What would you have done...?

[barres]

Your family made it home safe. That is what truly matters. And AustinRealtor is right, you should be proud that you did everything you could think of to protect your wife and her sister, regardless of how much danger you put yourself into.

But there is one thing that no one has mentioned yet. We have the right to carry in our vehicles, even without a CHL. I would use this not only to convince your wife to get a CHL, but also to carry in her car until that time.

[goofygrin]

Another thing to consider is a high performance/evasive maneuver driving class.

80 in a 50 isn't going to get you away from anyone. 120 in a 50 will, BUT you have to know how to handle your vehicle at those speeds.

And had you gotten your pistol, would you have fired into the car? Brandished it? For everyone saying "retrieve your pistol" how would it have diffuse the situation?

[ClarkLZeuss]

Loved your warrior spirit, Blake. You did a courageous thing in drawing the attention of the threatening person. Good job. As a man in ministry myself, I immediately thought of the verse, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." You definitely did a Christ-like thing by offering your own safety and security in exchange for that of your wife.

Many helpful things have been posted here which I would also suggest, but I don't want to just be an echo, so let me offer up one more idea. In the period where you were waiting for your wife to arrive, one other thing you could have done is called any of your buddies that live nearby (preferably ones that also carry) and told them to get their butts to church and help you out. Now, you have to be careful with this (legally), and request their help only in defending you and your wife...i.e. NOT to help you "get" someone. And obviously, call the police first and ask for their help. But sometimes buddies will get there quicker. You have to weigh the pros and cons of getting other people involved, in terms of how it will affect the situation and their own safety, but all I know is that if a member of my church called me from a similar situation, I'd be there in a heartbeat...so I'm sure there are others at your church who feel the same way about you.

The only other thing I would emphasize is prayer, especially for discernment of spiritual warfare. Whenever in ministry I've encountered people that get unreasonably angry at me, I chalk it up to this: "No servant is great than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you,"...for, "They hated me without reason." The evil one wants to steal, kill and destroy, especially those who are actively engaged in battle against him, and he often does so through boneheads like Mr. Infinity Driver. It helps to keep this in perspective, for ultimately "our battle is not against flesh and blood." (All the same, though, I'd pursue charges, mainly for your family's safety).

[baseballguy2001]

Glad everybody is OK. In a similar situation my wife called me while I was in my car when a neighbors home alarm was blaring away. I told her to get off the phone with me and call 911. I happened to be heading home from the gun range with a friend when she called. I had no idea if our neighbors were in the house injured, the home invaders scared off by the alarm, every option racing through my head as I quickly, but safely raced home. The good news is, it turned out to be a false alarm, but I didn't know it at that second. The point is, I told her to call 911 now. At the first sign of trouble, I believe the girls should have called 911. The baseball bat vs. the car was noble, but in my opinion, not smart.

[TheBlake]

Thank you everyone for your feedback and opinions, as others have stated in this thread, this situation at least served as a good learning experience for us all.

[TheBlake]

Thought i would post an update...

Still no word on the BG...

When i call homicide division of Houston PD i get the run-around...

I HOPE this was not swept under the rug

[bryang]

Thought i would post an update...

Still no word on the BG...

When i call homicide division of Houston PD i get the run-around...

I HOPE this was not swept under the rug

I hope not either, that weirdo needs to be off the street. I am sure that was not the first time he had stalked females, nor the last.

-geo

[quidni]

Just a minor addendum (that has kept me from embarrassment a time or three )

A spare key in a magnetic key safe hidden on the vehicle, ok, but keep a spare key in your wallet as well!

[Rollin2008]

LUCKILY...
We went to the police station to make a report, and while doing so learned that the man had called and made a false police report saying that he was leaving the late night service, AT OUR CHURCH (p.s. there is no late night service), and he thought that someone might have vandalized his car BC there was damage to it when he came outside. The vehicle, time, and description of damage matched to a t! We are actively pursuing this and he is being charged with a long list including attempted manslaughter.
Ultimately i am glad the four of us ended up being ok and he is caught.

Anything new on the situation??

[TheBlake]

Nope not yet, I am pretty disgusted by the lack of follow up by PD...

[mr.72]

All of the advice about carrying 24/7 is good but wouldn't have done you a lick of good. Once the BG followed your wife all the way to church, the situation was more than out of hand.

I think the best thing to do would be for the passenger in the car to call 911 and make sure they didn't get dropped, honk the horn, flash the lights, and attract as much attention while driving as possible until the cops showed up to help out on the road. Write down a description of the vehicle and plate number to report to the 911 operator. There had to be at least 10 minutes on the road that were not spent on the phone with 911. In that amount of time certainly the police should have been able to respond. Keep on driving, towards a police station or fire station, and don't stop until you get there.

In this case, gun or no gun, the church was not exactly a safe haven.