Reality check.

[Floppy_D]

I watched a movie with the old lady, and called it a night, nothing new. Set the house alarm, carried the 229 from the top of my TV (where it sits when not on me) to the holster on my bed, where it goes at night. Fell asleep soundly in my bed, and had no alarm set for the following morning. Plenty of sleep until the kiddo wakes around 9ish.

5am, my house intruder alarm goes off. In a well rehearsed motion, I jump from my slumber (it's better to hear my wife describe this, it makes me sound more coordinated and faster than I really am) I grab my 229 and flashlight and sprint for the hallway, towards the living room.

I catch a man-size silhoutte backlit by my front windows, inside my living room. "Get on the deck now, now, now!! Go!" My eyes are tearing, maybe because of panic, or fear, or whatever. I, behind the safety of my gun, am as scared as the guy in front of it.

"Pat, chill the **** out, now!" Wait a minute, I know this voice. It's my best friend DJ. I light him up with my flashlight (which was amazing I could do that, because I lacked all manual dexterity due to trembling) and lo and behold, it was who I had suspected.

My attention shifted to the 229, which had yet to have a finger placed upon the trigger (again, I thank those that have trained me, in my panic I might have violated the big 4 and killed a buddy).

Long story short, my buddy had left his cell phone at my house from the night before, had to go to work early, stopped by my house to grab it and didn't want to wake me, wife or kid up, and used his copy of the house key. He didn't know the alarm was set to "no delay," and it scared all of us.

The situation I feared most nearly became the real situation to fear most, accidentally shooting someone you care about.

Lessons learned: Let someone know before you come over, ALWAYS know your target, and ALWAYS keep a flashlight handy!

 

[Leanwolf]

And don't give out house keys to your "buddies."

L.W.

 

[2RCO]

Lean +1 There is a rule around here no entry without prior authorization! One of my friends would have only done this if they were suicidal!

 

[GlowinPontiac]

You need to let your buddy know that forgetting his cell phone is not an emergency worthy of entering your house without your knowledge or permission.

If it were me id rather he woke me up.

 

[sacp81170a]

Bet he doesn't do that again!

 

[Fred Fuller]

I jump from my slumber (it's better to hear my wife describe this, it makes me sound more coordinated and faster than I really am) I grab my 229 and flashlight and sprint for the hallway, towards the living room.

And so, in the face of an unknown situation, you abandon your wife, fail to secure your child, and rush headlong off into the teeth of who knows what, discarding all the advantages of surprise, cover and concealment you had in your bedroom.

This is a good idea- how?

lpl/nc

 

[ceetee]

In reality, Lee, how many of us have the ability to wake from a sound sleep to the sound of emergency sirens, adrenaline flooding the system, and remember to carry out all the steps in the emergency response plan that exists only in our mind? Had that been my house, chances are my first awareness would have been my wife, shaking me awake, telling me that durn alarm has gone off again, and can I please go shut it off...

I think Floppy should definitely evaluate his response, and make some mental notes as to what he should try to do next time, but all-in-all, this is a good lesson for all of us to read.

 

[Floppy_D]

My buddy has keys because he lived with us for over a year, and I trust him like family. I ran into the hallway because that put me between the bedrooms, and the doors to the house. I'm not worried about secondary entry in a bedroom window, because they are locked (I check them every night) and our house is built on a slope, putting the bottom of the rear windows 8' above ground level.

So, needless to say, he's going to give me a heads up before coming by.

 

[Kindrox]

Your friend does not sound very smart. I don't barge into a friends house when I am invited and expected, and I sure would not pull that at 5am, I am not expected, and my friend has a gun.

 

[ace1001]

When the alarm went off, he should have left. Sat in his car till you figured it out. Or layed on the floor arms outstretched. He should have known he was in trouble. Ace

 

[ace1001]

And hollered who he was and what he had done.

 

[DogBonz]

Hind sight is 20/20

When the alarm went off, he should have left. Sat in his car till you figured it out. Or layed on the floor arms outstretched. He should have known he was in trouble.

The OP did say that he had keys and lived with them for a year. I suspect that he also probably had the alarm code. If he did, he was probably trying to shut it off. Not the smartest move, but probably what most folks would do.

 

[35Rem]

I bet he won't do that again. I'd much rather be awakened by the phone than the house alarm.
Sounds like your buddy owes you some sleep. Does he watch the kids for you? Can you say Sunday Afternoon Nap?

 

[Fred Fuller]

ceetee,

Some of us spent a few years answering the dulcet tones of a Plectron ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plectron ) at oh dark hundred, back in the primitive ages before there was wide use of belt pagers for such summons. Those of us who did that got accustomed to accurately following the instructions delivered via the device that awakened us so precipitously, or following whatever response plan had been standardized by the agency responsible for rolling us out of bed before the alarm clock sounded.

Point is, I'm the least likely candidate for superhero you will ever find, and there is a simple plan in place our household to cover likely household emergencies. We (me, the retired librarian and my wife, the absentminded professor) have plans and are prepared to carry them out as the situation requires. If we can manage it there's no reason strapping, intelligent, capable young folks can't do it too.

Floppy mentioned the reason he went into the hallway in a followup post. So he was covering a choke point- good reason. Question now is, can that choke point be covered visually from any place handy to the master bedroom that gives concealment if not cover?

Floppy's experience points out why having a home defense plan that does not leave things to chance or call for precipitous action is important. All of us are subject to the effects of adrenalin. It can make us see things that are not there, miss seeing things that are there, mess up hearing in the same way- in short, it can take away big chunks of what you have always taken for granted as your basic level of ability to function. Things like forgetting where your trigger finger is, as Floppy pointed out.

You need to try and see to it that you don't go rushing off half cocked into the midst of a situation that can help you make mistakes if something goes bump in the night at your house. I cannot say what things might be involved in your own particular plan, but you should set things up to give yourself as many advantages as possible. Everyone says they don't want to fight fair in defense of their own homes and families, but then they roar off in an adrenalin-stoked haze and give up all manner of important advantages in their haste to confront whatever has invaded their space.

My advice is to lay back, wait in the dark behind cover with your loved ones secure, set things up so anyone appearing in your pre-planned 'fatal funnel' is backlit and covered by your muzzle, and have your SO on the phone summoning the cavalry. In short, let trouble come to you- don't go hunting it, and squandering all the advantages you once had in the process.

Of course, YMMV. Your house, your family, your gunfight. You should run it however you see fit.

lpl/nc

 

[ZeSpectre]

First, VERY glad that nobody was hurt! Kudos on using the 4 rules the way they should be obeyed!

Having said that, nobody and I mean absolutely NOBODY enters my home unannounced and all of my friends know that without exception!

Nor do I do that with anyone I know. I have a friend who constantly tells me "just come on in" but I ALWAYS yell out "Hey, it's me" until somebody replies so that I don't surprise/startle anyone.

 

[oobray]

I have definately voiced this concern when I was living with a roomate. However, I do not believe that any of my friends would do such a thing it is still a concern. With a new child on the way I also have a new variation of this same concern. I'll post it in a new thread though so as to not hi-jack this one.

As previously stated, good on ya Floppy_D for maintaning composure and following necessary firearms rules. You did well. Remember, it doesn't matter how nervous or fearful you might feel inside, it's your actions outside that determines the outcome. Again, good job, and that friend owes you a beer!

 

[Eyesac]

Scary...

I ran into the hallway because that put me between the bedrooms, and the doors to the house

I have the same situation as you. I have a hallway that I HAVE to pay attention to if I hear a bump in the night. No alarm though, just a dog.