How to handle a break in

[Titan6]

It's 2:00am, you are awakened from a dead sleep by breaking glass in the first floor of your home. You hear numerous voices.

I sleep on the first floor. Time to figure out if the kids/ dog broke something after bed time or not.

I've been told different paths to take

I would like to meet some of the people who recommended these courses of action.

Option 1> Call 911 from a cell phone you keep with you at all times. Lock yourself and loved ones in a 'safe' room and wait for the cops to arrive.

The kids sleep upstairs so this is not really an option for me. In any case you have to leave your room to work this one out.

Option 2> Call 911 on your cell phone. Shoot a round into the floor in a attempt to scare off the bad guys.

Where to begin? If you are upstairs then you violate four rules, unless you have a concrete floor. If you have a concrete floor watch out for the ricochet. You just told everyone that you are home, armed and stupid. You are going to feel really dumb when you find out the cat stepped on the remote turning the TV on. Plus you will have to fix an unnecessary hole in the floor.

Option 3> Call 911 on your cell phone. Arm yourself and clear your home, seeking out the bad guys

.

You keep making the automatic assumption is that you have home invaders. You need to figure this piece out first.

 

[Deanimator]

Option 3> Call 911 on your cell phone. Arm yourself and clear your home, seeking out the bad guys

.

You keep making the automatic assumption is that you have home invaders. You need to figure this piece out first.

Precisely.

One night I heard a terrible crash. I got my Glock and walked out to the living room to find that a shelf, overloaded with books had collapsed, dumping books all over the floor.

If you crawl under the bed and dial 911 every time you hear a noise, without finding out what that noise IS, pretty soon the cops are going to stop coming. Remember, they don't have any legal duty to come in the first place.

 

[catspa]

I don't know why you guys are opposed to firing a warning shot. If you fire it COM at the nearest intruder, don't you think it will be a warning to the others? Where's the harm in that?

RBB: If you fire at the intruder until he is no longer intruding, he may end up an "ex-truder", right?

Parker

 

[BigGuy52]

About 5 years ago I had a break-in. As seems usual, I was awakened by breaking glass and my dogs went nuts. I told them to be quiet while my wife and I listened, seconds later, more crashes were heard. I grabbed my .40cal, and took my Doberman by the collar and while exiting the bedroom I instructed my wife to call 911.
The first question the 911 operator asked was is there a gun in the house, my wife told her there was and that I went to investigate, gun & dog in hand.
I didn't see anything amiss on the first floor, and my dog wanted desperately to go into the garage. I stood in the kitchen next to the steel door that went into the garage and I could hear swearing and things falling on the floor. I anounced loudly that I had a gun and that I'm coming in. Immediately the garage door opened, and while I was entering the garage I saw the BG ducking under the door to escape. I turned my Dobie on him with a attack order and the dog scooted under the still moving door. By the time I got to my driveway, The dog had chased this guy almost two blocks. I gave the command to return, and the dog broke off the attack. It seemed like at least 10 minutes, but the cops finally came, sirens and lights on, waking my neighbors who were all rubber-necking out their windows to see the commotion. They found the BG's footprints in the wet grass outside of my garage, saw the jambed window which is where he gained entrance. Finger-printed my garage, and didn't come up with anything. Other than a lot of broken glass, dishes, he took nothing. It's a mystery why he ever broke in the first place.
I've had two attempted break-ins in the last 6 years. I've always had big dogs, I have a beware of dog sign in my front yard, yet the BG's still try.

 

[kyo]

speaker phone works. Just turn down the volume all the way if you feel the need to not be heard, and put it in your pocket

 

[blkbrd666]

I can't believe how much faith everyone puts in 911...just amazing.

 

[Rellian]

One night I heard a terrible crash. I got my Glock and walked out to the living room to find that a shelf, overloaded with books had collapsed, dumping books all over the floor.

I know what you mean. I wake up one night and thought I had heard a noise. As I was asking myself if I had dreamed it there was another crash (quite loud). I'm up, 1911 in hand I walk cautiously into the living room and low and behold a picture had fallen off the wall and hit a railing on the wall. It must have sat balanced there for a few minutes (long enough for me to wake from the sound) and then pitched over and bounced down the last two steps..... (the noise I had heard once awake.)

 

[rainbowbob]

RBB: If you fire at the intruder until he is no longer intruding, he may end up an "ex-truder", right?

You are correct sir...gve that man a cigar!

 

[YammyMonkey]

NEVER, EVER HANG UP!!!

In many places, hanging up makes it like a crank call/ low priotity.

lets say that your not in one of those jurstictions. What if your injured in a fire fight and can't get back to the phone? a 911 operator, could be send EMS, Otherwise it would be the police calling them after who knows how long?

lets take it another way... let say you have a questionable shoot, its your word vs the BGs... I don't know about you, but I want amother wittness.

Finally, lets just say after 5 mins after you hung up, your locked inside your master bed room, there is a loud knock on the door fallowed by "police" how do you know its actually the police and not the BG?

We'll have bigger issues at hand than trying to convince a 911 operator that it's not a crank call. Give them the info they NEED & take care of the fight. It will add greatly to the suck if the bad guys catch you distracted by the phone.

In the grand scheme of things worrying about an injury that hasn't happened is going to be low on my priority list. If you're going to rely on a gun as part of your self defense strategy you need to at least have a basic understanding of treating traumatic injuries & a small kit to help with that. To assume that an ambulance will be called is asking a lot. If it makes you feel better ask th 911 operator for the police & an ambulance & get back to the potential fight at hand.

Based on where I live it wouldn't be my word against theirs since the law very heavily favors the defender over the intruder. To go the other way the person would have to be a family member, close friend, in the yard or in the house with drag marks from the yard. All the more reason to have a light for target ID purposes & if it comes down to it, leave the body alone.

If I didn’t have the law on my side I still wouldn’t want there to be an audio recording of the event. You’ll go through a lot of different emotions & psychological states during an encounter like that & something as simple as “Oh my God, what just happened?” after the fight is over could be construed in court as “You didn’t really need to shoot him did you?” or “It was an accident wasn’t it?” Neither of which are going to go well for you.

If there’s a knock at the door you can call back or look through a window to verify that they are the police. If you can’t make it to a window to check because of the presence of bad guys, what makes you think it’ll make any difference if you know the guys at the door are police or not? You’re not going to want to leave where you are either way.

Any self defense situation is going to be like trying to pick up a dog turd by the clean end. Any way you look at it’s going to be a bad situation. Get all the rest of the crap out of your head & deal with Problem #1 first. If you don’t you won’t have to worry about anything else.

 

[xXxplosive]

Break-in Almost.....
It's approx. 2:30 AM, July, warm and I'm asleep with our bedroom window open a little. My wife trys to wake me saying someone is talking outside our bedroom window...I thought I was dreaming and finally it hit me....my boys, 3 and 4 were asleep in their rooms and we live in the suburbs where noone is supposed to be under my bedroom window hiding amongst the cedar trees whispering a 2:30 in the dark of the morning. I sit up and hear one BG talkin to another saying " I don't want to fight anyone yet, I'm not going in right now." With that I got up, no lights on,got dressed and retrieved my 12 Ga. Pump loaded w/ #4 Buck and told my wife " theres not goning to be any fighting" call the police which she did... I then told here to stay in the bedroom no matter what she hears. I made my way through our house closing our kids bedroom doors and took a position between our front door and the sliding rear door on our deck.....

OK, what ever happens next, I'm ready......bring it.

Soon after, I heard a car door slam and a car move up our hill...then I saw the Blue pannel light of a police car in front of my house..The police were standing on my front lawn where I met them....without the gun naturally and we took a walk around...I was suprised to see many flashlight beams comming from the back of our property. The officer explained they had the area secured before his car approached my house....not a bad idea. But obviously who ever was out there that night drove off just before the police arrived...My wife learned a good lesson that night and never ever mentioned anything negative about being armed again after that scare.

I learned something too...Be prepaired to defend yourself and your family and not to rely on others.

"When Seconds Count and the Police Are Minutes Away".

Truer Words Were never Spoken.............

 

[Route2]

Thanks for the post. I learn a great deal more from real experience that hypothetical’s and rhetoric.

 

[xXxplosive]

Route 2:
Well, I've had two close calls,one at work one morning in the dark in my office and the one I described above. From experience, I can tell you that the most important thing to do immeadiately is to NOT PANIC.....I found my brain in both case working on overload with the scenarios being played out in my head and what I needed to do immeadiately to react and survive.

I was able to mentally accept what had to be done if necessary and was prepaird to act immeadiately without hesitation or question.

Not withstanding, I don't understand this business of shouting a warning to an intruder "I have a gun or I'm Armed" or something of that nature. Firing a shot as someone said is rediculous and all these actions are performed out of true fear of the moment.

Why give your position away to a BG by yelling out to him? Makes no sense to me. Instead, grasp the moment mentally and prepair yourself for what ever needs to be done to protect yourself and family members for no one else is there at that moment to protect you.

Let common sense prevail and not fear.

All these scenarios are nice to read but if the time comes to act, you'll know it and it won't be something you read about in a story....it'll hit you like a truck.

Ready....................Or Not.

 

[Kingcreek]

my reply to the original post is easy. If the glass breaks at 2am the alarm system is already alerting dispatch center. the voices I hear downstairs are going to be mostly commenting on the 2 large dogs who are by now fully involved and earning their feed. my wife will be off the bed and hunkering low behind it with a good flashlight, her handgun and dialing 911 on her cell phone line seperate from the alarm line out. I will be alongside her with my flashlight and 12g leveled at the top of the stairs. then we wait... no warning shots, no house clearing, no trips to the bathroom for a drink of water.
I can clean up the mess in the morning.

once again, Lee Lapin has it right:

1) Have a plan.

2) Practice the plan.

3) USE the plan.

 

[runrabbitrun]

I'm just feeling humorous right and haven't bother to read this thread >>>> so...

Here's my attempt at levity...

How to handle a break in?
Get the loot and get on out >>> quick.

 

[Kleanbore]

Worry about securing your family first.

Agree.

Then call 911, give them a brief description, your address...

..and your description, where you are in the house, and the fact that you are armed.

& hang up.

Cannot agree at all. If you are in your home in most jurisdictions, it is doubtful that you can actually create any downside risk, but in the eventuality of a shooting, you may be able to materially reduce your risk of being shot, both by having instructions from the dispatcher with which to comply and by being able to continue to communicate through the dispatcher about your exact location and what has happened. It will also let you know when the police arrive, reducing the likelihood of your mistaking them for criminals.

Firing a warning shot is plain stupid.

Agree, not to mention risky and probably unlawful.

Trying to clear your home is nearly as bad & an absolute last resort.

Agree, for my circumstances anyway. How many times does that have to be discussed here? Note: The best advice on that point may differ depending on whether you are in Shaker Heights or on your large ranch somewhere where help would be a long time coming, at which point the "last resort" may be the only practical one.

 

[KBintheSLC]

OP,
You put "call 911" as the first move in all of your options. I won't distract myself with a 911 call until the threat has been neutralized. I would likely...

1-Arm myself and my wife
2-Take Cover/Concealment
3-Wait for them to venture towards us
4-Dispatch them rapidly from behind cover
5-Call 911 to come clean up

911 will not help you immediately... best case 3-5 minutes. However, my gun and some decent cover can help me really fast.

 

[Deanimator]

I can't believe how much faith everyone puts in 911...just amazing.

I put NO faith in 911 or the police for my personal protection. Neither one of them has a legal duty to do squat for you. Neither has any legal liability if they don't.

I call 911 so that I get to be the OFFICIAL victim. I don't have any illusions that anybody's going to "protect" me but me.

 

[sanerkeki]

Don't shoot in the the floor you might have just waxed you wooden floor

 

[KenWP]

If you called 911 around here you spend all night explaining yourself. We have the worst police forces in the country when it comes to showing up with any speed. Course it's also against the law here to defend yourself also. So your in trouble what ever you do. And haveing a gun unlocked and loaded is worth 10 years in jail if they get picky.

 

[YammyMonkey]

Cannot agree at all. If you are in your home in most jurisdictions, it is doubtful that you can actually create any downside risk, but in the eventuality of a shooting, you may be able to materially reduce your risk of being shot, both by having instructions from the dispatcher with which to comply and by being able to continue to communicate through the dispatcher about your exact location and what has happened. It will also let you know when the police arrive, reducing the likelihood of your mistaking them for criminals.

If I'm reading this right you seem to think that someone at a computer XXX miles away can help you through your (potentially) violent encounter? There is nothing they can do to help you deal with the bad guys. They can only distract you from your first problem.

If/when the police show up & you have questions, just call back. Cops will tell you that they don't put a lot of faith in the info they get from the dispatcher because the majority of the time they show up to something completely different than what the dispatcher described. I seriously doubt that any LEOs will allow you to mistake them for criminals when they arrive. Criminals want to get in, get what they want & get out. Cops want to go home & I'd wager that most don't want to be mistaken for a home invader so their approach will be considerably different.

 

[Jeff White]

Cops will tell you that they don't put a lot of faith in the info they get from the dispatcher because the majority of the time they show up to something completely different than what the dispatcher described.

This is true, but it's true because the people who call 911 often give the worst information possible. Many times while enroute to a call I've had dispatch call the complainant back and attempt to get more information or clarify something.

This probably would be a good time to discuss what you should say to the dispatcher. If you call in with a complaint about a dangerous situation like intruders in your home and hang up, expect to get called back if the information you provided is incomplete or unclear.

I seriously doubt that any LEOs will allow you to mistake them for criminals when they arrive.

When I've known a homeowner was holding someone at gunpoint I have activated my emergency lights upon arrival, hit the siren, announced who I was on the PA and walked up with my flashlight lit, calling to the homeowner by name.

When arriving at a prowler call where the homeowner stated he was armed, I've had dispatch call them back (if they hung up the phone) and tell them where the officers were approaching from and that we were checking the area. Friendly fire isn't!

 

[rmt22]

if you hear talking then you call 911 (whether you stay on phone or not) they will come eventually

Your house location and neighborhood will dictate what's your next step.

You arm yourself and try to protect family but I would question "yelling" out. If you have cars in the driveway then the home invaders had reason to know you were home and did not care, so I think I would proceed cautiously and attempt to investigate.

I am on the 2nd floor so I would have an elevated position. The way my house is in the neighborhood it would be the last one you would rob. I am at the end of a culdesac.

If you are not alone then you probably have to take a defensive posture.

 

[Kleanbore]

If I'm reading this right you seem to think that someone at a computer XXX miles away can help you through your (potentially) violent encounter?

No, YammyMonkey, if you have inferred that I think that the 911 dispatcher might help me with an encounter with the intruder, you are not reading it right--at all.

There is nothing they can do to help you deal with the bad guys.

Now that we've addressed the obvious, let's now consider how the dispatcher might help the arriving police deal with you and, in so doing, determine that you are not one of the "bad guys".

You call; a violent encounter may or may not occur; the police arrive; at that point you may or may not have seen and perhaps shot someone, but either way, since (unless someone had given you the play book in advance) you have absolutely no way of knowing whether all threats have been dealt with, you are armed. How are the police to discern who, among any of the people they come upon in that stressful situation, might be one of the "bad guys", and which might not, without tactical information? By identifying you by your good guy's white hat?

Homeowners have been shot by arriving police officers. So have citizens in outdoor shooting situations. Anyone holding a gun when they arrive is at risk. The more information the officers have about the description and the up-to-the-moment location and activity of the caller, the better their chance of avoiding that kind of tragedy. Your continued connection to the police department can help with the necessary communication.

With luck, you will end up on the ground and disarmed but not shot.

If/when the police show up & you have questions, just call back.

????

They will show up, and they will be the ones with the questions.

 

[bigione]

In my case, after waiting 110min. for the deputy, I thought I should have just asked where they wanted the body and hung up,

 

[musick]

I dont own a cell, I have no phone in my bedroom and no others in my house.

I grab my 12G (its within arms reach), roll off my bed, hunker down as low as possible while aiming towards my door and wait.