By NCGlockin

On Friday September 18, something happened that changed my life forever. It was payday, so I decided to run to the ATM and get some cash. I work from home, so normally I don’t go out during the day unless I need something. I live about two minutes from the shopping center where the ATM is located, so I was expecting it to be a short trip . . .

I was on a conference call for my job that started at 10 AM, so I was very conscious of the time.

10:33 AM – I switched over to my cell phone, so I could stay on the call while I went to the ATM. It took me a few minutes even after I switched over to actually walk out the door, so I’m guessing it was around 10:37 when I left home. I talked to my neighbor for a minute who was outside taking a smoke, and then left to go to the ATM.

I got to the ATM, and made my withdrawal with no problem. I drove my wife’s van which needed gas. I decided to drive to a station that was a little further away than the closest one because it has much cheaper gas, and that’s when everything started to happen.

10:48 AM – My wife called me on my cell phone. She told me that someone is ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door. She was home alone with our 9-month old daughter. My other three kids were at school.

She called me because she didn’t recognize the car, and asked if I am expecting anyone. I tell her no. She was upstairs in our bedroom and able to look out the window and see the car, but couldn’t see the person ringing the doorbell. She described the car, and told me the car had backed into the driveway.

She then told me she thought they were leaving and she walked out of the bedroom and into the loft. Then I heard a crash through the phone and my wife yelling “GET OUT, GET OUT!”

10:49 AM – I hang up, dial 911 and turn around immediately. I got a message asking me to please hold. I’m thinking, “hold?, this can’t be happening.” The operator came on the line after what seemed like 20 seconds (I’m guessing it was half that), and I gave her my address and told her what I just heard. I was trying to stay calm and speak clearly, but it wasn’t easy.

The van was pushing 110 and the governor keeps kicking in and throttling the engine back down, so I tried to hold it at 100 until I got to the turn just before my neighborhood. Two minutes later I’m home and I pull up just as the first police car does. I identify myself to the officer as the homeowner, and he tells me to stay back as he starts to walk around the back of the house. My wife saw me pull up, and opened the door.

She was on the phone with 911, and I was still on the phone with the 911 operator I’d called. We both told the operators that the police were there, that we’re OK, and we hang up.

The police thought it was someone trying to rob us who thought no one was home. I live in a nice middle class neighborhood and I realize that criminals will go where they think people have something of value. Unfortunately, that time they chose my home.

10:55 AM – My next door neighbor called to make sure everything is OK because he saw the police cars outside. I’d been home for a few minutes by that time.

Now I’m a gun owner and here are the reasons I bought it:

1) Everything you just read

2) If it had not been my house, it would have been (and has been) one of my neighbors’. This was not the 1st time a house in our neighborhood has been broken into in broad daylight. I was looking at the times on my cell phone, and I realized just how fast everything happened, and it seems that this person was probably watching the street, waiting for someone to leave.

3) The next time, the burglar may not stop just because someone yells at him.

4) I can’t always be at home and I want my wife to have the ability to fend for herself if necessary.

5) Even if I had been at home, I would not have had more than a baseball bat. These days that’s not enough.

Conclusions:

1) I’m pissed off that someone would even try to come in my home whether I’m there or not. The fact that a person was able to kick the front door in so easily has made me reassess the security of my home. We’ve come to realize that there are certain things that we can’t do anything about, but we have made changes to how we secure our home.

2) The police said the burglar wasn’t looking for a confrontation. While I understand that was probably the case, there are too many instances of home invasions where the intruder doesn’t stop when someone yells at them. It seems that in the Charlotte area, this is becoming more and more of a daily occurrence. There’s at least one, and sometimes more, news story describing an attempted home invasion in the area every day.

3) I’ve never had a problem with guns, and it wasn’t something I was planning to do. I have since attended a safety class, and I had a chance to shoot some. I enjoyed it, and I will probably be going to the range quite a bit. The plan is for my wife and me to attend some additional classes.

4) Could I shoot actually someone? If it was between my family and them, YES!

5) My car was parked in the garage and my wife’s car was parked outside, so I guess it looked as if no one was at home (again, I took her car to the ATM). I have mixed feelings about this, and how I will operate going forward. Now my wife asks that I leave a car in the driveway whenever I leave without her.

Yes, she’s still upset from the incident, and I’m sure it will take some time for her to become comfortable again in her own home. So until she says otherwise, that’s what I’ll do. When she leaves, she wants me to make sure my car is in the driveway. I don’t care if it looks like I’m home or not. The next person that comes through the front door (or the back) uninvited will have one chance to do the right thing, or they get to say hello to my little friend.

6) I found out the reason the police arrived so quickly is because they were at a traffic stop at the same shopping center where I went to the ATM. I was very surprised to see them there so fast.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

69 COMMENTS

  1. Wow.
    Last saturday night, the houses on either side of mine were broken into. The burlar fled when my neighbor came home. Why my house wasn’t chosen is unknown to me.

      • My wind chimes are made from non reloadable .45acp, .270 and .308 casings in that order from top to bottom.
        Has such a pleasant sound to it. The main line from the hook to the chimes runs through some old 7.62x54R casings!!

        • Taco, did you forget the /sarc tag? Or do you really believe a burglar is more likely to target a home when he knows the homeowners are gun owners?

        • @Splashman: Why not target a home that likely contains guns… as long as no one is home? Easily resellable merchandise. Last time I looked I think the US hot burglary rate is ~10% (likely) due to the chance of an armed occupant. Doesn’t help deter a burglar when no one’s home.

    • Same thing happened to me 10 years ago with my appartment. Could have been the NRA sticker on the welcome sign.

    • Big Bad Brown dog (Bullmastiff). We have been left notes by the phone company and the power company. Big dog said “no”, please call us so we can set up an appointment.

  2. What your wife needs is a double-barrel shotgun. Two blasts from your balcony and that burglar problem’s solved.

  4. While I’m partially protected fom burglary and robbery by living in a shotgun shack in a rural area known for back yard shooting ranges and not much in the way of liquid assets – other than guns and tools – my li’l helper is always handy.

    You just never know.

  5. I wonder how many people who don’t own a gun and plan on using something like a baseball bat to defend themselves / their family have actually thought through what that would actually take, even if the invader was unarmed.

    An anti-gunner brought this up a while back, and I asked them why they would be willing to bludgeon someone at extremely close range, probably break their bones, possibly get covered in their blood, and most likely take injuries themselves in the process… yet shooting them from a safe distance is some how immoral?

  6. I am sorry to hear that you had to endure such a terrifying event NCGlockin. I am thrilled to hear that no one inflicted any physical injuries on your family. Of course it will take time to heal from the fact that someone with unknown intentions violated your home.

    That said, welcome to the ranks of armed citizens. Make sure you advocate for our right to bear arms to as many family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers as possible.

    And please consider getting your concealed carry license so that you have a firearm on you at all possible times. Imagine if you were unarmed and had to confront the intruder yourself? Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

    Oh, and please encourage your wife to get her concealed carry license as well so that she can have a firearm at all possible times. If there is a next time, you might not be able to intervene.

  7. I’ve been burglarized while away from home three times in my life. On the first occasion, a neighbor tried to intervene and got beaten up for his effort. No injuries on the other two occasions although I came home on one occasion and scared them away before they could load up all the loot.

    As if those events are not enough to justify being armed, the same week of the Newtown school shooting, a fugitive trying to escape from local authorities tried to force his way into the rural residence of relatives. Both relatives were armed and they held him until the police came to take him away.

  8. Good for you, sir. You are now among the ranks of those who “get it.” I had an equivalent experience years ago, catching a burglar inside my home and holding him until the police arrived. It changed my life.

    At the time, I was armed with nothing. Now, it’s a different story. As Nietzche said, that which does not destroy us makes us stronger.

  9. Interesting story. It made me think about my normal practices. If someone knocks on my door that I don’t recognize (I live in a 65% occupancy apartment complex in a not-great area), I routinely don’t answer the door. But in all honesty, after looking through the peephole and “not answering the door,” I usually just walk away. I never really gave a thought to what I’d do if they tried to get in after I didn’t answer. Food for thought.

    • You mean you don’t fire two rounds of buck through the door before checking who it is? You’re doing it wrong! 

      • Doors are spendy. I only made that mistake once, and it put a hole in the 2 liter of Pepsi that the Pizza Hut guy was bringing me.

    • Matt in FL, You said, “I never really gave a thought to what I’d do if they tried to get in after I didn’t answer. Food for thought.”

      You read and write on this blog, yet you made that amazing declaration. Would you mind clarifying please?

      • I’m not sure what’s so amazing about it, but I’ll play.

        I have thought about other situations, parking lots and such, and I have given thought to “the gun beside the bed.” But everyone has a blind spot, and when I read the story, I realized that despite other forethought and mental preparation in other areas, the thought that the guy knocking on the door might kick it in (or try) immediately after knocking had somehow not occurred to me, or at least not in that exact circumstance.

        Maybe I’m phrasing it badly. I don’t home carry all the time. It really depends on if I’ve been “out” that day or not. Usually once I “strap up” it stays on my hip until I undress. So when someone knocks on my door, I don’t necessarily have a gun in my hand when I go to the door. Sometimes it’s on me, sometimes it’s “nearby.” If I open the door to someone I don’t know, it’s either in my hand or my hand is on it in the holster. As I said, my neighborhood is not great, and there have been burglaries, both of the “unoccupied” and “push-in” variety.

        But the point of my comment was that after I’ve looked to see who it is and decided if I’m going to answer the door or not, I hadn’t thought much beyond that. If I’m not going to open the door, I just let the dog bark without shushing her (she sounds evil and that sound would make me think twice) and I go back to what I was doing. If one of those people had elected to force their way in (in spite of the dog), I hadn’t thought about my reaction. Perhaps that’s because although there have been people I haven’t opened the door for, there haven’t been any that I recall that looked “sketchy” and made my spidey-sense tingle. They were simply people I didn’t want to talk to. If there had been sketchy folks, I presume I would have thought more about it before now.

        Thus, my “food for thought” comment. That story made me think about something I hadn’t considered previously. Does that necessarily mean I will always have a gun in my hand when I answer the door from now on? No. Does it mean I’ll give a little more thought to the whole situation? Definitely.

        Does that adequately clarify my statement?

        • I’m glad you’ve cleared up that dangerous blind spot, Matt. Be ever vigilant, man, like our blog host or like the Rabbi. Do you think the Rabbi carries two or three guns at all times for nothing? Of course in residential New England were these guys live the chances of needing the gun are near zero, but there’s no excuse for those blind spots. I’m glad you’re finally on the beam.

        • Would you consider Cheshire, Connecticut to be “residential New England?” I’ll wait while you look it up…

          So, yes, right? Most people would.

          That’s where the Petit family lived, before they were murdered.

      • I cannot speak for Matt in Fl for certain. I believe he means that most people (himself included) have never thought about the fact that someone knocking on their door could be a violent criminal who will suddenly break down the door 60 seconds later.

        If someone knocks on my door, I see if I recognize them before opening the door. If they are a stranger, I am very wary. I look to see if they have anything in their hands or any obvious bulges in their clothing that could be a hidden weapon. I also look for other people standing around (not necessarily on the porch, either), what kind of vehicle they drove, its position in my driveway or on the street, and if other people are in the vehicle.

        If the situation is highly questionable and you home carry, you can hold your handgun discreetly at your side — along your leg, pointing down, and out of view as you answer your main door with your other hand. You should also have a storm door (an additional barrier) and keep that closed as you talk to the person. Short of the stranger suddenly leveling a gun at you and shooting through the storm door (which will not slow a bullet but will slow a human), the chances of a criminal overtaking you at that point are slim to none. Those are the kind of odds that I like.

        • Burglars masquerading as moving people in an unmarked beat up old van knocked on our door once. I was 16 and stupidly answered it, but I had my father’s 1911 behind my back.

          They saw my hand behind my back, apologized, and left the neighborhood. 😐

        • ” I believe he means that most people (himself included) have never thought about the fact that someone knocking on their door could be a violent criminal who will suddenly break down the door 60 seconds later.”

          What the hell? Isn’t that one of the main things we talk about around here?

        • Mikeyb#’s, the main line of your discussions isn’t about self defense or gun rights. It’s to ridicule those of us that believe in the same. What’s this “We” tripe. When did you become one of us?

          I wish I had a can of TrollBeGone.

  10. Glad everyone is ok!! Welcome to the ranks of the self reliant!! Get all the range time you can, get some extra classes and have faith!!

  11. You DO know talking on the phone at an ATM is a terrible idea, RIGHT? When you’re at an ATM, you need all your senses on the alert. Just sayin’.

    • In his defense listening to a conference call is one of the least engaged activities he can perform with his phone. I constantly post on this very blog while doing the same.

  12. I had a similar situation back in October, only that we where threatened by a neighbor. Needless to say, I became a gun owner.
    That’s when you understand the importance of having the right tools to protect your family.

  13. I too live in the Charlotte area and have had some of the same issues in my own neighborhood. The only difference was the woman was home and the intruder beat her up and put her in the hospital. We live in an upscale development that up the last year has never had anything like this happen. Now it seems to be happening on a much greater frequency. I have since made my wife take a gun safety and a shooting classes. She will also be taking her concealed to carry class this Saturday. Glad NC is a gun friendly state and the county I live in is really gun friendly.

  15. Glad to hear things didn’t go further south than that, and thanks for sharing your experience. Out of curiosity, what part of Charlotte do you call home? Working in Uptown, CLT I can say that you really do need to be prepared and expect the unexpected in this city. I live in a pretty secure apartment complex so home defense isn’t so much of an issue for me, but outside of that little bubble the streets can get pretty shady real quick. Getting gas, working late, etc. always make me thankful God gave us 115 grain +P’s to pair with our Glocks.

      • And that’s an area I would’ve probably considered to be “safe.” But then again, it’s often “safe” neighborhoods where most people are at work during the day that make perfect targets of opportunity for criminals looking to get away from any watchful eyes. Glad you guys can now feel safe at home, the one place above all else that a man can call sacred.

        Good luck with the AR build, hope it comes together nicely!

  16. It only takes one incident for an anti-gunner to do a 180. Anyone ever been victimized yet remained anti-gun? Way too many people take for granted the fact they haven’t been victimized yet.

    • Surprised nobody’s said it yet.

      A conservative is a liberal who got mugged the night before.
      Frank Rizzo

  17. This happened about 3 years ago. I came across it a couple of days ago while I was reading through some things I had written and decided now was as good a time as any to share it. I got my CCW permit about 2 months after it occurred. My wife has been a slow convert, but she is scheduled to take her CCW class this spring.

    I was definitely living in code white at that time – “talking on the phone at the ATM” and just generally being unaware of my surroundings. That’s definitely not the case anymore.

    I try to do the right things to make myself better, by practicing on a regular basis. I shoot IDPA, read TTAG, and I’ve just started the slow process of building an AR. (It’s slow because parts are difficult to come by. The other problem is even when it’s finished, it will only serve as an expensive club unless I can find some ammo.)

    I’ve been following this site almost since it’s inception, and I appreciate all that it has and will become. I don’t agree with what everyone says, but such is life.

    Bottom line – I am now a proud gun owner and now you know why.

    • Thanks for sharing. I’m glad that I saw the light without having to be coerced by a bad situation. And the wife is enlightened too after a little convincing. Now she’s chomping at the bit to build our home defense rifle… An AR. Take that Obama/Biden!

  18. Be smart about this decision and make sure you make the complete investment. That means obtaining a firearm you can handle and being able to store it properly.

    First time buyers tend to go high and right with the gun, buying too much gun for the job. They go low and left with the safety and get the wrong safe or none at all. Trigger locks are not the way to go in an emergency. You’ll fumble with it and it will fail you.

    Then practice at the range at least once a quarter (preferable more). Make sure your wife is proficient too. Consider getting a CCW. Practice with your family at home about where to go and what to do. Have a plan. Have a back up plan. Then make a contingency back up plan.

  19. A guy I work with a few months ago had a similar incident. In the middle of the night (with everyone home) a guy broke in and took some stuff from his den and his daughter’s car. He owned no guns at the time. He now owns several and has taken classes.

  20. In Charlotte the Police will not disclose what crimes happen and the Newspaper will not report what does happen.

  22. If you are not a wolf you can choose to be a sheep or a sheep dog. Gun Control regulations are the same as forced removal of a sheep dog’s teeth. Funny yet sad that the gun grabbers would never allow such a cruel thing to be done to real dogs which they do to humans.

    • I hate that analogy. Here’s why:

      Sheepdogs protect sheep not for their own benefit, but for the benefit of the shepherd. When the shepherd decides it’s time to slaughter the sheep, the sheepdog will happily stand by while he does so.

      • So you’re saying that sheepdogs are the police and the government is the shepherd? I wonder who the sheep are?

  23. I get it. We were burglarized last July. The only reason that my wife did not drive up on the burglars is that we decided to go to lunch at a local restaurant instead of going home to eat. They were in and out in 9 minutes and the police never found them, or even so much as a fingerprint.

    Within a few months we became firearm owners. Would it have helped against a daylight burglary with no one home? Nope. But I now make certain that if something happens when I am home that I will stand between my family and the world with more at hand then just harsh language.

    Slowly filling up the battery. Each weapon is a tool with a most effective range, just like a golf club. Got a “pitching wedge” and an “8 Iron”, just need to decide on a “putter” or a “driver” next. Of course, I’ll trust my 00 and .45 carbine more than a Titleist or a Ping anyday.

  24. It’s my understanding that day time burglars will quite often knock on the door. If they get no response they assume the house is empty and commence to burgle. I always answer any knock on my door. Not in condition white, but I always answer. I have my snubby on me and at front and back doors I have pepper spray.

    • I’m making a big mental leap on your comment here. I have a 6 foot privacy fence in my back yard and the gates are all locked. If someone knocked on my back door I may end up answering it Biden style.

      • Brock, i live in California. I have a fence and locked access to my back yard as well. But Biden’s advice would get me locked up for a long time.

        • Agreed, a bad move, I just had never thought about what I would do if someone knocked on my back door. I Probably wouldn’t put any 00 buck through the door though.

        • Brock, should have related this earlier. I live in a sketchy neighberhood. I’ve actually watched the cops chase people over the fences and thru the backyards in my area. Anybody knocking on my back door and I’ll probably put 911 on standby before I answer it.

  25. First off. You and you’re family are ok; if not shaken.

    Second. You have taken a giant step in defending them, and your self.

    Welcome to the real world.

  26. If ANY legislation passes, hopefully congress will be smart enough to at least have it expire when Obama leaves office. If not, hopefully the next president will be a Republican and NOT of the muslim faith and will seek to ‘undo’ any gun legislation that passes. Let’s HOPE!…

  27. And this occured during broad daylight in mid morning! The private citizen must
    be alert, vigilant, and on guard 24/7! Fortunatly the home owners’s family survived
    this home invasion. It would be redundant here to list all the pro-gun sites. However don’t forget “Dial 911 and Die!” at http://www.jpfo.org. Each individual must
    decide for him/herself what firearm, if they choose to purchase such, best fits
    their needs. Being a revolver person I would naturally embrace the classic .38
    caliber revolver: Smith and Wesson Model 10 (K-Frame) .38 Special Military and
    Police with 4″, 5″, or 6″ barrel afterfitted with Pachmayr or Uncle Mikes combat
    (hard rubber) grips ,and loaded with modern .38 Special ammo. But those are
    my sentiments. Be sure to google and read: “A Guns Autobiography: Smith and
    Wesson Military and Police Revolver” by Jack Burton.

    • Smith and Wesson Model 67, 4.5″ barrel, stainless, Hogue rubber grips, Winchester PDX1’s in cylinder and two speedloaders of PDX 1’s right beside it!!!

Comments are closed.