Someone Tried to Break Into My House!

johncs, very good indeed. For situations like that, when you have time to grab safety equipment, spare mags and such, it is a good idea. I think it was in "Best Possible Defense" that I read of a lady who had fired shots in her home during an encounter. During a later break-in, she didn't make the same mistakes and wore eye and ear protection and found things went better for her.

So they caught four guys? You think they might have been involved in your attempted break-in? If so, then you really were quite fortunate that your fixation on the one burglar jackin' with the door did not cost you.

No matter how critical I was or anyone else, you should be proud of yourself. Post hoc analysis is here simply because you asked for the evaluation. The obvious points of your suvival, protection of the domicile, and lastly not having to shoot anyone are all excellent points and can't be argued with whether they are due to your excellent handling of that particular situation or good fortune. None of the rest of us were there. You can learn from it and next time have the advantage of experience on your side as well as knowledge.

Two sayings that I think speak well of your situation and say basically the same thing are...

God helps those who help themselves. You helped yourself.

But if you are not religious...

Luck favors the prepared mind. You were prepared.
 
I found myself in a similar situation

A couple of years ago I was working in my semi finished basement when I heard someone come into the house through the back door. My wife had'nt returned from work yet. It was about 5:30pm, and my hound dog was really throwing a fit, so I knew that it was definately someone who did'nt belong in the house. At the time I did'nt have any phone lines wired up in the basement. and the basement stairs leading into the kitchen near the back door were the only exit. I did have a 12 gauge pump Mossberg within easy reach, along with plenty of ammo. As it turned out the Perp found himself caught between my Ferocious attack beagle and the muzzle of my shotgun stoked with 00 buck. He was a crack head who had recently moved into the neighborhood, he had gotten into a fight with his girlfriend, also a crackhead who had called the police on him. He was running and trying to hide from them when he entered my house. I held him at gunpoint not taking my eyes off of him while I called the police, Making sure that I let them know that I was armed and holding the Perp. There were already squad cars running up and down the street searching for him. they arrived shortly and arrested him for criminal tresspass. not burglary because the back door was unlocked when he entered. Sadly to say the story does'nt end there. Two nights later same guy arrested for prowling my neighbors house. Tried to run again jumped a fence into a yard with a big Rottweiler and got chewed up a bit before going to jail. A week later I saw both him and his girlfriend arrested again they were walking down the street. That was the last time that I saw either of them. It would be interesting to know why he was out of jail so soon after the incident at my house. I'm thankful that my wife was'nt home alone when this incident occurred. Though she is fairly proficient with firearms. I'm just glad that she did'nt have to experience one of these situations.
 
It would be interesting to know why he was out of jail so soon after the incident at my house.
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As crimes go, criminal tresspass is a minor one. He probably made bail the next morning or may have been able to secure a personal bond. It's a messed up system.
 
You did well, much better than me anyway if I was put in the position. My side of town isn't a low crime area so most BG's are armed in one way or another (knife, gun, needle, disease, etc). So if I here some one in my back yard trying to get into my house....well I would have welcomed him in and if it was a sitaution like your where he saw me with one of my girls in my hand and he scattered I would let some shots off into the grass just to scare the living S**T out of him, make him think he got shot. :D
 
Well Done.

I was going to say it was a shame you did not get a license number of the vehicle first, but I had not considered there might be an accomplice in the truck. Good thing you followed your instincts and not what I was thinking.

I see only one item.
Oh, and the cops said that I did good and if i did open fired it would have been justified cause the screen room is considered part of the house since it is attached and my state has a castle law.
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It's always best to get your legal advice from the attorney you have retained to defend you in the event of a shooting. Second choice would be the DA if you have no attorney. Third would be a seasoned civilian defense instructor from your area. Cops give notoriously bad advice in this area. They mean well, but they have a different set of rules and restrictions.

But still, Well Done. :D
 
XavierBreath said:
It's always best to get your legal advice from the attorney you have retained to defend you in the event of a shooting. Second choice would be the DA if you have no attorney. Third would be a seasoned civilian defense instructor from your area. Cops give notoriously bad advice in this area. They mean well, but they have a different set of rules and restrictions.
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This is very true. As I assume all of us here know, "ignorance of the law is no excuse" and what some police officer told you regarding any particular legislation will not hold up in court. Either read the books yourself or talk those mentioned above.
 
You did great. Congrats and welcome to the 98% of incidents where a firearm averted a crime.

Nothing to add to everyone's posts here. Good show.
 
You scored 100%
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Congratulations. I agree. Well - and bravely - done.

But, there is room for improvement (as always):
1. call 911 as soon as there is a threat (and you have time to do so)
2. get shelter and a good shooting and aiming position towards the door
3. blind the BG with a light as soon as he is in
4. control him with commands or your gun if he enters.

stay safe. well done.
 
But, instead of "talking" to the original poster (unless he's still around someplace), lets carry with the thread content of:

This is a true scenrio (I will learn how to spell one day :( ). How would you have reacted?

Wayne
 
Although we now know this is a 3 year old thread, I think jwise and pdmoderator are on the money with their posts.

Call for backup, grab the best home defense weapon (shotgun) and find cover. Then warn the intruder that you are armed and that you will shoot him if he comes in. This will also limit your chances of prosecution if you happen to still have 911 on the line when you issue the warning.
 
I think you did well. I gotta say though that I'll throw another pitch to everyone for getting an alarm system. What if you had gone to bed? You wouldn't even know this guy was in your house probably, and it might have turned out much worse. Alarms aren't a panacea but they alert both you and the intruder, and most intruders will high-tail it at that point.
 
Boy do I feel dumb....................

This thread is three (3) years old guys!

There, that oughta do it.
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so what. I stil is an up-to-date topic. Same thing happened to a client of mine last week. He reacted totally wrong. Was in bed in the morning with his girlfirend because he had a day of. doorbell rang like hell. he couldn't care less. doorbell rang like hell again. still didn't get him out of bed. then he realized that somebody was working on his door lock.

now dig this:
- good guy got out of bed
- didn't call 911
- look out of his doorside window :eek:
- saw bad guy
- badguy ran away
- good guy called police after all was over (because he couldn't get out of his flat anymore, the lock was already to damaged :D )

So, dear poster, you did well, you could have done like my client... ;)
 
I realized that the post was 3 years old when I commented on it a while ago. With this being a forum and all, when I refer to "you" I am referring to everyone who may be seeking advice or find any given information useful. This topic is still very applicable today. If old post were obselete today then what would be the point of logging them? Just my .03¢
 
I think the poster did a fairly good job.

Now may I throw this out for consideration...

Take pistol check the room and head on to grab the 12ga. Call 911, give description of yourself and weapon. Check the exterior of the house through the windows, head back to kitchen. If front lawn appears clear, exit quietly and head around back. Announce your self when you come into view, say "Get down, stay where you are, hands where I can see them!" while working to door of screen room.

Now I can see this working with the addition of capturing the BG (cornered in screen room, if he rushes at you, shoot) however the problem is the truck and partner that is unkown.

It's probably what I would have done rather than trying to open a door and aim at the same time. Thus a critique would be nice.
 
why not just:

- call 911
- make 12ga and pistol (as backup) ready
- get into a perfect cover and address position
- wait for either police to arrive or
- bad guy to enter and arrest him untill police arrives
 
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