Armed resident scares off home invaders

[Lyte-]

First off sorry if this is not the correct place but this was the most logical place I could think of...

with that said is those someone from here?

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/police-residents-home-2627212-house-birth

[BigEd925]

good job to the homeowner in arming himself and defending his property.

[Barney Gumble]

Actually, confronting the intruders was a terrible mistake from a tactical perspective and he lucked out.

[halifax]

"woke up to the sound of breaking glass" and "[w]hen the resident revealed that he was armed, the three men ran out of the rear of the house", yet "[p]olice are asking neighborhood residents to keep their doors locked".

Locked doors don't seem to have had much to do with this happy ending.

I'm sure it's for safety reasons, but if the police spokesperson were honest he/she should have used this incident as an example of how to protect yourself and your family because bad things can happen even in good neighborhoods.

[Untamed1972]

Actually, confronting the intruders was a terrible mistake from a tactical perspective and he lucked out.

Yes....but if you have children in other parts of the house are you really going to lock yourself in your bedroom and wait for the LEOs to arrive?

Sometimes you hafta attack the attacker(s) which is what he did.....and it worked. It is possible to be tactically offensive.....why wait for them to come to you? I wouldn't want to wait until I was cornered in my bedroom or had to respond to the sounds of screaming children before I went on the offense.

[SuperSet]

That's a nice area. Good thing he was armed and it turned out okay for him and his family.

[Barney Gumble]

Yes....but if you have children in other parts of the house are you really going to lock yourself in your bedroom and wait for the LEOs to arrive?

Absolutely! He had no idea how many there were and could have easily been shot or otherwise overpowered by an unseen bad guy. Once the BGs have overpowered him and taken his gun who is left to defend his family?

I can totally see doing a little recon to determine whether there is actually a break in, and then calling 911. It's dangerous if there actually ARE intruders, but the reality is people want to do this before calling 911 out of fear of making a false alarm call.

Sometimes you hafta attack the attacker(s) which is what he did.....and it worked. It is possible to be tactically offensive.....why wait for them to come to you? I wouldn't want to wait until I was cornered in my bedroom or had to respond to the sounds of screaming children before I went on the offense.

It worked but that doesn't make it a good idea. Clearing a house is absolutely NOT a single-person job. Too many angles and concealment positions to cover.

Would I want to wait for them to come to me, absolutely yes. Obviously you need to gather the kids first, you don't just leave them to fend for themselves (duh!). I would bring them into our bedroom and lock the door. Then I can determine my own concealment and I am forcing all the BGs through a single entry point. WAY easier to defend.

[Untamed1972]

Then I can determine my own concealment and I am forcing all the BGs through a single entry point. WAY easier to defend.

And now you and your whole family are cornered with possibly no means of egress is it doesn't go as easily as you hoped.

I wouldn't back myself into a corner intentionally if it was me. If I hafta leave the room to gather the family....would be better to leave some options open in my mind. But that's just me.

[Barney Gumble]

That's fine...I'm just saying that taking up a defensive position, staying put and calling the cavalry is a lot smarter than playing SWAT and running around in your jammies trying to clear a dark house by yourself.

[Snapping Twig]

Actually, confronting the intruders was a terrible mistake from a tactical perspective and he lucked out.

A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

Wife and kids defenseless... you got to be the most deadly thing in the house.

It harkens back to the most basic of human instinct.

My advice is to train in advance long before you find yourself in such a situation, no guarantee of success, but it stacks the deck in your favor.

Also, have a plan in place - exits, meeting points, etc.

99.9% of the time, the training will be of no practical use - thank God for that - but for the 1% of the time...

[Nynvolt]

99.9% of thugs who are breaking into houses are not S.W.A.T. trained... I don't think the guy needed to fall back on his "house clearing" tactics...

[Barney Gumble]

The BGs don't need to be SWAT trained, they simply have to have more guys, or be behind you when you round a corner. How exactly do your tough guy instincts save you, or protect your wife and kids, after you've had your head cracked open with a crowbar??

[locosway]

We can critique him all we want, but the fact is him and his family is safe, and the intruders are arrested with no shots fired.

Sounds like he won in my book.

[GrimLock]

Hey to the OP you did a good job and you did what you were supposed to do as man who has a family.

PLAIN AND SIMPLE!!!

If you have the time and money take some house clearing classes and in the mean time have a cold one if you drink.

ONCE AGAIN GOOD job!

[beemaze]

A good story with a good outcome so far. The point is that more of these good incidents happen each day than negative outcome incidents that our media loves to report.