A home invasion of one of our readers

Home Invasion is on the rise as law enforcement budgets move lower, and the economy gets tougher.  Crime rates are increasing as more and tighter gun laws are handed down to private law abiding citizens and people are getting more aggressive as things decline.

In this segment I have taken the liberty to expand on a home invasion story told to me by one of our readers, to try and explain the situation from their eyes, without alienating their privacy or exposing the details of their account. This is a marginally fictionalized account of a real home invasion occurrence which took place in Michigan.

“I was at home watching TV, about to get some food out of the microwave when somebody knocked on my door, I peeked around the wall from the kitchen hoping I could avoid them, and that they would go away.  But my front blinds were open enough to show the flickering images on my television.  I was busted.  I took my time going to the door, I wasn’t expecting anyone tonight, my girlfriend was out of town and I was tired form work. I looked out the window to find a dark man who looked like he has just been punched in the face. I think he was Puerto Rican or maybe Cuban.  He was dressed in a track suit and looked like he needed help.  It seemed like he was maybe on the receiving end of some beat down by a group of thugs. I was hesitant to open the door, but his eye was bashed in pretty badly.

Home Invasion, the ultimate violation

I cracked the door open, and he fidgeted to get out something, but I wasn’t understanding what he wanted.  Was he selling something? Then he lunged towards the door lodging his sneaker in between the door and the jamb, shoving his way into the home. I couldn’t keep on balance and I skipped backward almost uncontrollably I needed to put some distance between us.  He had a small knife in his hand, but I wasn’t worried about the knife, I was worried about his intent and the look in his eyes.  He was wild. He didn’t seem in control, like he was possessed by something, like he wouldn’t give up until he got what he wanted, I didn’t know this guy, or what he wanted.

Prepared enough for Home invasion?

I had a crappy Saturday night special in my bedroom, but he had be basically cornered in the kitchen and dining room.  This guy wasn’t going to give up easily.  My mind was racing, I just heard him yelling and he was moving erratically, the knife barely in his grasp.  I had to get back into the back of the house or make a stand here.  But this guy was literally chasing me around my dining room table, I think he wanted money, but I still wasn’t sure.  I sidestepped a chair at the table and tossed it in his way, it made him stumbled and I tore down the hallway into the bedroom, slamming the door behind me.

My little pocket pistol was in the top drawer of the night table on the left side of my bed, but I knew I didn’t have long to get to it. My mind was still racing but I could hear my heartbeat.  My focus was unmatched and I was really coherent and had absolute clarity.  I had time to decide what I would do, and it actually seemed like I was waiting on this guy-maybe he had left when he couldn’t get me to comply in the kitchen.  Maybe he was waiting for me to come out.  He wasn’t.  He barreled into the room and things started going a bit faster.  I lifted the diminutive pistol up as he came into the room, but it was only a momentary pause before he lunged at me again. I instinctively pressed on the trigger as the man collided with me, but we tumbled down, and I could feel he wasn’t as strong as he had been at first, I think I had shot him.  He was still grasping me and he was yelling again. I struggled with the guy and pushed away holding the gun at him.  I was bleeding from my elbow where I had been cut by his knife, but it wasn’t painful.  My adrenaline was coursing throughout my body and I was sure I had the upper hand now.  He got up and stumbled towards me clutching his lower chest and stomach with one hand.  He now looked visibly shaken and much more beaten down. I backed up, but I was just now becoming painfully aware that he may not be the only one in the home.  He had breached my door, and I didn’t get a chance to determine if he was alone.  I carefully went out backwards from the room, his knife was on the floor and it was just him coming towards me.  I was ready to shoot again.  I didn’t feel sorrow for this thug; I only worried about self preservation at this point.  I was surprised the little gun I had fired was enough to inflict such a response in this individual, who I was sure now, was heavily under the influence of some hard core drug.

I moved out back into the kitchen and turned briefly to ensure I was alone as I did I glanced out the wide open front door to see a few neighbors in the front yard with cell phones.  One of them shouted to me to make sure I was ok, and to tell me 911 had been called.  The man was losing a bit of blood now and he was doing a good job impersonating a zombie from a horror movie.

Aftermath of a Home Invasion

I told him to sit down and he became belligerent with me. I persuaded him to do so with the weapon, and after what seemed like a very long time the sirens began to approach.  I was still focused and every word was being processed in my mind on its own.  I was in a state of complete focus and surrealism.

The night was long, and it was very hard to sleep despite feeling absolutely drained.  Eventually I was charged, as at the time, I was not protected by the Castle doctrine, which helps those “victims” of home invasion avoid jail time for justifiable shootings.  It wasn’t too long before the case was dismissed.  Surely my account of this home invasion and those of my neighbors were enough to get that taken care of.

A home invasion forever changed me and the intruder

I was alive. He was alive.  But I doubt he will be so eager to make a habit of home invasion in the future. In the end, a little tiny gun was enough to stop a threat, but it wouldn’t be my first choice in such a situation now. While I’m not proud of the situation, I don’t try to replay the what-if’s about the situation.  I feared for my life when I pulled the trigger, and I felt as though I was within reason to do so. I was glad that I had a firearm when I was the subject of a home invasion: that much should be clear.

I’m not a victim in this situation and I refuse to act like one.  I learned more about myself in that 15 minute ordeal than I ever could have without it.

When I do talk about this story, it’s usually with close friends as they try to illustrate a point.  One good friend,  a SWAT team captain put it to me this way:

“Some people are sheep and some are shepherds: you stepped up when you needed to and it put you in a position to stay alive”

I agree.  But I don’t feel like I was a leader, rather someone who wasn’t about to end up in the morgue with a tag on my toe; not about to be a victim of a crime that could have been prevented. Many people like to believe it will be easy in a situation like that.  I was cocky before I went through this, and perhaps I took for granted the level of safety I had convinced myself I enjoyed.  I don’t look at life the same way now: now it’s about how I will react, how well I will be prepared, and how well I will be able to justify my actions.

It is a situation I will never forget.  I’m alive to remember it and that’s what counts.”

Are you preventing a Home Invasion?

A truly engaging story, and one which puts boldface on, and underlines the need for situational awareness and preparation, as well as an understanding of oneself and a weapon they trust their life to.  Using a firearm as a defensive weapon is not a crime, but it requires a certain level of understanding and comfort.