Home invasion at elderly neighbor's house. I'm a good shot but not mentally prepared

Hiker
Yes you can get real ADT signs (legitimately) off ebay. From people who sell their annual sign allowance. I've put those up and haven't had any trouble since. And the cops here don't really respond to alarms, apparently standard across the country.
The fake / off brand imho are worthless.
 
And the cops here don't really respond to alarms, apparently standard across the country.
Click to expand...
They respond here unless you have a rash of false alarms

Alarms aren't much good in an "invasion"
 
If you see anything suspicious and have the opportunity ring the police. There are too many possible different scenarios to be prepared for them all. Improving security would be the first thing to do, better keeping someone out of the house than wondering what to do if they get in.
 
The police response time around here is half an hour, at best. I'm in the same rural environment that the OP described. That doesn't get better with an alarm, the bad guys know it. They'll break into an alarmed home and do their thing while the alarm is going off. From my perspective, based on where I live a security service sign is just an advertisement for valuable stuff in my home.

Dogs are a great warning system. But as others have pointed out they're also a big commitment, not worth it if you don't love owning them. And dogs that bark at everything can condition you to tune a lot out. I've owned over ten dogs, and only a couple of them knew when to get my attention when it was important and just watch when it wasn't.

Keep in mind that the guys who hit your neighbor likely targeted her because she was an old lady. Furthermore I have to wonder if it was a coincidence that they hit the house while her husband was in the shower, I suspect they'd been watching for awhile.

So reach out to all the neighbors. Strange traffic is easy to spot in rural locations. Work together and keep an eye on things. I live on a quiet dead end road. I smile and waive at every car that comes down the street when I'm working by the road or walking the dog. To be friendly, and to let them know I've seen them.
 
Mindset@freenokia

I have but one question , and I ask it with all due respect: If you have any reservations about having to use lethal force in protecting either yourself, your family, or another innocent party when confronted with life-threatening circumstances....especially in your own home; Why do you choose to carry a firearm in the first place?
Wherever you live, the 'CASTLE DOCTRINE' should apply, especially if your home is broken into and your lives are threatened, and the intruders are armed when you are so threatened.
Perhaps I am misunderstanding something here, and if so--then I apologize, but whatever the case... if you are not mentally prepared to use lethal force then you surely face the possibility of severe bodily harm, as well as those with you... even death....should the perpetrators discover that you are carrying at the time.
As a retired Peace Officer, I still remember what the academy instructors told us. 'If you are not willing to use lethal force--by ANY means necessary to protect yourself or any other innocent party, then you are in the wrong profession'.
I wish you luck in finding your resolution.

WILL.
 
I'm not going to comment on the firearms readiness part--I think everyone else will submit comments on that. I faced the same doubts myself and am not by nature an aggressive guy. I will say this though, when the adrenaline is pumping and that survival instinct kicks in--you might be surprised what you're capable of doing. I also agree that once the bad guys break into your home--all bets are off on justifying use of any force necessary.

I have lived in high violent crime areas (witnessed several shootings and had more than one shot land near my house) and most of the time the best strategy is not to get into a confrontation to begin with IMO. Develop situational awareness of your surroundings--your neighborhood--strangers and strange cars etc. Most home invasions happen in broad daylight cause the bad guys think you'll be at work--unless maybe they personally target you. They will case you and your house out--often they know who and what they are after before breaking in. Be careful about who you let in the house and what they see--even kids talking to unknown adults can pass on info about a house's content.

Unless you're willing to move to a safer neighborhood--by all means get a good dog--IMO perhaps even more valuable as a deterrent than a gun. Windows and especially back porches are vulnerable areas for home attacks. Arrange furniture with this in mind. I know it sounds crazy--but if you really think a bad confrontation can happen within your home--then you might consider setting your home up with strategic shooting lanes and defendable conceals. Never linger long at a window looking out--but be aware of what's going on in your immediate yard. Walking the neighborhood, avoid lingering at intersections with stop signs etc and avoid areas with choke-points and no avenues of escape. I have run away fast more than once--far preferable to drawing a weapon IMO. (this past spring I witnessed a guy standing at a street corner--car pulled up at the stop sign, down came the window and a gangster emptied an entire clip from a 45 at almost point blank, all but one shot missing). Get to know your neighbors and try to set up a rotating neighborhood watch thing if at all possible.

Since I'm an avid shooter and hunter--I have a fairly substantial collection of firearms (not to mention all the reloading gear to feed that habit). That's a real concern if you live in a high-crime area and can be a double-edged sword--securing your weapons while you're not home is of paramount importance--but then again having a useful strategy for quick-access is equally important. More complicated than you might think--especially if you live with family.

my less than 2 cents food for thought. : )

PS--Incidentally, the guy that got shot took a round through his side. It was a complete pass-through and he came running towards me holding his side. He was running as fast as a track star out of the blocks and I thought he was going for a gun at his side--I took off running diagonally splitting the difference between the car and him. I called the cops and both were caught (accurate details of vehicles and what people are wearing, as well as locations, go a long way towards helping cops make the stop).
 
Last edited:
And the cops here don't really respond to alarms, apparently standard across the country.

Nope, that's inaccurate. We've had ADT for 13 years in 2 different cities and had 3 false alarms. The cops came with a quickness.

Plus if the alarm is on and you have a breach, the siren is ear-splitting. No BG is going to stick around during all of that racket. You can motion detectors and/or glass-break detectors for certain areas of the house if you like plus the key pads and keychain remotes have panic buttons.

Infallible? Hardly but another layer of defense if used correctly.
 
And the cops here don't really respond to alarms, apparently standard across the country.

Nope, that's inaccurate. We've had ADT for 13 years in 2 different cities and had 3 false alarms. The cops came with a quickness.

Plus if the alarm is on and you have a breach, the siren is ear-splitting. No BG is going to stick around during all of that racket. You can motion detectors and/or glass-break detectors for certain areas of the house if you like plus the key pads and keychain remotes have panic buttons.

Infallible? Hardly but another layer of defense if used correctly.
Click to expand...
That;s not always true either.

Most security companies have their own monitoring facilities--so you are in essence one stage removed in the chain of filtering for outgoing 911 calls. Some states have laws that require attempt(s) at contacting the home owner by phone, maybe more than one attempt, prior to actually contacting the police. This is a safeguard to cut down false alarms. The bad guys have already made their score and are long gone in those situations. The one exception being (and what I would insist on) is the "panic" button which contacts the police immediately and directly WITHOUT sounding an alarm--useful in a potential hostage scenario.

Don't underestimate how clever the bad guys can be, especially if they operate in gangs/groups--I've seen them in action many times. They know in general how long a response actually is to an alarm sounding--so just having a loud alarm won't necessarily scare them off. They can time their event to be a quick crash and grab (which in itself can potentially raise the prospect of a violent outcome if you are home and they didn't know it)--and then toss the booty into a separate vehicle with the actual thieves walking calmly away so as to not attract attention. They can know how to have remote spotters with cells to notify when police are actually on their way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top