ALMOST SHOT A MAN TONIGHT - LITERALLY

Vanity | October 6, 2004 | Jaysun

[Jaysun]

I was sitting in my study tonight when I heard something at my front door. I already knew that my family was in bed, so I retrieved my pistol before going to investigate. As I got closer to the foyer I could hear the doorknob jingling. The motion lights were on, so I was sure that someone was trying to get into the house.

I stopped at the doorway into our dining room where I had a clear view of the front door. I cocked my revolver, aimed at the door, and waited. Suddenly this swings open and this guy steps into the house. I hadn’t said anything at this point, and my heart was hammering away like a sewing machine.

I said, “Stop! What are you doing?” I didn’t yell it at him, mostly because I was too nervous to muster anything much louder than a normal tone. He looks around to see where my voice was coming from and when he saw me with a gun aimed at his face he freaked out.

He immediately dropped what looked like a gym bag and threw his hands into the air. He took his eyes off of me, ducked his head, and started bending at his knees to get into a kneeling position. I kept my aim trained on his head. He was saying, “SH*T SH*T DON’T SHOOT! OH GOD DON’T SHOOT, OH SH*T!…” So I said, “Do not move! What in the hell are you doing in my house?” At this point I was both angry and scared at the same time.

He said, “I’m here to stay with Patricia…..my Aunt Patricia…I’m from New York and I’m here for the week.” Of course, there is no Patricia here, and I told him as much. By this time, my wife had awakened and she alerted me to that fact by letting out a shrill yelp. I told her to get the phone and call the police. He continued to insist that he was here to stay with Patricia. Somewhere in there he also mentioned someone named Dan. Then it dawned on me. Dan and Patricia are my neighbors. I told Melanie to call them and ask if they were expecting company.

Dan and Patricia confirmed his story so I lowered my gun. They walked over and he finally stopped hyperventilating long enough for us to figure out what happened. Patricia had mailed him a house key in a letter a few weeks ago. At that time he wasn’t sure exactly when he’d be here, and they wanted to make sure he could get in if they were out of town (they just got back).

So he followed her directions, came to what he thought was her house, put the key in the lock, and turned the knob. Their key unlocks my door and vice versa. We have no idea how we ended up with two doorknobs with matching locks. I’m still trying to figure that one out.

Anyway, I just sat back down and I’m still somewhat shaken. He has no idea (or maybe he does) how close I came to blowing his head off when he walked in the door. His name is Kevin. He ended the night by saying, “Damn! I knew Alabama was going to be different, but I though that I’d at least get my bags unpacked before almost being killed.”

Whew. I’m still shaken. Just thought I’d share this bizarre event with you guys.

[Jaysun]

I would not trust a .32 (Magnum or not) to do that. .45 or 10 mm handgun or 12 gauge shotgun with 00 or #4 buckshot....

I have a 12 gauge and a 500 S&W Magnum (I was told it's one of the most powerful pistols made) as well as other things - but as I said, the little .32 that I have is surprisingly powerful. I've shot it for years, and I'm confident that I could hit a golf ball at 100 yards with it (slight exaggeration). In short, I use it because I'm comfortable with it and I know that I'd have no problem hitting someone where it counts.

I wonder - did you prepare mentally in advance or train for this kind of threat?

I'm comfortable with my weapon, and I decided long ago that no person or thing was going to bring harm to my loved ones. Other than that I haven't thought much about it.

[Jaysun]

I'm proud of the way you handled that. Nice going. I don't expect you slept much last night ;-)

I didn't sleep all that much. I slept none, to be exact. Thanks.

[snopercod]

From the way you handled the situation, I suspect you have read Massad Ayoob's book In the Gravest Extreme.

[snopercod]

Oh, I forgot to mention. If you take your door locks to Home Depot, they can re-key them for you in a few minutes. They just remove the tumblers and pop in new ones.

(Out in the woods where I live, we don't normally lock our house anyway, though.)

[230FMJ]

That's a nice old 32 Hande Ejector. I have a couple of them and really enjoy shooting them at the range.

As a 23 year veteran police officer, I recognize the time distortion and increased focus that you experienced in a potential lethal force confrontation. You performed very well. You were obviously confident with your weapon and shooting skills, and were consequently able to focus on clearly understanding the situation. Ya' done good!

[Jaysun]

From the way you handled the situation, I suspect you have read Massad Ayoob's book In the Gravest Extreme.

Actually I haven't. From what I understand those books speak to liability issues (among other things.) I lived in Texas until about 10 years ago. You can shoot anyone that breaks into your home there without fear of repercussion. Also, I don't worry about what some Judge or Jury might think about it - I have a family to protect. Having said all of that, I'm sure he covers a lot of other things and he may not harp on liability as much as I think.

Is it a book that you recommend?

[Dave Hamilton]

Remarkable restraint. I might not have done as well.

Peacemaker, baby...

[snopercod]

Yes, I recommend the book. It does address liability issues (may be out of date), emotional issues, and practical issues.

The book addresses ways to protect yourself so you don't have to kill someone in the first place: Locks on doors, "situational awareness", etc.

Then it discusses how to use a firearm properly if you have to.

Then it discusses the aftermath - your own emotional reaction, and then what to expect from the police/court system.

You did everything right.

[Jaysun]

That's a nice old 32 Hande Ejector. I have a couple of them and really enjoy shooting them at the range. As a 23 year veteran police officer, I recognize the time distortion and increased focus that you experienced in a potential lethal force confrontation. You performed very well. You were obviously confident with your weapon and shooting skills, and were consequently able to focus on clearly understanding the situation. Ya' done good!

Thanks very much. As I said earlier, I'm no Clint Eastwood. If anyone deserves credit for a happy ending it's the Lord of Host.

[mtbopfuyn]

Mr. M bought me that one long before I was Mrs. M.

[JimB in Venice]

If I were going to a house at night.. and wasn't absolutely sure I was at the right place, I would ring the bell, pound on the door, etc..before I tried the door.

That kid almost learned a lesson of common sense the hard way. I've moved my gun to a place where I have to get physically out of bed to get at it. That forces me to wake up a little more. I think you handled the situation well. I hope I would do it the same way.

A few years ago I heard a noise outside. Grabbed my shotgun..ducked out the back door and snuck around to the front ..saw someone near the door and ordered them down.
Law friends have told me to me loud and aggressive and clear when you confront. Thats what I did. Turns out the guy had broken down and wanted a phone. But I have to tell you, if someone was actually in my house..I can't guarantee their safety.

[sweetliberty]

D*mn! I would have had a heart attack!. You handled it very well. Just think of the story he'll have to tell his grandchildren. You too, for that matter.

I had someone try to break my front door down to get in just day before yesterday. It was in the middle of the day when I was at work. Creeps me out thinking about it.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Remarkable self-control. I believe I learned something from your post and thanks for telling us about it. You would have been an evil gun owner had you shot him, per the media. Excellent decision-making skills in a stressful situation. Oh man, I believe I would have killed the guy when the door opened. I'll have to rethink my process after this one.

[sweetliberty]

LOL! Reminds me of when I first moved to Arkansas. I arrived later at night than I had planned and was initially going to be staying with a friend. She lived out in the country and even though I had been there before, it had been in the day time and was none too easy to find, even in daylight. I found myself driving down this one narrow dirt road and when I realized I was on the wrong road, I went to turn around and this old guy comes down the driveway towards my car with a shotgun and 4 good sized dogs. Having grown up in the south, it didn't really scare me, but I was very willing to tell him anything he wanted to know about me and why I was there and who I was looking for. There wasn't a doubt in my mind he would have used that gun if he'd thought there was a need. I think it might have been a hair-raising experience for am urban Yankee.

[Samwise]

When the hobbit lass was a youngun, I locked myself out of the house. Through the windows, I could see her happily playing on the floor. I asked a neighbor if he knew how to break in. (He was a state cop. I figured he'd know.) He couldn't open the front door, but he was able to open the back door with his house key. He said that sometimes you just have to jiggle them a little. A couple of years later another neighbor locked herself out. She tried my keys and jiggled herself in.

[Old Lady]

Holy cow, pay a locksmith and change your locks TODAY.

It was an innocent mistake on that guy's part and you would have been 100% to blame if you shot him. Thank God, you didn't.

[bad company]

Now that the adrenalin shot is gone I'll take you to task for "cocking" the revolver. While this practice may make it easier to shoot well at the range, in a high stress situation in which you would need to put more than one bullet downrange it can be catasrtophic.

As I'm sure you have found out double action, or using just the trigger to fire the gun causes the gun to move ever so slightly, changing the aim point making any second shot unreliable at best, if all you have done is single action practice.

Thumbing back the trigger into single action mode also puts the trigger into a hair trigger state, making a negligent discharge much more possible.


As for your choice of weaponry, the .32 mag will get the job done and as you stated that you felt most comfortable with it, it is best that in times of stress that you have confidence in your machinery and your ability to use it. (I hope you have hollowpoints for it though)

again you did just fine, you didn't shoot anyone that didn't need to be shot and you proved to yourself that you can indeed react properly to a high stress dangerous situation.

By the way, if it hasn't already happened, the adrenalin will suddenly leave your system (I'm guessing right about now) and you will "crash" feeling as exhausted as if you just ran a marathon.

[Lockbar]

Perhaps Kevin's Aunt and Uncle should have been smarter and told him the door key was in a envelope under their door mat, or hidden in a flower pot with a "X" painted on it. That way if he didn't find a key, he would have to have knocked on your door and not walk right in. Then he would have discovered he was at the wrong house. I'm glad nobody got hurt, and at the same time I think you did the right thing, being prepared to protect your family. Nobody should think you over-reacted when somebody you don't know walks through your front door.

[Space Wrangler]

A similar thing happened to me a few years ago. It was a random weeknight, and me and two other guys I went to college with were sharing a house. One of my room mates had been having girl problems, and decided that he was going out to get drunk after we had gone to bed. I thought everyone was asleep, and about 4 am I heard someone trying to get into the front door. The door lock on the front door was challenging when sober and in the daylight, so drunk and in the dark it was nearly impossible to open. My drunken room-mate, in his stupor, and obvious horrible mood from his girlfriend situation got so ticked that he couldn't open the door that he began pounding as hard as he could on the door. My first thought was home-invasion, and as I came down the stairs with my Beretta 92 one of the panels of the door finally gave way, and he shoved his arm in and manually opened the door from the inside. As the door opened, he was literally 1/2 of a second away from several gunshots to center of mass. I literally had about 5 lbs of pressure already on the 7 lb trigger. His salvation was that he began cursing as he came in the door, and I recognized his voice. It was very, very close.

That situation taught me alot about a home defense situation. First off, I had a very satisfying feeling knowing that I was getting ready to dispatch some scumbag trying to break into my home.....and that was surprising to me. Second, I had always thought that I would have fired much sooner than I actually did, but I just had this nagging feeling telling me "wait for it...be sure....wait a second". I came away from that situation very much changed. Even in a situation where there is no question about what is going on, there actually is a question. Your situation and mine prove that the 'shoot first, ask questions later' mentality is not neccesarily the right one. Kudos to your restraint.

[snowsislander]

I have a 12 gauge and a 500 S&W Magnum (I was told it's one of the most powerful pistols made) as well as other things - but as I said, the little .32 that I have is surprisingly powerful. I've shot it for years, and I'm confident that I could hit a golf ball at 100 yards with it (slight exaggeration). In short, I use it because I'm comfortable with it and I know that I'd have no problem hitting someone where it counts.

My advice is choose the gun that you feel most comfortable with: it's better to hit with a 32 magnum than miss with a 45. And the 32 H&R magnum is a good cartridge, certainly far better than just a 32, or a 25, or a 22.