A couple of weeks ago I was in a motel when I heard scratching sounds at the slider leading to the balcony at 0430. I also saw light around the edges of the curtain. I grabbed my pistol, opened the curtain and pointed it at two thugs, with the barrel lightly hitting the glass. Those two thugs immediately jumped over the railing and ran like crazy. Even though the police were called, this incident didn't make the police blotter in the local paper and will never be known to the general public. But it was just one of several million examples of a crime being stopped by the presence of a firearm without a shot being fired.
The police report released to the public deliberately left out a lot of detail, because they were still looking for him. He's now in prison for 67 years. But at no time was there public mention of the use of a firearm to prevent anything.