'Top Gun' star Kelly McGillis says she's 'armed and ready' after home invasion

[Aim1]

She already owned guns but is now getting a CCW. This story is all over the news on many different outlets.

Some may dismiss it as just another celebrity story, but she's getting it out there that CCW, self-defense, and owning guns is a normal thing.





http://www.startribune.com/top-gun-...ady-after-terrifying-home-invasion/384268181/

'Top Gun' star Kelly McGillis says she's 'armed and ready' after home invasion

By The Wrap JUNE 24, 2016 — 10:21AM

Kelly McGillis, the actress who played Tom Cruise‘s love interest in “Top Gun,” is now “armed and ready” with a permit to carry a concealed weapon after surviving a terrifying home invasion during which she was “scratched and bruised.”

“I’m still a bit shook up and struggling with some residual fear. I do have an alarm. I was complacent and didn’t set it after living here four years and having nothing happen,” McGillis wrote on Facebook last Saturday. “I have decided to get a conceal and carry permit.”

She wrote on Thursday that the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department has since rushed her through the conceal and carry course. Before that, the actress used Facebook share details about the creepy encounter with a deranged woman who broke into her secluded North Carolina mountain home on June 17, and attacked her when McGillis tried to call 911.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Good for her. Glad that she was not hurt badly during the attack. Another example of the old "When seconds count the police are only minutes away" saying...
It's also nice that the county sheriff's office "rushed" her through the conceal and carry course as an accommodation.

 

[200Apples]

.
I'm glad to hear she's alright and that she has decided to take responsibility for her own safety especially seeing how she lives in a "secluded North Carolina mountain home".

And as Shanghai noted, nice to hear that her local LEA treats her as a "local".

 

[herkyguy]

She's been harassed by cocky young fighter pilots for a long time...... LT Pete Mitchell will think twice about showing up late for dinner next time.

Kidding aside, kudos to her for her honesty and willingness to share her experience.

 

[Red Wind]

She's a strong woman. Glad she's armed and ready. Hopefully, this will be her last life threatening encounter from a thug.

 

[stonecutter2]

Her story from the article:

When I arrived home on top of my mountain I notice the downstairs bathroom light was on (you can see it from the street). I didn’t recall leaving it on but I was in there before I left brushing my teeth so I thought maybe I’d left it on. There weren’t any cars around. I began collecting the bird feeders to bring them in for the night (we have hungry bears). When I put my key in the front door it was unlocked. I thought it was strange but I made up the story that maybe I had left it unlocked just as I had left the bathroom light on.

Upon entering the house I notice a pair of girls pink sandals and a black larger pair. I thought that maybe one of daughter was here because on of them has a key. Called out hello several times. I was trying to get rid of the stuff in my hand to better assess what was going on when a stranger, a woman, came barreling down the hallway and began yelling at me. I asked her who she is and why she was in my house and she said ‘you know why you’ve been stalking me in Twitter.’ Not true.

At that moment I got worried that there may be someone else in the house with house with her. We have quite a few guns and lots of ammo and that’s when I started to panic. Thinking that if they have one of them I could be shot. I ran out the front door and called 911. She ran out after me and began punching and scratching my trying to grab the phone out of my hand. I began screaming as loud as I could hoping someone somewhere might hear me. I still had my car keys in my hand so I set off the car alarm. That distracted her enough to throw the cell and try to deal with the keys. More fighting ensued. I got the cell phone back and dialed 911 again. More fighting. And she once again had the cell phone.

I finally broke away, got in the truck and drove off trying to find a neighbor to call 911. There was no one around since it was Friday night, so I chased someone in a car, kept flashing my lights and honking the horn. They finally pulled over and she made the 911 call for me. A truly good Samaritan. Dispatch told me to wait there for there for someone to arrive.

Too shorten this ever long story. She was apprehended. I’m alright. Scratched and bruise. I feel very thankful it turned out well. But who I feel heartache for is the little girl that was with her. Mental illness takes many hostages. I don’t know her name…but I would like to asked that you pray for her and her mother.

Note that she had two things she noticed right away, before even entering, that had her feeling that odd feeling in her gut that something isn't quite right when she got home. The light on and the door unlocked should have raised red flags.

Although it's super hard to fight the urge to rationalize or explain things away, it's important - it can really make a difference if you're observant. Too bad she didn't just get back in her car and call the police.

I applaud her taking responsibility for her own self defense...unfortunate for so many it takes a situation like this to wake them up.

 

[Tirod]

There's a lot of lessons learned here. Even tho the alarm wasn't set, the real issue is someone got into the home and apparently it was easy to do. First rule of Home Defense is to make the home difficult to enter regardless of whatever electronic security it may have.

Of course, I used to sell detention grade hollow metal doors and security hardware - so it's a biased view. Burglar alarms don't stop people from breaking in - this is a classic case of how they fail. However, a secure, locked door does. And windows that can't be shattered or manipulated, either.

It also goes to not having any barehand martial arts skills. We all need that fundamental teaching to keep someone who may be acting outside legal standards to prevent them from whatever agenda they might be acting out. A few lessons won't do but a simple takedown and restraining hold would have done a lot more than a "hair pulling" contest. I'm certainly no expert or accomplished martial artist - but a stint with the Armed Forces and using their practices would have likely left that kind of attacker much less capable of even getting back on their feet. It requires a harsh and disabling countermeasure, not just pushing off and screaming.

She did the best she could, but jumping to the conclusion "I need a gun" doesn't address the other shortcomings. And we see others here or on forums come to the same conclusion after a confrontation: "I need a bigger gun" "I need a bigger magazine and another backup" "I need to pull it out and start shooting sooner" are some of the comments we read.

Nope, you need to be more aware up front, prioritize what is really "security" that actually works 24/7 regardless of whether you have power - or not - and how to conduct yourself before you can even draw - if you need to. From the resolution this wasn't necessarily a lethal force confrontation. A gun would have been nice, but a gun wasn't the answer to keeping people out of the house or getting them off you when it's not already in your hand.

Don't take this situation as justification for a call to arms - what was left undone or done poorly actually allowed it to happen. All those guns in the house did nothing to help. If that doesn't seem to be clear, then it goes to having the same mindset and skill level - be ready to find people inside your house and having to struggle with them as a result.

Secure doors and a home that resists attack is Home Defense. Bare hand combatives is the foundational skill that allows you to fight to a gun or other solution.

 

[jmorris]

Locks are to keep honest people out or the lazy folks looking for an easy target.

If your "gut" tells you something is wrong, it's a good time to listen to it.

In the end I am not sure CCW will help her much in the long run. Setting an alarm when you leave your house only takes a few seconds and you don't even think about it until you get back home.

Carrying is more hassle and what happens when she quits doing that after nothing happens for four years?

 

[Dirty Bob]

I'm just glad she's OK and had the mental strength to keep fighting. I suspect the woman was younger/stronger (Ms. McGillis is 58). BTW, this is not her first home invasion. In the early 80s, she and her girlfriend were assaulted by two men who broke into their NYC apartment.

I applaud her taking responsibility for her own safety and her courage for coming out as a member of the gun community. She isn't an A-list star these days, but she's continued to work in film (I loved her work in the 2010 vampire apocalypse movie Stake Land, directed by the great Jim Mickle), and coming out as a gun owner could cost her some roles. I wish her well and hope she never has another brush with criminal violence.

Regards,
Dirty Bob

 

[murf]

a gun in the hand is worth two in the house.

murf

 

[Speedo66]

Sorry she had an unfortunate experience, but I don't necessarily see the sheriff's dept. rushing her through a CC course as a good thing.

Why does a celebrity get special preference? More fuel to the haves and have nots imbalance in this country. There's always griping here when someone feels LEO's get special benefits, but former movie stars are OK?

 

[benEzra]

Sorry she had an unfortunate experience, but I don't necessarily see the sheriff's dept. rushing her through a CC course as a good thing.

Why does a celebrity get special preference? More fuel to the haves and have nots imbalance in this country. There's always griping here when someone feels LEO's get special benefits, but former movie stars are OK?

Since NC requires completion of a carry class before you can even *start* the application process, working her into a class ASAP is a reasonable accomodation to someone who has been attacked. I would like to think that the sheriff would do that for any of his constituents in the same situation. I'm not clear on whether the class was conducted by the sheriff's department or not, but I know around here, anyone who was attacked today could certainly be in a one-on-one class tomorrow with any of several instructors.

After you take the class, I believe that in NC there is a fast-track in the permitting process for people who can demonstrate a specific threat, as I recall, not just for celebrities. I don't remember the specifics, though.

 

[bangswitch]

It's not the first time someone's broken in on her, and the first time was much worse, so I imagine she's learned to be aware of her surroundings and notice things "out of place". Glad she got through this one okay.

 

[UpperAtmosphere]

Huh. The lady who perpetrated this lives a few streets over from me. Don't know her, never seen her before.

Iiiiit's a small world aaaaafter all...

 

[Ignition Override]

Many years ago around the time she starred (as the widowed Amish girl) in Witness with Harrison Ford, some written source claimed that Kelly McGillis had been the victim of a rapist.

If that story was true then it surprised me that she wasn't better prepared for a really long time.

 

[230RN]

After you take the class, I believe that in NC there is a fast-track in the permitting process for people who can demonstrate a specific threat, as I recall, not just for celebrities. I don't remember the specifics, though.

Colorado has provisions for an emergency concealed carry permit for Ordinary Persons such as me and thee. I believe it's for a 30-day, but renewable, period. No class necessary, just pass the BC. I imagine most shall issue states have similar provisions.

(I could not get through to them for details tonight for some reason.)

 

[locnload]

To be "rushed through a Concealed Carry class doesn't necessarily mean it was a "rubber stamp" operation. As an NRA Instructor I teach a few Concealed carry classes. I'm not in it for the money, so I like to do small groups with similar levels of experience when ever possible. It allows me to tailor the class to the students needs. The way you talk to "soccer moms" about use of lethal force and being aware and prepared, differs from how you may present the same information to their husbands. My class material is well organized but it can take time to schedule a time when everyone can be there. But if I had a person that was concerned about a particular threat and felt the need to get "legally armed" quickly, I would certainly do a one on one class for them, even if they aren't Kelly McGillis . What takes 8 to 10 hours to present to a group of six can be done in 4 or 5 hours individually, and probably with better outcomes. And yes, Colorado does have a provision for getting someone a permit quickly if there is good reason.
While I agree that greasing the skids for "special people" can result in the kind of thing we see in the NYC carry permit system, I don't think that is what happened here.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

While getting a CCW is good, it is a short-sighted response. McGillis already owned guns. North Carolina has open carry. What McGillis needs is a couple good classes on self defense, security, and to buy a security system. She apparently lives alone in the middle of nowhere on top of a mountain with no neighbors in the immediate vicinity such that she had to CHASE DOWN ANOTHER VEHICLE WITH HER VEHICLE (which is scary as hell) in order to make a 911 call.

She had the means to defend herself and chose not to have them with her. She had the means to avoid the situation but completely ignored all of the blatant clues that she was entering into a dangerous situation...lights on, door unlocked, articles in her home that were not hers, etc.

Some people seem to work hard at trying to be a victim.