrances, and I would make sure they are on at night.

 

[M E Morrison]

Having lived in rural areas most of my life, there are certain things that you just learn to take for granted.

First, because you are fairly isolated, you have to realize that you may be prone to criminals who think it's going to be easy to rob you because there aren't a lot of neighbors around.

Second, it's going to take law enforcement a good 30 minutes or more to reach your place in case of an emergency, so you need to be prepared to handle things yourself. That means having access to and being able to handle a firearm."
I used to work with a woman who lived about one block outside of the city boundary. She thought that it was wrong for anyone to own a firearm because that was the police's job. Well one night when her husband was away, the detached garage was broken into and the perps even were loading their truck with her husbands tools. The city police declined to respond because she was in the county and the county sent a deputy but he was 45 minutes out.
She became a believer in the need to be able to protect yourself and to not assume that the police were seconds away.

At least she lived thru her wake up call.....