Dallas Home Invasion: Local Radio Personality Firsthand Experience

[fickman]

I think this is a compelling story worthy of discussion here . Several of the elements are unique and it gave me a few new variables to consider.

The audio is here (select "TC Home Invasion Story - January 13, 2016"):
http://www.bobanddan.com/latest-audio/

For those who aren't P1s of The Ticket, TC is not a host of the show, but rather a former intern that now does the 3x/hour sports news updates. Listeners will know him as a kid from the suburbs who is socially liberal but extremely libertarian politically. I believe TC is very fortunate that this went the way it did and naive to think it's a reliable outcome, but I'm not looking to dogpile him for not having a firearm and not being prepared. Obviously the hosts are not in our 2A circles, so it's kind of a glimpse into the a scenario from the masses point of view.

I'll add some of my tactical thoughts as a reply below.

[fickman]

I shared this because it presents several "what ifs" and variables to consider.

My takeaways:
- Being prepared is key. Thinking through scenarios is important and actually training for them is even moreso. As the saying goes, most people won't rise to the occasion, they'll revert to their level of training. TC obviously has thought through his potential reactions and was still surprised by what he actually did.

- I agree with everybody else, 7:00 AM has to be the worst time for an invasion. To me, it means the burglar is especially dumb, careless, or desperate, all of which could make his behavior increasingly unpredictable.

- There were sort of three different situations here to consider:
1) The burglar in your house, across the room, not knowing that you're present. In addition, you also don't know if he's alone, has somebody just outside, or has somebody else in another room.
Options (all justified): a) retreat and call police, only shooting if he comes into your safe room, b) shoot without warning, c) aim firearm and command him to lie down and wait for police (shoot if he moves in any direction or allow to leave if he flees).

2) After verbal confrontation, burglar becomes assailant and charges at you.
Option: The only option here is to shoot. I would anticipate we have 100% agreement on this forum.

3) After physical confrontation, assailant flees.
Options: a) Shoot while situation is still at hand if you haven't done so yet (perhaps you were pocket carrying and he closed the gap in #2 too quickly for you to draw), b) allow to flee

[Tracker]

that was painful to listen to.
I'm not shooting someone over an XBOX, esp if he's running out the door with it. But if he were coming at me in my house I'm shooting.

[mr1337]

that was painful to listen to.
I'm not shooting someone over an XBOX, esp if he's running out the door with it. But if he were coming at me in my house I'm shooting.

Absolutely, especially if they try to grab me by the neck!

[fickman]

I think my preferred course of action is to aim and command he lie down. If he runs out of the house, he can go. If he flexes one muscle in my direction, I assume he's attacking and open fire.

One thing that struck me is the confusion / dumbfoundedness. Waking up to an alert situation is hard enough, and I'm sure we're all used to false alarms. Stepping into a real situation so unexpectedly could be disorienting. I could see myself in danger of wasting mental processing cycles on a meta analysis "Is this really happening? This is what I've been preparing for, but it's real this time," and forget to stay in the moment.

[FCH]

Thanks for posting this. It has really got me thinking, again. My circumstances are much different but the possibility of a home invasion is one of the reasons my wife and I just recently ventured into handgun ownership. We have no Xbox nor do we have much that would be of interest to thieves. We do not advertise the existence of firearms in our home. No NRA stickers, no protected by Smith & Wesson, etc. We do advertise an alarm system and video cameras are visible on the outside of our home. Since my wife and I are retired, there are usually cars in the driveway. That said ....

We have no dog so the first indication of trouble would be the crashing of a door or window. Assuming I'm in bed, I would retrieve my firearm (in a holster on my bed-rail) and then I would have to determine the location of my wife. If she was beside me in bed, I probably would not leave the bed since I am handicapped and my mobility is limited. I would call 911 (the phone is also right by the bed). If a person appeared at the door of my bedroom, If I did not recognize them immediately, they would be sporting a couple of extra holes in their body.

If my wife was not in the bedroom I would have to be sure she was clear and safe. If she was not screaming or obviously in distress, I would call 911 then try to make it to my wheelchair so I could clear the house.

I cannot express the reverence I have for life. I cannot understand how people can take a life in the act of stealing a few dollars. I hope I never have to act, but If an unknown person enters my home, uninvited, and unannounced, I will use all the skills and tools I have to protect my wife and myself. I will not be giving any warnings.