not concealed but in my home...

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aiformula
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not concealed but in my home...

Post by aiformula »

This happened last week, and I posted about it on a different board that I frequent, but thought you folks here might glean some insight from the story.


---------------------------------

It happened again.

This is the second time in my life I have had occasion to point a loaded weapon at another human being and contemplate pulling the trigger. It's a sobering proposition folks.

I live in my little bachelor pad house in a decent neighborhood. We get the occasional vandal or punk, but never something this brazen. It's safe and quiet enough that I typically leave my windows open during the day while I'm away at work w/o fear of anything happening partly due to the fact my neighbors all watch out for one another and most of them are retired, but mostly because it's just a good place.

I was sitting in the front bedroom this afternoon after work logging in to play battlefield and as usual I had the volume up. I also had the TV on because I wanted to catch the weather report for the evening. So I am sitting here at the computer and for some reason I had picked up my HK off the coffee table where it had been sitting today after I cleaned a couple weapons last night. Just as I got the game up and started playing, I thought I heard someone talking, but blew it off as something w/ the VOIP comms in the game. Then, I remembered I was playing offline and there shouldn't be any VOIP comms happening. A few seconds later, I was sure I heard my front screen door (thank god I didn't oil it this spring), so I got up quietly and walked to the opening in the hall to the living room w/ my HK in hand. I performed an room/edge clearing like I was taught at TDI and as I inched around, I saw a black lady in my living room.

It was at this point that I realized she was holding my 357, which had been sitting on the coffee table, in her hand. I had been cleaning pistols the night before and the HK and the DW were the only two I hadn't put back in the safe. I immediately challenged her as loudly as I could screaming to drop the weapon and get out of the house. At this point she was still holding it w/ one hand and it was not raised. She started yelling something about she was just there to sell something, I countered with "why are you picking up a gun that doesn't belong to you in a house you don't belong in?" with a repeated command to drop the weapon. Then I saw teh bbl of teh gun coming up slowly and I could not remember if I had loaded the weapon again after cleaning it at which point my adrenaline level (which I thought was already on overload) kicked it up a notch and I screamed at her "This is the last warning you get, you have exactly 2 seconds to drop the weapon or I AM going to shoot you!" And I started taking up slack in the trigger watching the hammer pull back.

At this point, she finally listened, literally dropped the revolver and turned and ran out the front door. When she dropped the gun, I instinctively flinched hoping that (a) it wasn't loaded, and (b) if it was, it wouldn't land on the hammer spur and go off.

I watched her run off down the street till she was out of sight and shortly heard a car start up and take off like a bat outta hell around the corner. At this point I realized the threat was completely gone and I turned to jello. I literally collapsed onto my couch w/ the post adreanline rush quakes. I started playing it over in my mind trying to remember everything I could, and jotted it down, but now I can't even read my handwriting. I decided the threat was no more, but I left the Dan WEsson on the floor where it had dropped instead of picking it up and putting it in the safe, locked it up where I should have put it last night after I was done cleaning it.

I never did see her face, as it was obscured by the cover of the wall/entertainment center/CD rack. I was also crouched low, and I'm not sure she ever actually saw me which is the only reason I can assume she was raising the gun but it was pointed in a different direction.
Brian_Horton
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Post by Brian_Horton »

Wow. Sounds like you did good. Did you file a police report?
When the goin' gets tough, the tough go cyclic.

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TunnelRat
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Post by TunnelRat »

Nice work: you repelled a boarder and there's nobody dead...
TunnelRat

"Applying the standard that is well established in our case law, we hold that the Second Amendment right is fully applicable to the States." ~ McDonald v. Chicago

When your only tools are a hammer and sickle, every problem starts to look like too much freedom.
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Roy C
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Post by Roy C »

Scary.

Well Done!

Roy
Brian D.
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Post by Brian D. »

aiformula, I hope you checked carefully afterwards to see that nothing had been stolen, especially small things that can be quickly shoved into pockets or a purse.

On a different note, there is VERY little chance that your DW revolver could have discharged from being dropped, I'm fairly certain they have some nature of transfer bar/hammer block inside. (Owned a Dan Wesson revolver many moons ago, so just going on memory.)

Neighborhoods change, my friend. Where I grew up--and still live--was considered for years to be 'suburban'. Well, it's not like official notices were sent out or anything, but these days it's most definitely 'inner city' here now. Not-so-suble signs include businesses like 'Payday Advance', 'Family Dollar General', etc within walking distance of your home.
Quit worrying, hide your gun well, shut up, and CARRY that handgun!

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mattswabb
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Post by mattswabb »

You handled it well. So was the 357 loaded after all?

matt
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Post by OldManTod »

Whats up Dog!! Deja Vu!!

Ur Pal T!!
"I feel sorry for you people who do not drink, when you wake up in the morning, that is as good as you are going to feel all day." - Dean
toddhill
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Post by toddhill »

Wow! My I can feel my heart just by reading that post!
It was at this point that I realized she was holding my 357, which had been sitting on the coffee table, in her hand.
Not to change the subject too much, but had you fired, do you think the anti's would use the fact that YOU had the gun sitting on the table for HER to pick up? I'm thinkin' they would try and turn it on you.

This just reinforces the fact that I need to keep MY weapon on ME or locked up. I'm guilty of having left it out in the open from time to time.

Whew... good job.
Brian D.
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Post by Brian D. »

Todd, only a lame-brained, short-sighted prosecutor would try such a tactic in the criminal courts. Their boss has to get re-elected every so often, and assuming aiformula is a law abiding good guy, the intruder is a longtime dirtbag (what are the odds this break-in is her first time?), etc...well, that just wouldn't play too well here in the Heartland would it?

What an ambulance chasing shyster with little to lose might try to pull off in a CIVIL court is maybe another matter..
Quit worrying, hide your gun well, shut up, and CARRY that handgun!

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TunnelRat
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Post by TunnelRat »

Brian D. wrote: What an ambulance chasing shyster with little to lose might try to pull off in a CIVIL court is maybe another matter..
Hey, ambulance chasing shysters need love, too... :(
TunnelRat

"Applying the standard that is well established in our case law, we hold that the Second Amendment right is fully applicable to the States." ~ McDonald v. Chicago

When your only tools are a hammer and sickle, every problem starts to look like too much freedom.
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Post by Ursus americanus »

Did you contact the police and file a report? Might be a good idea plus it documents another crime spoiled by a lawful gun owner.

I would suggest you be more careful in leaving weapons lying out with the doors unlocked.

Greg
Brian D.
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Post by Brian D. »

Tom, not all lawyers are shysters, just like not all doctors are quacks. That's about as close to a "group hug" as I'll give on this topic though. :shock:
Quit worrying, hide your gun well, shut up, and CARRY that handgun!

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aiformula
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Location: Dayton area

Post by aiformula »

I'll try to answer all the questions here.

First, the only time during the whole scenario that I was not in 100% control of myself was when she actually dropped the gun. I freaked. It only lasted a couple seconds but it was enough to distract me long enough that she was able to get out the door before I regained composure.

now, on to the questions.

No, I did not file a report w/ the PD initially. The perpetrator was gone, I couldn't give them any worthwhile info. The next night at a community picnic, I ended up speaking w/ the chief. long and short of it is they ended up printing the gun and got nothing but my prints. They didn't even try to print the house as I'd already used the doors several times.

No, it turned out the 357 was not loaded. Boy wouldn't that have been something to deal w/ had things turned out differently.

nothing was stolen.

I am a "good guy" as the worst thing I've ever even been charged w/ is a speeding ticket. Granted, I've had FI cards filled out on me in the past I'm sure for incidents of "temporary insanity" but nothing worth the time and effort of prosecution or even an arrest.

In my own post incident eval of my performance under fire (hey, if it's good enough to work for SWAT... ), I realized some startling things about myself.

During the whole showdown, even though my heart was beating so hard it felt like I was going to break a rib from the inside, once I locked on target, my sights hardly wavered at all. I know my sights move more during competition than they did that night.

Secondly, I found myself much more "calm" than I ever would have thought in such a situation.

Third, I'm upset that I didn't clear the rest of the house... Bad move if there had been multiple BGs.

Fourth, In the 8 yrs I've been living in that house, I've only ever had maybe 2-3 dozen people come to my door that I did not know. Couple that w/ the fact nothing ever happens in my neighborhood, I had a false sense of security. I guess I need to at least lock the screen door. Thank god I forgot to oil the hinge this spring though.

Fifth, I need to add a couple handsets to my cordless phone that I can leave in different rooms in case I get caught away from the phone again.

and last but definitely not least, I had it reiterated to me that if [deleted - JK], I know what I am capable of taking a life and that actually scares the hell out of me. I've spent much of my life helping people in some way shape or form, and the thought of actually having to take a life is reprehensible, but if it comes down to it, I know I could. For those familiar w/ the movie Blackhawk Down, at the end during the "Mogadishu Mile" run, when the black guy is taking aim at the lady who bends down to pick up the rifle saying "Don't you do it, Don't you damn do it" I now know EXACTLY what was going through his mind. The second to last thing I ever want to experience in my life is killing someone, which ranks only slightly above dying in flames. I also know that had I ended up pulling the trigger, I would have been hard pressed to continue the search as my instinct would have been to administer first aid.

Anyway, hope you all think about this and add it to your "What If" scenarios as you walk around your house, business, or anywhere.
Regulator2
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Post by Regulator2 »

aiformula

sounds like you handled yourself well.....and this is something we must all figure out about ourselves...can you do it if you have to.....

as I found in a recent and ongoing conflict 6700 miles away in the cesspools and sandpits of the world...you are correct you find out alot about yourself...times slows incredibly.. yet speeds up at the same time....

I can still remember the look of the face and the sureal feeling of how calm I was as the events unfolded, you fall back to your training....don't know if you have heard of officers getting shot picking up brass...that's why they have since quit this practice.....I remember one scenario where I returned to my HMMV for a mag for my weapon and I had 6 on my body armor, and 2 more attached to my leg in a drop pouch and one on the buttstock of my weapon...but instinctively returned to to vehicle under fire for a mag....stupid yes.....but it happens when under stress...your body goes back to instinct and what you have been doing....so train up lads....

I have since I've been home cleared my entire house in the middle of the night, twice, whether due to PTSD or just nerves...a bump in the night that wakes me...and my dogs acting strange ...
but you have to protect your own

and do it with a good head on your shoulders....

you gave warning....and that was the right thing to do...yet while you gave warning were smart enough to conceal yourself

good job brother

Regulator 2
518th Gun Truck, OIF Vet
Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night, only because rough men stand ready to do violence on thier behalf --George Orwell

Regulator 2
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TunnelRat
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Post by TunnelRat »

Regulator2 wrote:.....I remember one scenario where I returned to my HMMV for a mag for my weapon and I had 6 on my body armor, and 2 more attached to my leg in a drop pouch and one on the buttstock of my weapon...but instinctively returned to to vehicle under fire for a mag....stupid yes.....but it happens when under stress...your body goes back to instinct and what you have been doing....so train up lads....
Yup, you fight exactly like you train. So train carefully.... :shock:
Regulator2 wrote:I have since I've been home cleared my entire house in the middle of the night, twice, whether due to PTSD or just nerves...a bump in the night that wakes me...and my dogs acting strange ...
A little PTSD never hurt anybody. For years I would wake up every hour on the hour and go to check the kids (heck, I had seven of them). I'd find them with their bums up in the air and shivering on top of their blankets. I'd cover them up, change the necessary diaper, and go back to bed. It wasn't until the youngest was in college that I found out that most dads don't get up every hour on the hour. Heh... :roll:
TunnelRat

"Applying the standard that is well established in our case law, we hold that the Second Amendment right is fully applicable to the States." ~ McDonald v. Chicago

When your only tools are a hammer and sickle, every problem starts to look like too much freedom.
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