However, I would refrain from discussing it here until enough time passes that I can be sure that the scumbag did not go to the cops to say that he accidentally knocked on the wrong door and this crazy guy held a 45 to his face.
Yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath on that one. Give me a break. Guys like that with probably a criminal history are not going to try that one with the cops especially when they have zero witnesses and you have at least one and possibly two in a two year old.
Much better for them, and for your Karma too.
Karma? Are you serious? There will never be any spiritual repercussions from double tapping a guy that just broke into your occupied home. If you want to focus on the positive aspects of not shooting the guy think of real world reasons like less time spent at investigations and trials, less money spent on cleaning up the physical mess, possibility the guy left a brown stain all the way out of there and it might have changed his career choice. There is something concrete to make you realize your restraint was correct and appropriate.
You and your family are unhurt, so I'm not going to second guess your actions. The only thing I wish you had done different would have been to have a camera ready to get a picture of his face when he turned around and noticed a 45 pointed at him. I would have loved to see that.
Now that I think about it, it would have been a good idea to get a picture of his face in your house before letting him go. 20-20 hindsight in this case, but maybe something to keep in mind for the future.
That one made me laugh. Then your second paragraph makes me think you are being serious. If you are going to hold him long enough to take a picture, just hold him until the cops get there. Otherwise getting him the hell out was the smartest thing to do.
IMO Those of you that ONLY care about getting the scumbag out of YOUR house is exactly why neighborhoods are the way they are today. I believe in looking after my neighbors as they do me.
Well Darknight01 you can come live by me. I would love to have neighbors who would be willing to kill someone and incur the legal defense bills all in order to take one more bad guy off the street. In fact, I could just hold them at gun point, call you, and have you come over and shoot them. What a selfless neighbor you are. Thank you.
Give me a break. I don't care where you live, I will respect any man or woman who holds their family as their number one responsibility and insures their safety first and foremost. Why? Because that means every house in my neighborhood will have guns and everyone in my neighborhood is self-sufficient. If your family is safe and then you want to come help me out in my time of need, that is a good neighbor. I suspect that guy won't be back to that area ever again. Why? There is an armed man who knows his face and next time that armed man might not have his family right there to see the results. We know that isn't likely given Puppy's level headedness, but when you are the home invader, you don't know that. That guy is not coming back and you did a spectacular job of first protecting your family and by default protecting your neighborhood by showing that you refuse to be a victim and all it takes is one in a neighborhood to make criminals weary.
Darknight01 there are many things that makea good neighborhood and realize that protecting your neighborhood doesn't mean you have to shoot and kill someone and incur the headaches that go along with it to be a good neighbor. If that is your philosophy I respect that, but I don't agree. You have fun in court.
Why does he need to prove anything to you? Or anyone for that matter. Whether the story is fiction or not, just be happy it was shared for our thoughts to be shared.
Ok, you are off your high horse. Excellent response.
Puppy. I once was driving down a windy canyon road and came across a dead cow in the road that someone hit. We are talking a huge cow. I stopped and helped move it off the road, talked to the motorist who hit it and then moved on when I realized he was safe and told him I would call his wife and let her know what happened when I found a phone. Well before I got to the phone, I found another cow. The road is cliff on one side and guard rail, river on the other side. I heard the cow to a turn out and then get the hell out of there. Then I start second guessing myself down the road because I had my Glock 40 on me and my 12 gauge in the trunk. What if someone else runs into that cow and instead of having a smashed up van like the last guy, dies because of it? Wouldn't I feel horrible because I had the means to do something?
Well no one died and so I asked one of my mentors who has seen the elephant in southeast Asia and is a police range master now about whether I should have shot the cow or not. Here is what he said and what I will always remember, "Any time you don't have to shoot, don't shoot." I took that to heart and I feel you handled the situation perfectly. I know you are at peace with your actions already, but it never hurts to have support.
That guy will not be back. If you tried to invade a house without a weapon out and ready (he probably didn't have one or at least not something more lethal than a .45) would you return to the area where your attempt failed and the homeowner clearly saw your face and probably called the cops? If Puppy ever sees that guy again, he is going to call the cops and the cops are going to arrest the guy. The criminal knows that and so I think he will probably steer clear of that area for quite some time. You did your neighborhood a service by just refusing to be a victim. You don't have to be a vigilante to protect your neighborhood. And yes I understand he would have been justified in shooting him and so technically he wouldn't have been a vigilante. However, when people say you should have shot him or held him at gun point even though you had the drop on him, you are implying that you take the law into your own hands with the purpose of making your neighborhood safer. Dangerous legal ground to stand on if this website ever gets subpoenaed for your shooting investigation/civil suit.
