Last night my family, my home, was invaded by three punks with a stun gun and two small arms.
After putting my son in bed and saying prayers, my wife sat down to eat. Our doorbell rang and she went to answer it. I was in our bedroom.
A nice young girl identified herself as "Mary" and asked to use the phone--she said her car had broken down. My wife told her to wait a moment as she got the phone. "Mary" followed my wife in the house (uninvited) and when my wife turned around with the phone, Mary charged a stun gun and zapped my wife. I heard the stun gun and then my wife's screams. I could only think to protect my wife as I ran to the front of the house. I remember that my dad always said, "in a fight, grab the biggest thing you can and get the first hit". Unfortunately for me, that was a plastic baby gate we use to keep our dog confined to certain parts of the house. I rounded the corner into the front room and charged at a man with a gun--baby gate in hand ready to--I don't know, keep him from falling down stairs? I tried to hit him with the baby gate and grab his gun, but it didn't work. This man, I will call him "high strung" cussed me out and threatened to kill me. My wife, meanwhile, pleaded with me to do what they say.
I was told to lie down on the floor face down while they took a coat to cover my wife's head. They did not know my 5 year old son was in bed. God bless him, he just hid under his covers perfectly still. My vicious guard dog chihuahua hid under a sofa somewhere in the house.
"High strung" seemed to be buzzed on something and asked for tape, rope, or handcuffs to bind me. Luckily I don't have any of those. "High strung" had the other guy with a gun watch me while he ran around looking for money or tape, or whatever. The second guy sounded more calm and reasonable, so I asked him if my wife could get my son. "Benevolent A-hole crook" let my wife get my son and locked them in the bathroom. At that time, I figured at least they were safe.
They took our cash and jewelery. "High strung" kept asking for more jewelery and I offered to look for it for him. He threatened me with a gun and with a hammer, then zapped me with the stun gun. He finally told me to stay put for 15 minutes and not to call the cops because he knows where I live. He left and I felt the cold air from out back door. I waited about a minute, got up, and ran to the back door to close and lock it; then I set our alarm and got my wife and son. We called 911 and when the Sheriff's department arrived, we let them do their thing.
My son is with his grandmother. I am trying to see my wife through this. . .
Here are some lessons learned:
1st: Do not open your door at night--even for a nice looking person. If you choose to answer the door, offer to call the police or call for help through the door. My mom's policy: she doesn't open a door for someone unless they call her first and let her know they are coming. One of the deputies told me he doesn't answer the door unless he has his gun with him--which earns him curious looks from his in-laws.
2nd: Have a plan. When my wife screamed, I should have run to our alarm panel and hit the silent alarm or picked up the phone for 911. The ONLY way to have the presence of mind to overcome your instincts and call for help first is to have a drill. Practice what you should do in an emergency.
3rd: Give them what they want if it will prevent harm to your family. I fought, but I did not have a clear picture of what I was facing. Our lights were not on in the front room so I did not get a great description of the criminals. Once I realized guns were aimed at me, I complied. For my reward, I got some scratches on my fingers, a small bump on my head, and a stun-gun burn on my foot. I am not Chuck Norris--unless you are, don't fight. These animals left with a couple thousand in jewelery, but they didn't shoot us.
Don't let me kid you, I felt helpless. As I laid there on the floor, I could only pray for my wife and son. I wanted to charge out and save my wife and instead, I put us all in jeopardy. We made it last night. Now we have to make it through today.
4th: Don't carry cash. Banks are FDIC insured, your wallet, purse, or mattress is not. They did not get too much cash from me because I don't keep cash on my person.
5th: Watch your surroundings and pay attention to details. One of the deputies told us that when crimes occur and they canvas the neighborhood, people will tell them that they saw someone suspicious around. When they ask for details, the people don't know. If you see a suspicious vehicle, get a license plate number--make and color of the vehicle are helpful too. If you see a suspicious person, stare at them and look for distinguishing characteristics. What kinds of details? eye color, hair color, height, complexion, tattoos, voice characteristics, accent . . . details help.
6th: Be a hard target. Our home was a soft target. It was not well lit, no security cameras, no locks on the back gate, and the alarm was not set. Unknowingly, we made this as easy as possible for the thugs. Do you have a gate on your yard? Lock it. How is your exterior lighting? Improve it. Install floodlights and motion sensor lights. Do you have a house alarm? Use it. Do you have personal firearms? Make sure you are trained in their use and practice regularly, but also take necessary steps to keep them out of the hands of your children or any wouldbe attackers.
For more information about home invasion and personal security, you can Google "home invasion". The first item I found was wikipedia. The second one is this home invasion site. I also found this very helpful article from Fortress America. If your local police or sheriff has a Don't be a victim class, check that out too. Do you have a neighborhood watch? You should.
As I learn more I will post more. Look for updates on my "Personal Safety" page.
