Posted on 04/11/2013 7:09:52 AM PDT by marktwain
Sandra Mize confronted an intruder breaking into her north Spokane home early Wednesday morning. She fired one shot in his direction and held him at gunpoint until officers arrived. Police arrested the man and said they do not believe it was his first burglary of the night.
Sandra Mize has a motto: "You don't get do-overs."
That's why the 63-year-old grandmother of 10 keeps a gun by her bed, a canister of mace in her living room, and reinforces the doors in her north Spokane home with deadbolt locks and metal jambs before she goes to sleep every night.
Her preparedness may have saved her life just after midnight Wednesday when she held off a burglar - at one point firing a wayward shot at the intruder - until police arrived.
Mize knows gun use and property crime are hotly debated issues. The break-in occurred nine days after a car thief was shot and killed by the car's owner about a mile away from her home.
"I could let my car drive down the block," Mize said. "That doesn't bother me. Someone in my home bothers me."
Mize was asleep in her single-story home along the 2000 block of East Dalton Avenue when she heard someone bust through her back door, bending her door braces and shattering the steel-paneled door's wooden frame.
She grabbed the .22-caliber handgun she keeps by her bed and ran into her dark living room to see the silhouette of a man in her kitchen.
Separated from the man by only a kitchen counter, Mize warned the intruder she was armed.
"He just kept coming," Mize said. "I didn't hesitate to shoot."
(Excerpt) Read more at gopusa.com ...
A heart warming story...
"Within two minutes, police had surrounded her home. The officers on her porch told her to put down her gun, so she set it on top of an antique sewing machine she uses as a TV stand.That's when the man took off. Rising from the sofa, he tried to flee through the back door, Mize said.
A police dog was there to greet him.
The man ran back into the home and police quickly followed. Mize said she watched as about five officers wrestled the man to the living room floor and the dog bit him on the leg.
"He was very strong," said Mize..."
” reinforces the doors in her north Spokane home with deadbolt locks and metal jambs before she goes to sleep every night.”
Lot of work to do every evening!
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LOL, yes!
Speaking off topic about doors on some other forums people are painting their front doors with a coating of Herculiner, same stuff you line a truck bed with. The lining is almost blastproof and holds up well against a battering ram.
The police told her to put down her gun - she put it down on a sewing machine and that is when the robber tried to escape.
What if he had gone for the gun instead?
The police always assume that citizens lack common sense and training with a weapon. In my experience it's the police who could use more range time. More common sense and restraint too.
I doubt the Seattle cops could help her, maybe the dog would save the day.
Surprised they didn’t shoot the dog.
Sounds like an interesting idea. Might look kinda funky. Wouldn’t do me much good, as I have 6 huge sling doors on the first floor.
Good. This is what the libs want to take away from us. They want the criminal to just waltz right in and take what is “rightfully” his.
rprised they didnt shoot the dog.
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I am too. I’m more surprised they didn’t shoot Mrs Mize.
Exactly. She with her .22, sense of self-preservation, and determination had more control over the situation and on her survival than 5 (five) cops did.
They were more focused on her and the supposed danger she posed than on the dirtball perp than on protecting her.
Great illustration.
??
The police dog was not there in her moment of need. Her .22 and readiness to act, fortunately, were right at hand, and were enough to keep a strong and very determined ("He just kept coming...") home invader down.
Until she was disarmed, that is.
She did do a great job, but I just thought it was funny that she didn’t shoot the fool but the dog bit him. :)
The weak point is not the door but the wooden jamb. It is just a two by four with a 1/2 strip of wood nailed to it.
The thing to do is get a thin piece of angle iron and drill and screw it to the jamb to spread the force of the bolt over a much wider area. You can do the same with a 1/8 inch thick plate of sheet metal that is 3 inche wide and 2 foot long. Drill a large hole in the center for the bolt and for the striker to go through and a dozen small holes for drywall screws. Then screw it to the door frame with 3 inch drywall screws.
If you want it to look normal, just put the plate under the 1/2 door frame trim board.
If she had had that modification done with a metal door, all the guy would have done is broken his foot.
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