Another Home Invasion In CT

Wouldn't you fall out of your chair if you were watching the news and heard a police spokesman recommend a good firearm and training to go along with it?
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One of my closest buddies is a police detective that works a very violent area. He constantly tells people that they have to be crazy to leave their house without being armed.

My wife is currently visiting our daughter that lives in that neighborhood of CT. They are a family of two girls and both parents work full-time jobs. There is a dog in the house but could not be considered a watch dog by any stretch of the imagination. My daughter and her husband are very anti-gun and refuse to have any conversation that has the word "gun" in it. So very strange in that my other two kids are LEO's. Go figure.

I tried to educate them about home defense after the last notable incident that happened in the same neighborhood. It fell on deaf ears. It boils down to those that are pro-active and those that rely on nothing more than dumb luck and faith that they will not be a victim. Not much different than sticking one's head in the sand.

If you are a member of this Forum or a frequent visitor, you are pro-active and probably have a plan in place. What can one do to help those that would not help themselves? They have no intention of getting another dog and they have a basic alarm system that sometimes gets turned on and sometimes it doesn't.
 
What can one do to help those that would not help themselves?
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I don't believe there is anything one can do?

Sadly enough, my fiancee may be in that camp. Doesn't like guns either, doesn't even like that I have them, despite the fact that she grew up around them.

I would like to say that if push came to shove, she would go get one of them as I always tell her where they are and their status. I would like to tell you that if endangered, she would use it...I would really like to tell you that...:confused:
 
Ignorance is not safety. Amazing how many think it is...

When you've never had:

a break-in
a car jacking
an armed assault
a mugging
a rape
a friend or family member murdered
drive-by shooting
bullet holes in your front windows
and etc.

it is easy to lull oneself into the false security that comes with such good fortune, or maybe lack of misfortune. admittedly i was raised in an affluent suburb, with no real crime except what my friends and i caused ourselves, and i went around for years thinking i was safe.

Then the Petit home invasion happened only 20 miles away in a town just like mine. So now i have a CCW, plenty of firepower, and my family thinks i'm paranoid because i carry a pistol most of the time. Now this newest home invasion, only 15 miles in a different direction.

Thanks all the same, i'll take my "paranoia" over complacency and ignorance. I'm in good company on TFL. And actually, i'm tired of pointing out that "preparedness" is not synonymous with "paranoia"

Thanks for the ideas. I would like to hear more about securing a 5' sliding glass door.
 
You could have a plan in your head with escape routes, safe rooms, choke point, etc. Of course planning and having to actually employ the plan are two totally different things. The only thing I see as a potential bad outcome in this situation is that a perp or two HAD guns. If they see you retrieving your firearm a shootout is most likely to occur. Also, if you have a 1911 or other pistol that doesn't hold 10+ rounds, you HAVE to make sure each shot counts. I'm sure many here have extra mags, but you may not think to grab another mag in all the chaos. A revolver is even more difficult to reload quickly.

Tough one.

Of course is all IMO...
 
Nothing - no dog, or alarm system, or firearm - can keep you completely safe. Your goal, cynical as it may be, is to be less vulnerable than someone else so the BG finds easier pickings. It is, for example, much more likely that the BG who is scouting you will decide to go to a house without a dog than that he will come up with an elaborate plan to silently kill your dog. BGs aren't looking for a challenge, they are looking to enrich themselves with the least effort possible.

And although they haven't been on TV or been the designated spokespersons for their department, I have several times had LEOs tell me that they recommend citizens, and especially small business people, be armed. Preaching to the choir, of course.
 
You're sitting on the couch watching TV when 5 guys crash through your rear slider and you have 3 seconds before they are in your living room with you. What do you do? Is the element of surprise and disparity of force too much to overcome? Do you wait until they separate to search the house before drawing and taking down the one or two in sight, hoping you can escape into the night with your family?
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Well, I know what I would do in those 3 seconds... try to pull my 9mm from my holster and start shooting. Could it be the cops doing a no-knock, sure - I guess I'll be dead and my family would be well-off if that were the case.
 
Nothing - no dog, or alarm system, or firearm - can keep you completely safe. Your goal, cynical as it may be, is to be less vulnerable than someone else so the BG finds easier pickings. It is, for example, much more likely that the BG who is scouting you will decide to go to a house without a dog than that he will come up with an elaborate plan to silently kill your dog. BGs aren't looking for a challenge, they are looking to enrich themselves with the least effort possible.

And although they haven't been on TV or been the designated spokespersons for their department, I have several times had LEOs tell me that they recommend citizens, and especially small business people, be armed. Preaching to the choir, of course.
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But you don't know if one of the BG's just wants to "off" someone for the hell of it. Doing nothing gives you a 50/50 chance of living.
 
to answer your 4th post...I would like to personally turn our primary home defense duties back to our shotgun.
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Some folks consider the shotgun a backup to the more readily accessable handgun. But, if you have time to get to it, do so.

I remember reading about some detectives investigating home invasion robberies in the East, who were so impressed with the speed at which an invasion could occur, that they began arming themselves at all times while at home off duty.

Sounds like insider trading home defense strategy to me. They learned things most people never knew, and acted on their knowledge.
 
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It is, for example, much more likely that the BG who is scouting you will decide to go to a house without a dog than that he will come up with an elaborate plan to silently kill your dog. BGs aren't looking for a challenge, they are looking to enrich themselves with the least effort possible.

That's true with one or two bad guys. But if 5 bad guys have scouted your house, know you have a dog, and decide to come in anyway, they probably have made arrangements for dealing with it. A baseball bat to the head doesn't make a whole lot of noise.
 
One of my closest buddies is a police detective that works a very violent area. He constantly tells people that they have to be crazy to leave their house without being armed.
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Lots of LE would tell you that--off the record. I'm referring to spokesmen who appear on tv and advise people how to prevent crime.

That's the point. City and Police higher ups know you're better off armed. But it's politically incorrect to tell the public that.
 
I dont think there way anything they could have done at that point.

Pre-planning sure.

Dog
Security motion detecting flood lights.
Shatter-gard on all glass door and windows.
Alarm system loud enuff to be heard in the shower.
Firearms on person or in a discreet lockbox in primary areas (ie living room, bedroom, etc).

Thats the order I would want them in.
 
I just carry when I am in the house. If not carrying then I have one very close by. I live in a rented duplex so alarm system is not an option. I did reinforce the doors. The windows are plexiglass, and secured fairly well. They will not shatter from a strike. I know they would not stop a determined intruder, but it would slow them down for a few seconds atleast.

I have a dog. Though he would have to drop his ball to be effective against anyone. I doubt he would bite anyone. He does let me know when my girlfriend is home, or when the girl scouts are at the door to sell cookies. He gets happy then.:p

Due to the neighborhood my biggest concearn would be a case of wrong house home invasion. They have had a couple of them happen here. All counts the victim knew the attacker. All but one were to rob the house of drugs, and money. One was a case of wrong house. When the invaders figured out that they had the wrong house, they stabbed the elderly man that lived there, and fled. Luckily the man only suffered from non life threatening injuries. The three attackers were caught less than 20 minutes later. All were sentenced to 80 years each.
 
Agree that our great white fathers in government don't subscribe to an armed response. But, guns should be your last line of defense. All the advice offered to dissuade burglars/home invaders from targeting you remain valid. These include, lights, cutting back shrubs, alarm system with panic buttons, a dog, locked doors, are all valid and should be done. When all else fails, the home invaders will flee once you shoot the first one. It ain't Hollywood. They won't want a shoot-out.

Here's where you can get into deep doo-doo. Don't give chase, putting rounds in their backs as they flee down the driveway. Call 911, ask for medical assistance for the guy you shot. And don't execute him if he's still alive. You'll be charged with murder.
 
Actually a 12 bore shotgun would probably do just fine to ward off home invaders. About two weeks ago 4 armed males broke into a wheel chair bound
older ladies home. She had bought a single shot 12 gage to get rid of some animals that were tearing up her garden. SHe was in her bedroom and as I said 4 armed males broke into her home. She had a light load in it for the small garden pests.
When two of them broke through the door of her bedroom she let loose with a blast. One of the bad guys took most of it to the face and the second lost a finger or two. The others broke and ran. The guy that took the hit to the face survived the birdshot type load. But I doubt if their is much left of his face. The guy that lost his finger(s) didn't get them back. The other two were caught shortly their after. In most instances when these situations have happened and the home invaders have taken hits they get gone fast. No guarantees. But they are counting on the element of surprise. When one or two of them are dropped the element of surprise then falls on them.
 
So, when you leave your wife and daughter at home, are they armed? Would even a 12 ga shotgun have been effective against 5 armed invaders?Prior reports indicated that a shotgun was stolen, but these women were obviously unprepared to use it, couldn't/didn't resist, and all were left physically unharmed at the end of 4.5 hours of captivity.
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The only effective weapon would have been the one on the belt, in the hand, or within reach at the time of the attack.
 
Plain and simple, if it's not close by and ready, you are toast because they will wait till you least expect it.

These puke bag States need to eliminate the Castle Doctrines and allow normal Law abidding Citizens to go on the offensive. They won't do that tho, because they all get too much money from the Federal Government for Police who seem to have the attitude (in NY) that only they should have guns.

Anytime a system is created on tax money, there is corruption. Not allowing citizens to protect themselves is just one example.

Would that 20 Y.O. punk showing crack, while bee-bopping around in public give you lip if he knew you had a .45 under your shoulder?

It shouldn't be the law abidding such as myself who have to bite our tongues!
 
Hiker1, it appears you assume there will only be one dog, and that it will be left on its own, outdoors.

I have three, and they are primarily indoor dogs. When outdoors, the two large dogs play together. I suppose they'd be vulnerable to poisons, but a baseball bat, not so much.

Somebody harming one of my dogs while they are outdoors would be a huge tipoff that something else might follow.

And nobody approaches silently when multiple dogs are in the house.

But other things people can do, in addition to carrying while at home:

1) Don't set up the yard so that there are bushes, hedges, small trees up against the house, where intruders can hide. For night-time, motion detector lights are also a good idea.

2) Have spring and deadbolts on all exterior doors (and treat the door from the garage as an exterior door); ensure all exterior doors are good quality, and seated in strong, solid door-frames.

3) Have locks on all windows (and have good, tempered glass windows).

4) Use the locks on the doors and windows; they don't do much good otherwise.

5) Use burglar bars as well as locks on glass sliding doors.

6) If you have the money, sliding, locking metal shutters that can be rigged outside the sliding glass doors are a good idea. Swinging or sliding, locking metal shutters for the windows are, too.

7) Closed circuit TV and an intercom for the front door (and around the corners from the door, to look for potential accomplices) are a good way to look out for the BGs who knock at a door, then force it open when you go to see who's there.

And that's just for the exterior of the home. There are a bunch of things you can do inside.

And, of course, carry. But the gun is the last line of defense, not the first.
 
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