The questions before I start.
We should of called police sooner?
Was I right that at no point in this I felt any need to go for a firearm?
Should I have felt the need?
Am I right to assume that I felt that we were all safe and secure enough out of immediate danger to need a weapon in hand?
edit: Just wanted to add this detail in, we were below window level and our townhouse is all brick.The best possible safe location I thought in our home.
Was me feeling the fact that my sons we about to be experiencing something out of the normal a possible motive for me not instinctively reaching for a firearm when I got out of bed to save them from any further confusion or fear when we ran our practiced drill in a real situation?
And what transpired:
So last night about 2 am my wife and I laid down for bed, we had just got done watching movies with our boys and one was on the couch watching tv still half asleep and one had went to his room. Ages 10 and 17.
It was no more then 20 minutes later I was not fully asleep yet and woke to a muffled POP POP POP POP ....pause POP POP POP
My wife jumped just as quick as I did. We both yelled is that gun fire jumping out of bed.
I knew it was outside and I knew it was coming from the townhouse parking lot next to us as our bedroom window faces it. It did not sound like it was outside though but maybe from inside of a car or the building because it did sound muffled if that makes sense. Sort of EXACTLY like it sounds when you walk up to an inside ranges building you can hear it outside but it is muffled.
I ran to my sons room and told him to get on the ground, my wife ran to the living room and had our son get to the ground off the couch where she moved him to the hallway.
As I exited my older sons room he followed me to the hallway where he joined my wife and younger son.
Again we all heard it POP POP POP POP POP POP in rapid succession but it sounded slightly different but still loud.
I went to the sliding glass doors low and slid the phone to my wife across the living room floor to the hallway. In a kneeling position I pushed the curtain back and opened the door and moved to the balcony just enough where I saw a car with no lights on moving slow through the parking lot then stop. I also noticed my neighbors car in our parking lot running with the door open and him with a flashlight exiting his car about 50 feet from us.
My wife still with phone in hand joins me in a low position on the balcony were we both then see the car speed off with no lights on. She goes back inside to boys.
At this point my neighbor briskly walks to the next lot with a small flashlight in hand.
I told my wife " hold on a second before we call the police, I said maybe it was not gun shots ...I think it was something else maybe I don't know and the neighbor is walking over there?"
She goes in to the kids and I stand now to see if I can see more of what is going on. I can see my neighbors flashlight still moving around about 40 yards from me now. Any second now I believe I will see the police show up as I know we were not the only ones who could of heard this.
About I don't know, 3 minutes goes by and my neighbor starts to walk back where I ask "what is going on here man?"
He says " listen all I know is there is two cars over there with windshields broken out and some heavy damage, I was sitting here getting ready to head off to work when I heard the popping and I got low until it stopped."
I asked if he called the cops and he did not answer me and got into his car and left?
My wife was to the side of the sliding glass doors and heard what transpired. I walked back and and said wtf was that about he did not even answer me?
Still though NO cops yet? We do not live in a bad area and the cops are called when kids skateboard late at night so I am not understanding this.
I believe a total of about 15 minutes has transpired now we talked to the boys and basically said we did not know what it was but that you guys did GREAT in this! I go to the computer and grab my towns police site, I opted to not call 911 and rather call the station directly because honestly I still had no idea what really just took place besides the loud popping noise we heard, the car we saw and what our neighbor told us.
At this point I do have my scanner on and am monitoring what is going on.
The police show up about 15 minutes later, spot lights on and we here them talking and confirm what we already knew about the damaged cars, the station had called my phone and said the officers would like us to give a statement on what we heard or saw. So we met outside,she asked us a few questions took our information and she informed us that it looked like it was a personal attack as both cars were damaged with what looks like to be baseball bats and registered to the same owner who actually does not even live near our area.
They were in the building interviewing possible witnesses and from what we gathered from the scanner no one saw or heard anything. So she left contact cards on both vehicles.
So the popping sound was bats on glass and glass "exploding". Without looking like too much of a noisy neighbor I snapped two pics this morning.
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We should of called police sooner?
Was I right that at no point in this I felt any need to go for a firearm?
Should I have felt the need?
Am I right to assume that I felt that we were all safe and secure enough out of immediate danger to need a weapon in hand?
edit: Just wanted to add this detail in, we were below window level and our townhouse is all brick.The best possible safe location I thought in our home.
Was me feeling the fact that my sons we about to be experiencing something out of the normal a possible motive for me not instinctively reaching for a firearm when I got out of bed to save them from any further confusion or fear when we ran our practiced drill in a real situation?
And what transpired:
So last night about 2 am my wife and I laid down for bed, we had just got done watching movies with our boys and one was on the couch watching tv still half asleep and one had went to his room. Ages 10 and 17.
It was no more then 20 minutes later I was not fully asleep yet and woke to a muffled POP POP POP POP ....pause POP POP POP
My wife jumped just as quick as I did. We both yelled is that gun fire jumping out of bed.
I knew it was outside and I knew it was coming from the townhouse parking lot next to us as our bedroom window faces it. It did not sound like it was outside though but maybe from inside of a car or the building because it did sound muffled if that makes sense. Sort of EXACTLY like it sounds when you walk up to an inside ranges building you can hear it outside but it is muffled.
I ran to my sons room and told him to get on the ground, my wife ran to the living room and had our son get to the ground off the couch where she moved him to the hallway.
As I exited my older sons room he followed me to the hallway where he joined my wife and younger son.
Again we all heard it POP POP POP POP POP POP in rapid succession but it sounded slightly different but still loud.
I went to the sliding glass doors low and slid the phone to my wife across the living room floor to the hallway. In a kneeling position I pushed the curtain back and opened the door and moved to the balcony just enough where I saw a car with no lights on moving slow through the parking lot then stop. I also noticed my neighbors car in our parking lot running with the door open and him with a flashlight exiting his car about 50 feet from us.
My wife still with phone in hand joins me in a low position on the balcony were we both then see the car speed off with no lights on. She goes back inside to boys.
At this point my neighbor briskly walks to the next lot with a small flashlight in hand.
I told my wife " hold on a second before we call the police, I said maybe it was not gun shots ...I think it was something else maybe I don't know and the neighbor is walking over there?"
She goes in to the kids and I stand now to see if I can see more of what is going on. I can see my neighbors flashlight still moving around about 40 yards from me now. Any second now I believe I will see the police show up as I know we were not the only ones who could of heard this.
About I don't know, 3 minutes goes by and my neighbor starts to walk back where I ask "what is going on here man?"
He says " listen all I know is there is two cars over there with windshields broken out and some heavy damage, I was sitting here getting ready to head off to work when I heard the popping and I got low until it stopped."
I asked if he called the cops and he did not answer me and got into his car and left?
My wife was to the side of the sliding glass doors and heard what transpired. I walked back and and said wtf was that about he did not even answer me?
Still though NO cops yet? We do not live in a bad area and the cops are called when kids skateboard late at night so I am not understanding this.
I believe a total of about 15 minutes has transpired now we talked to the boys and basically said we did not know what it was but that you guys did GREAT in this! I go to the computer and grab my towns police site, I opted to not call 911 and rather call the station directly because honestly I still had no idea what really just took place besides the loud popping noise we heard, the car we saw and what our neighbor told us.
At this point I do have my scanner on and am monitoring what is going on.
The police show up about 15 minutes later, spot lights on and we here them talking and confirm what we already knew about the damaged cars, the station had called my phone and said the officers would like us to give a statement on what we heard or saw. So we met outside,she asked us a few questions took our information and she informed us that it looked like it was a personal attack as both cars were damaged with what looks like to be baseball bats and registered to the same owner who actually does not even live near our area.
They were in the building interviewing possible witnesses and from what we gathered from the scanner no one saw or heard anything. So she left contact cards on both vehicles.
So the popping sound was bats on glass and glass "exploding". Without looking like too much of a noisy neighbor I snapped two pics this morning.
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I wouldn't be trying to decide if it was gunfire or not: let the police sort it out. And if I even thought it might be, I'd be going for the gun myself.