In the video below, cutlerylover tells the world that he pulled a gun on a mysterious man on his roof. cutlerylover says he didn’t actually aim his gat at the stranger, but he brandished nonetheless. He goes on to admit . . .

“If he ran I would have shot him.”

Seriously? 

I’d have ask the roof guy why he was atop my domicile before exposing my firearm. I’d only expose my ballistic solution if I was convinced the interloper posed an imminent, credible threat of grievous bodily harm or death. Say, if he’d had a gun.

OK, sure, I might place my hand discreetly on my firearm. But pull it out? Nope.

What would you do?

[Note: if you brandish your gun for whatever reason, call the cops and report it. I know this could open-up a can or worms — especially if you live in a gun averse state. On the other hand, the subject of your brandishment could claim that you threatened him. Bye-bye gun rights.]

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70 COMMENTS

    • “Man, I hope Santa is careful when he gets to this guy’s house…”

      Some tasty Reindeer jerky, anyone?

      (Elves, the other white meat…)

      *snicker*

  3. 1. Grab gun (unless u home carry). 2. Call 911. 3. Go out and survey from a safe distance until police arrive. No reason to go commando with the average price of a sdgu.

    • Let the four ridgebacks out into the yard. Check for and remove any ladders. Hook up the pressure washer, encourage him to get off the roof. Bury anything the dogs don’t eat.

      • It would be similar at our house. We have rottweilers. If he managed to make it onto the roof, he would be lucky. If he had any sense at all, he would stay there until the police arrived and could help him get down. When my dad visited, he used to laugh and say, “…one day you’re going to kick a rag, and it’s going to have a bone in it.”

  4. “I had the right to remain silent, I just didn’t have the ability” Ron White, Comedian

  5. I would definitely have trouble controlling my laughter. My roof is 3 stories high, and 2 of those are 11′ and 12′ high. There are no exterior stairs to them. I imagine I would only become aware of someone (other than buzzards) on my roof because he was screaming for help, at which time I would call the cops and have them notify the rescue squad.

  6. Hells no. Not unless my life of the life of a loved one was in immediate danger and a firearm was the tool required to protect them from that danger. Some fool up on the roof is already in danger himself and words will suffice.

    Seems like there are a few idiots out there just waiting for any excuse to molon their labe.

  8. Absolutely not. As asinine as it would be for a random individual to be on my roof, they aren’t technically breaking any major laws. Sure they’re trespassing, but unless they have a gun or another kind of distance weapon there is no legal reason to brandish or threaten them.

    I saw this video when he posted it a while back, and any micro amount of respect he had from me is forever gone. That dude is an ass.

    • And depending on what state, they aren’t even trespassing until asked to leave and they refuse. (Much like the no firearms posted signs)

  9. I assume this is the roof of a house, not a apartment building. If someone was on the roof of my house uninvited I would probably hold a gun on them until the cops got there or they finished cleaning the gutters, whichever came first ? I would check and make sure it wasn’t a workman that just got the wrong address first.

    • “It’s OK officers. He screwed up but he’s gonna pay for it by re-shingling my roof… properly.”

      LOL, if I ever get a major award I’ve decided I’m going to publicly thank Jesus. Not the religious guy, Jesus the guy who cuts my grass so I can be here to accept this award!

  10. My sister’s mother-in-law did. She lives in a building which has a fire escape. She heard them on the roof and caught them on the way down. It’s her and her husband’s building, and it isn’t so big that she doesn’t know everyone renter.

    She eventually let them go after making them promise not to do something like that again and tell all their friends to stay away from the building with the crazy lady with the gun.

  12. Not only would I pull it, but I would go for the shotgun first with 00 buck! And he would have 10 sec. to clear the roof before I shot him! Years ago my housing unit was broken into and my first wife assaulted. I had to make armed patrols with my shepherd on our Navy housing property from that point on. I kept the shotgun locked and loaded at all times. That lasted just over 3 years of hell before being transferred.
    So no, all these years later, anyone on the roof or on my property without reason at night will be dispatched first! I now live in a rural area with my second wife and any police response can be quite long getting here.

      • That couldn’t have happened. According to the internet experts here at ttag the cops get away with murder and never get punished for their transgressions.

        • As Abraham Lincoln sagely observed, “You shouldn’t believe everything you read on the Internet.” However, since I know Mohr, I know it’s true this time. Besides, the cop didn’t do it. The dog did it – though I’m surprised the feds didn’t put the dog AND her “to sleep”.

  13. Yet another gun owner that thinks they can use guns in any situation they find uncomfortable.

    Jeff always was a bit of a dope.

  14. IF a dude was on MY roof he would be up to no good! Whether I’d pull a gun on him is if I believed he was a threat. My shotgun and pistol would be at the ready…

  15. It would depend on what the guy was doing. If he was just up there I’d call the cops and let them sort it out. Maybe get some cool video of the fire department rescuing a drunk from my roof or something. If he started crying or throwing a fit that shit’s going straight onto YouTube.

    If on the other hand he presented a threat to myself, others or the house then I’d consider shooting him. If he was, say, talking about Satan and in possession of a can of gas and a road flare I’d be a bit on edge but if he made moves to light the house on fire I’d probably smoke his ass before he got the flare lit.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNnAvTTaJjM

    • Your house isn’t over insured? I’m am in between houses right not but if the last one had burned I would have celebrated.

      • Insurance doesn’t bring back people or pets.

        As far as I’m concerned if you demonstrate capability and intent to commit arson against my house I’m probably going to give you some extra holes where you don’t want them if for no other reason than the fact that the next person might not be so lucky to catch you before you light their house on fire with them in it.

        • I don’t disagree with anything in your reply. It’s just that my last home took so long to sell, 3 miserable years, and while not at a loss, still for just 3/5ths of what I had expected. In the case of the fire bug satanist, I would have waited until he started the fire before I killed him.

  17. I may draw on the dude, but only after I tossed him a couple cans of moss killer and asked him to get to work. If he refused, well, no telling what might happen.

  18. There are too many variables to answer the question.

    If the trespasser on the roof accessed the roof through the home (making the trespasser a home invader), that is much more serious.

    Can the trespasser access the home from the roof? Then they are most likely in the process of trying to break-in and become a home invader. Again, that is much more serious.

  19. wtf? On my roof? If he got up there he can stay there. I’m walking around the house and taking any ladders I find down and putting them on the street with “free to a good home” signs on them.

    Then I’m going inside and have a cool drink. If he’s still there by day 2 I’ll offer to throw him a bottle of water for his wallet.

    I figure by day 4 I’ll have his car and house keys.

      • no but drunk, stupid, and prowling around someone’s home is. Just check out the trial in Houston

  21. On my roof?? I’ve lived in my home forty years and there better not be some random sh– head on my roof! I can guarantee that! For one, there are more legal protections on your property when it comes to brandishing. (Washington State) RCW 9.41.270 which brandishing SHALL NOT apply to “Any act committed by a person while in his or her place of abode or fixed place of business” It’s not all inclusive and provide blanket protection from everything, but some guy on your roof, in my view, after determining if there was some Comcast guy at the wrong house but instead some sickly looking heroin addict or meth head being strange on my property, he sure as hell would be staring at my primary defense weapon…my AK. There are things you don’t do and getting on my roof being weird is defiantly one of them. Anyone differs with me, all I can say is grow some balls or move to another state.

    Like Silentbrick above me pointed out over being in Texas and dark, dudes in a spot of trouble…and that’s putting it nicely. In Texas he apt to get thrown off the roof, shot, or both. 🙂

  22. If this was a legitimate chimney sweep he was monumentally careless and stupid.
    You don’t start at the top with the cleaning. First you inspect the fireplace and seal and/or cover everything in range of the dust and soot from the hearth opening to ensure that you don’t have to buy all new carpet and furniture for the poor bloke whose house you just ruined.

    If the guy is on the roof I would simply remove the ladder and invite him to have a seat on a shingle until the police arrive. The presence of a self-defense weapon should be a given, but the suspicious person does not need to see it unless he is uncooperative to the point of being a threat, imho.

  23. How did he get past the moat and the gators to start with? Gators got some splaining to do.

  24. Extending Castle Doctrine to an owners property line would eliminate most societal woes.

    Trespassers will be shot. Jehovahs Witnesses will be shot more than once.

    • I used to always invite JWs in and offer them drinks and keep diverting the conversation to my sinful ways. Now a days I am too cautious to let somebody like that in.

  25. I’m an insurance adjuster. I have been given the wrong address and gotten on the wrong roof. Paid for a roof we didn’t insure once.

    • Not impressed. With this depreciation BS insurance companies are doing, they all suck. Insurance companies are like cell phone carriers. It’s a numbers game filled with confusing gimmicks.

  26. Seems kind of premature to draw on someone just b/c they’re on your property. Why not just ask what he’s doing? If he doesn’t belong, ask him to leave. If he made a mistake and somehow wound up at the wrong house then all you’re doing is making a simple mistake into a potentially deadly conflict.

    I am a roofer and I’ve mistakenly gone to the wrong house more than once. I even got on the roof of the wrong house and only realized it when I couldn’t find any damage and called the property management company. They had given me the wrong address. Mistakes happen. No need to over react.

    • The difference is there was a roofing truck nearby and it wasn’t night time, huh!
      Nobody is talking about going out and pointing guns at the first thump. If it was late at night, damn straight somethings happening, during normal working hours, a look outside a window for company trucks and some other normal verification procedures then act with responsibility. What we are really talking about is finding some freakazoid being strange on your roof and in that situation, he/she is getting held at gun point. They are on the roof, do they have a gun? I don’t know and I’m not getting caught flat-footed behind the curve.

  27. Yes. And I have. This situation actually happened to me along time ago. Long before things like fearing brandishing on your own property was common amongst you so called gun owners. Granted I live in sticks where most of you wouldn’t go, but still. Fearing “Brandishing” on your own property? If it really is that questionable to do so, then boys, we’ve already lost the war.

  28. I live in the country…the house is on a 5 acre clearing with no trees within 50 yards and no neighbors for nearly half a mile. If there’s a guy on my roof, he’s up to something nefarious. If I catch him there he most certainly will see the business end of a 12 gauge. If he doesn’t want to be ventilated with it he’ll either hightail it down and off the premises or get face-down post-haste and wait for the sheriff’s boys to get him out of his pickle.

  29. I have a segment of roof outside the upstairs windows. If a man is wandering on that type of roof it is likely an attempt to invade the home.
    Also someone wandering on the roof may be an arsonist.

  30. Someone wandering on your roof may be a neighbor concerned about how much damage his or her trees may have caused to your roof.

  31. The city I work for has thousands of vacants, some become property of the city, and the fire dept. I work for gets to,train on them , cutting roofs .

    One time the the wrong address ( typo ) was listed and the guys were ready to cut when the folks came outside ……

    Should have let them cut they would have gotten a whole new roof .

  32. I used to do maintenance, inspection and repair on foreclosed/abandoned properties. There were quite a few hairy moments when strangers would show up at their “sister’s” place (usually insisting there had been no foreclosure) or cops showing up on a reported break-in. I was always careful to knock first and make sure the place was unoccupied. Photo documentation was an essential part of the job and the roof was usually the last place I’d go. They’re not usually the easiest spot to access. That being said, anyone on a roof is either crazy, up to no good, or believes they have a legit reason to be there – even if the reason is, “It’s my roof and I like it up here.” No, I wouldn’t immediately draw, but I also live in an apartment building. As others have said, a marked work vehicle and time of day are critical factors.

  33. With my gun (concealed) on my hip (I home carry), I would inquire as to why this person was on my roof.

    If the person shows any signs of aggressiveness, the gun comes out.

    Most likely, it will be a contractor or service worker at the wrong address; therefore, it would be good to hold the firearm back until a actual threat is identified.

  35. I probably wouldn’t have pulled my gun, but there was reason to believe the guy was breaking into his house, so it’s not egregiously stupid. The

  36. What’s with all the people claiming “I live in the country, so no one should be anywhere near my property!”

    Do you know how easy it is to get lost in the country? Or any place you aren’t familiar with? Maybe you all grew up with GPS.

    So, someone is hired to fix or inspect a roof out in the country. They take the wrong back road and end up at the wrong house. Easy enough to happen. When there is a big storm, adjusters comer from out of town. When people inherit Uncle Billy’s old farmhouse he bought for retirement but never got to because of his heart attack, people come in from out of town and might get to the wrong house.

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