Posted on 10/04/2013 9:21:23 AM PDT by riri
Yesterday as I was doing some work and surfing Free Republic, I got a knock on the door. I never answer the door when home alone and didn't yesterday.
I didn't think much of it initially as we get a lot of solicitors, Jehovah Witnesses, etc.
The individual kept knocking rather aggressively and ringing the bell. I looked out a side window and saw a car. Because there can sometimes be lawsuits at my husband's company, my immediate thought was that perhaps he was receiving a summons for a court case that needed his testimony. While this has never happened before I know it is a possibility.
So, while unnerved, I just thought it was an overly aggressive summons server. I was getting a little rattled but no much. I live in a very nice, quite area which is predominately Mormon. I generally feel pretty safe here. Especially at 10:30 am.
I was home with my teenage daughter at the time. Normally, my husband works from home, right near the front door with a firearm.
My daughter and I went to look at the car again when we heard an enormous bang--sounded like the whole front of the house caved in.
We locked ourselves in the front room, locked the door and jumped out the front window. We ran down the street and called 9.11. About ten minutes later we could see four young, hispanic(ish) youths making out the door with our computers, etc.
9.11 actually put me on hold for three minutes or so. They were able to catch them though before they made it out of our subdivision because they got lost.
The officer that came by today said it was purely random. They tried a house around the corner and the door didn't give as easily so they moved on.
We were extremely lucky in that we made it out of the house. I was extremely stupid for not assuming the worst and getting to a firearm, at least, and not calling 9/11 the minute any radar went off.
The officers said this is a common tactic and sometimes if you answer they will make up a story and go away. Sometimes they will force their way in.
Just thought I would share this with Freepers, especially you women who might find yourselves at home alone. Be armed, be prepared and be vigilant. Our society is falling apart.
Good for you, the only way they show up here is if they are still in the house or you shot them. ;)
I keep a sharp, functional sword in every room. At close quarters, it's just as lethal, and children understand from an early age about "sharp, don't touch".
I also keep a gun in each "retreat room".
I really, too, just want other freepers to see it. Especially women. We get complacent.
I mean, I am driving in the cop car and a family of five goes by me quite idyllically on bicycles. It is very easy to forget what is happening all around us. Most of the time, things feel and look pretty normal. But, it is not. Not at all.
A woman at home with a daughter has the right to defend herself. The left doesn’t want her to defend herself. The left would rather see women die than defend themselves.
Criminals have cars. Suburban homes in previously-low-crime areas are both softer targets and have better stuff to steal (laptops, ipads, jewelry, etc).
Expect this trend to increase. Stay armed.
We have 4 dogs and we keep guns all over the bedroom. They are loaded, but not chambered. And I hope if someone hears me racking a gun, they won’t make me shoot them with it.
Not a cop, but was a firefighter a looong time ago.
A BIC lighter and a can of flammable wasp spray.
even without being lit, the wasp spray in the face WILL stop ANYONE in their tracks.
If you ignite the emitted stream with the lighter, it makes an IMPRESSIVE flamethrower; and NO, the can will NOT, CANNOT explode.
For a more benign and dual use nonlethal deterrent, buy the largest dry powder fire extinguisher you can handle. ANYONE you cover with the dry powder stream WILL be stopped, and find breathing quite difficult. Keep spraying them until they stop trying to get up. The powder is choking but non-toxic. You can then whack ‘em with the empty canister. But trust me, dry powder WILL stop anyone’s advance who needs to breathe air to live.
I NEVER answer the door to anyone I don’t know or expect.
The area between your door and whatever cover and/or concealment you can cover the door with is the fatal funnel. The closer to the door, the narrower the cone of engagement.
When you enter the fatal funnel, THEY control it. When they enter the fatal funnel, YOU control it.
You give up a huge tactical advantage when you answer the door.
Just sent you a private FR mail.
>>In addition to guns get a dog or 2 or 3 and teach them to bark like crazy when someone comes around.<<
‘round these parts, we call that the ‘Redneck Doorbell’.
I agree. I perhaps should have made noise. Or in retrospect, I thought, I have an App on my phone that plays loud noises (ferocious barks, etc.) and I also have a little Radio Shack amplifier. I could have turned that on, looping, with a barking dog. For the record, I do have a dog who does normally bark at anything suspicious. They were extremely quiet except for the knocking and finally the smashing. She was outside, I don't think she heard anything. (she's ten)
Good advice, though nothing records when on hold.
3 minutes on hold seems the norm these days. Even in my area the couple times I’ve called 911 I first get prompts, not people. The phone won’t protect anyone when alone and faced with a threat.
Yes, go for the gun.
As an aside, we have a prominent dome camera visible from the street on our porch; it’s a huge deterrent and funny to see people twitch and turn/drive away (on DVR replay) when they see it, generally leaving the neighborhood after that.
Yes..and I forgot to add that the 4-5 men that did this just two doors down from my home, were also all Hispanic. Of course..this is Texas..where we have millions of illegal and legal Hispanics...so odds are pretty good they would be Hispanic. The entitlement society that the leftists have encouraged minorities to ‘join’, is a big part of this crime too.
Obama's Dreamers alright. Dreaming of pawning your stuff.
Dogs are a great deterrant. My lab is only dangerous to food, but when he barks he sounds like he is Cerberus.
The pump 12 or 20 gauge is to be kept in the ‘retreat’ room. Carry all the time, everywhere, even in the bathroom.
No, I didn’t, but I have no means of knowing how invincible your gate is (e.g., can it be circumvented, can it be taken off its hinges?)
At the very least, if nothing else, this thread should educate everyone that factory door frames are fixed by builders/contractors with only 3/4-1” screws, permitting this sort of forced entry.
Any locksmith (online sources, too) sell 3” screws to secure the hinges/strike plates to the STUDS and buys those precious seconds. It only costs about $12 and takes less than an hour of honey-do. Worse, it’s been reported recently that door/frame assemblies are being sold/installed with insufficient depth for the deadbolts, preventing full travel and, as a result, no latching.
Check your deadbolt travel and replace those screws, people.
Sounds so nice ... too nice for an old grouch like me. If someone breaks into my home, I will do my best to have the coroner be the one to transport them out. If I kill them, they will not do it again, and you cannot know in advanced if a person breaking in is armed or not. Kill them in their tracks. Stop them, permanently.
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