I thought I'd share an incident that happened last month when a frightened neighbor called my house for help.
Brief background: We live in a cul-de-sac in an older, middle-class neighborhood. As a result of the economy, we've had a small number of foreclosures in the neighborhood These properties were purchased after foreclosure and then used as rentals (of course, we aren't real happy about that, but what can you do..). Anyway, with the new rentals came some semi-shady residents. Not long after, things started to disappear from garages and there were a few incidents of vandalism and a burlary. As a result, the mood in the neighborhood had been a little on-edge.
On the night of the "scare", I had just fallen asleep to the History Channel in the bedroom, and my kids had been asleep for some time. I was awakened by a ringing phone followed by my wife telling me to go next door. Apparently the older lady who lives beside us (whose husband does not return to work until midnight), heard a loud noise against her back door and her dog was barking and growling in response. She was convinced that someone was attempting to gain entry. I told my wife to take herself, the phone, and the kids into the bedroom furthest away from the direction of my neighbor's home and to call the neighbor back to tell her to go into her own upstairs bedroom while remaining on the phone with my wife, and to tell her that I would be approaching the rear of her home from the direction of my house and would be armed.
Once my wife and neighbor were on the phone I left my own house with my
Kimber .45, the only firearm I owned at that time. I had a round in the pipe and the saftey "on". As I approached the back door of the neighbors house, (very dark and heavily wooded yard) I saw a tall figure in the dark, walking slowly and quietly in the opposite direction. I thumbed off the safety and loudly said "Stop. Identify yourself!". I was holding the gun in the low-ready position.
In response, the shadow-figure identified himself as the older lady's OTHER next-door neighbor. I recognized the voice immediately, put the safety back "on" and asked him what he was doing. He stated that the neighbor lady had ALSO called HIM when she heard the noise. Of course, neighbor lady didn't tell either one of us that she had called the other. I tucked the Kimber into the back of my pants and we checked out the area. Nothing looked amiss and we attributed the noise to a raccoon or similar varmint.
We rang the neighbor's doorbell and told her all seemed well. I also told her to let us know next time WHO ELSE she had called asking for help!
Although I wouldn't call this a "close call" as I never leveled the firearm at the "intruder", never felt in danger, remained very calm and was able to identify the LACK of a threat prior to any "fight or flight" decisions, I thought afterward about all of the ways the situation COULD have gone very bad - especially in light of the heightened nervousness in the neighborhood. Nonetheless, it was a very valuable learning experience.
As a side note, the other week my wife called the house from outside in the neighborhood while jogging. She told me that an unfamiliar red SUV was driving slowly through the neighborhood with the occupants looking around in a suspicious manner. The vehicle had passed her twice and was heading for our cul-de-sac and she wanted to make sure that the kids and me were inside. I looked out the front window and saw the SUV parked in front of a house whose occupants were out of town. I recognized the SUV from passing it in the neighborhood when I was returning from work earlier in the day and remembered being a bit suspicious of the decrepit vehicle and it's sketchy-looking occupants. It was already dark and the street in front of that house was entirely shadowed from trees. I watched as the SUV stayed parked for several minutes. Two individuals then exited the vehicle and went behind the house - returning to the SUV a few minutes later. I called 911 to report a possible burglary. As I continued to watch and wait for the police response, the two individuals made two more trips behind the house, returning to the vehicle each time but appearing to be empty-handed.
After TWENTY FIVE minutes, a single sherrif's cruiser entered the cul-de sac. The SUV's lights immediately came on and the car began to move. The deputy turned his lights on and stopped the vehicle. He checked their ID's and kept them for about 20 minutes, following them out of the neighborhood afterward. I never found out what the deal was or what may have been going on, but the point is, the sherrif's dept was in no hurry to get there! Another good lesson.
Just thought I'd share.
Brief background: We live in a cul-de-sac in an older, middle-class neighborhood. As a result of the economy, we've had a small number of foreclosures in the neighborhood These properties were purchased after foreclosure and then used as rentals (of course, we aren't real happy about that, but what can you do..). Anyway, with the new rentals came some semi-shady residents. Not long after, things started to disappear from garages and there were a few incidents of vandalism and a burlary. As a result, the mood in the neighborhood had been a little on-edge.
On the night of the "scare", I had just fallen asleep to the History Channel in the bedroom, and my kids had been asleep for some time. I was awakened by a ringing phone followed by my wife telling me to go next door. Apparently the older lady who lives beside us (whose husband does not return to work until midnight), heard a loud noise against her back door and her dog was barking and growling in response. She was convinced that someone was attempting to gain entry. I told my wife to take herself, the phone, and the kids into the bedroom furthest away from the direction of my neighbor's home and to call the neighbor back to tell her to go into her own upstairs bedroom while remaining on the phone with my wife, and to tell her that I would be approaching the rear of her home from the direction of my house and would be armed.
Once my wife and neighbor were on the phone I left my own house with my
Kimber .45, the only firearm I owned at that time. I had a round in the pipe and the saftey "on". As I approached the back door of the neighbors house, (very dark and heavily wooded yard) I saw a tall figure in the dark, walking slowly and quietly in the opposite direction. I thumbed off the safety and loudly said "Stop. Identify yourself!". I was holding the gun in the low-ready position.
In response, the shadow-figure identified himself as the older lady's OTHER next-door neighbor. I recognized the voice immediately, put the safety back "on" and asked him what he was doing. He stated that the neighbor lady had ALSO called HIM when she heard the noise. Of course, neighbor lady didn't tell either one of us that she had called the other. I tucked the Kimber into the back of my pants and we checked out the area. Nothing looked amiss and we attributed the noise to a raccoon or similar varmint.
We rang the neighbor's doorbell and told her all seemed well. I also told her to let us know next time WHO ELSE she had called asking for help!
Although I wouldn't call this a "close call" as I never leveled the firearm at the "intruder", never felt in danger, remained very calm and was able to identify the LACK of a threat prior to any "fight or flight" decisions, I thought afterward about all of the ways the situation COULD have gone very bad - especially in light of the heightened nervousness in the neighborhood. Nonetheless, it was a very valuable learning experience.
As a side note, the other week my wife called the house from outside in the neighborhood while jogging. She told me that an unfamiliar red SUV was driving slowly through the neighborhood with the occupants looking around in a suspicious manner. The vehicle had passed her twice and was heading for our cul-de-sac and she wanted to make sure that the kids and me were inside. I looked out the front window and saw the SUV parked in front of a house whose occupants were out of town. I recognized the SUV from passing it in the neighborhood when I was returning from work earlier in the day and remembered being a bit suspicious of the decrepit vehicle and it's sketchy-looking occupants. It was already dark and the street in front of that house was entirely shadowed from trees. I watched as the SUV stayed parked for several minutes. Two individuals then exited the vehicle and went behind the house - returning to the SUV a few minutes later. I called 911 to report a possible burglary. As I continued to watch and wait for the police response, the two individuals made two more trips behind the house, returning to the vehicle each time but appearing to be empty-handed.
After TWENTY FIVE minutes, a single sherrif's cruiser entered the cul-de sac. The SUV's lights immediately came on and the car began to move. The deputy turned his lights on and stopped the vehicle. He checked their ID's and kept them for about 20 minutes, following them out of the neighborhood afterward. I never found out what the deal was or what may have been going on, but the point is, the sherrif's dept was in no hurry to get there! Another good lesson.
Just thought I'd share.
