Armed Defense- Are you armed at Home?

We have four new stories of armed defense this week. Each of these defenders faced a threat in their home or in a relatives home. We think of our home as a safe refuge, but sometimes it isn’t safe at all. Some attacks are random, but some attackers come to hurt us. Are you armed at home so you can defend yourself without having to run back to get your gun?

The longer discussion of what we should do, and what we should avoid, is on the Self Defense Gun Stories webpage. For now, here are the stories and the links to the original news sources.

How should you protect yourself and the people you love?

The Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast

.

Maine, New York- Are you armed at home?

You’re at home when you hear someone banging on your front door. You’re armed. You go to the door and open it. Two masked strangers try to push their way inside. You present your firearm. They turn and run. The masked strangers shoot at you as they run, so you return fire. You call 911 and ask for help. It is 10 in the evening.

You put your gun away as the police arrive. You give a statement to the police. Detectives think your house was specifically targeted for a burglary. Officers find your intruders. One has a gunshot wound to the leg. He is taken to the hospital for treatment. Both are arrested and charged with attempted murder in the second degree, attempted burglary in the first degree, and criminal use of a firearm in the first degree. They had stolen firearms.

You are not charged with a crime.

.

Columbia, South Carolina- Do you have a firearm nearby at night?

You are at home in bed. The news reports say that a female lives there as well, but we don’t know if it is your wife, a girlfriend, or an unrelated female. You’re both woken up by the sound of someone banging on your door. It is almost 2am and now someone is kicking your front door. The female occupant of the home picks up her phone and calls 911. You grab your gun.

The intruder keeps trying to get in. Now he breaks the glass window in the door and he reaches through the broken door to turn the door knob. You shoot through the window and strike your intruder in the chest. He steps back and you stop shooting. The female occupant of the home tells the police that there were shots fired. She stays on the phone with the dispatcher.

You put your gun away when the police arrive. They find your intruder dead on the front porch. Both of you give statements to the police. You later find out that the intruder was a college student who tried to get into the wrong home even though he was two miles from campus. Police asked for toxicology reports to find out what the intruder was taking.

The district solicitor’s office said you would not be charged with a crime.

.

Pensacola, Florida- Are you armed in public?

You get a text from your sister. She says she needs you right now and that she is in trouble. You grab your gun and drive over to her home. The door to her trailer is broken in. You go inside and her ex boyfriend is standing in the middle of her trailer. She is bruised and she says he hit her..again.

You both tell him to leave. That is when the ex-boyfriend draws his gun. He points it at you. You present your firearm and shoot him until he drops his gun. News reports aren’t clear if you or your sister called 911 for help. You both stayed at the scene. You put your gun away when the police arrived. Both of you gave statements to the police. The police take your attacker’s gun and they see the door he kicked in. They see your sister’s injuries.

You are not charged with a crime.

.

Logan County, Kentucky- Do you have a firearm nearby at night?

You’re at home in bed. It is after two in the morning when you hear a crashing sound. You get up to see what is going on. Your ex-husband broke into your apartment. You tell him to leave and he attacks you. You run back to your bedroom and grab your gun. He moves toward you again, this time you shoot him. He stops advancing so you stop shooting. You step back and call the police.

You put your gun away before the police arrive. You give them a brief statement. They notice the broken door. The Coroner pronounces your attacker dead at the scene.

You are not charged.

~_~_

These stories sound simple, but it is hard to do the right thing when we’re dragged awake at 2 in the morning. We have to rely on habits when we’re to startled to think. That is why it is so important to have a home safety plan and to walk through it every few months to form those good patterns of behavior.

Have you talked through your safety plan with the other people living in your home? That sounds simple, but it isn’t always easy. Please practice now so you’re prepared in the middle of the night.

Thank you for making all of us safer. RM