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Unknown Sound at 0120 in the morning

2K views 20 replies 15 participants last post by  EBC 
#1 ·
Okay, Do you all thing I handled this right?

Back Ground info: I live in a 3 level house where I have the second and third floors, in an area that a lot of people think is very bad but when looking at the town crime reports only seems to have to same problems as the rest of any other town. From my bedroom windows I can not see the area where we park. -Weather- Tonight we are getting some light snow.

0120 in the morning I wake up to a sound (sounded like someone trying to be quiet with keys), Sitting up in bed I notice my one male (sleeping between my feet most nights) is standing looking at the bedroom doorway. after looking at the clock and seeing that is still about 20 mins to early for my wife to be home for work (works second shift (1645 till 0115)) I start thinking that some has broken in to the house. I climbed out of bed to my gun safe and pulled out my .45 and a bright LED flashlight. Knowing that my kids are the most imported think I have in the house so I set up in an over watch at the top of the stairs. after 4 mins (from my position I can see my wife's alarm clock) I start to move down stairs to see what the noise was. at the bottom of the stairs I check the first door-out of the apartment finding it still locked at the deadbolt. I look over at the kitchen door and see my wife's car keys hanging in her spot. I start to relax a bit but am still on guard due to the fact that it has been about 4 mins since I heard any sound and and no more lights are on in the house (we leave a light on in the kitchen). I start checking the dinning room to see what is going on. As I am looking in to the living room I see a little movement and hear some one getting off the couch. My wife then walk's in the the dinning room as if nothing is wrong looking at me holding the flashlight and firearm shocked that I am there. I drop my sidearm and ask her why she is home so early. (took an EO due the snow and the fact that I had to work and didn't want me to be late.) (of course I am now that I typed this all out).

Thank you for check of my actions.


EBC
 
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#2 ·
Sounds very likely what I would do. That said, if you have a spouse or family member on shift work, the likelihood it's them and not some violent intruder are rather high. In your case, a jingly key sound at 1:20 am would be far from an ulinkely occurrence it seems.

My wife and I live alone in a large house now that the kids are gone. On occasional weekends, we'll babysit our granddaughter while my daughter and her spouse go to a party or a club until the wee hours. (Son-in-law is a teetotaler, so he drives my kiddo home.) On those nights, I keep my HD pistol locked in my bedroom gunsafe, to make sure I have to enter the code and am wide awake before picking it up. I sleep pretty hard, and even though I want to protect our precious granddaughter, I certainly don't want to make any mistakes after I hear keys jingling and a door opening during the night.
 
#3 ·
Sounds like a good job to me

For me this is the reason you need to use a light in a house search. I would work in the dark but identify the target before you shoot. Leave the light on only long enough to identify they shut it off to shoot and move with the shut off. If the BG target does shoot he'll shoot where the light was most likely. But KNOW what and who you are shooting.
 
#4 ·
My wife is a nurse and use to work shifts. Plus I was in the army and would come home at different times. If I heard keys jingling I doubt I would have been that cautious. Burglars seldom use keys.You said it was only about 20 minutes early for your wife to get home early. My wife or I would get home early sometimes. And same thing, we would crash on the couch. My first instinct would have been to call her cell phone. If you heard it then you would know it was her. But, you were there, your call, and you get to write about it.
 
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#5 ·
If I heard keys jingling I doubt I would have been that cautious. Burglars seldom use keys..
You took the words right out of my mouth. Unless the burglar is a "friend" of yours or somehow got your keys or a copy of them, it is highly unlikely they would open they would gain entry to your home in that manner. Typically it is busting the door down, or breaking out a window. Every so often the news will run some story about how easy it is for criminals to do "lock bumping" or "lock picking" and I always laugh. Criminals aren't that smart. And the only reason for doing something like that would be if you wanted to enter a home and leave without anyone knowing you were there. 99% of them just want to get in, grab some stuff, and get out.
 
#10 ·
I think the OP did just fine, assuming he at no time pointed his firearm at his wife. You need to always be sure and identify your "target". A quick "sweep" with the light, turn it off, and move. That is why I prefer a seperate hand held light over a weapon mounted light--you don't need to point your gun where your light is pointing. Although hearing "keys" would indicate it is "probably" your wife coming home early, it is still worth investigating--especially if there are children in the home to protect as well as yourself. Just my .02.:yup:
 
#11 ·
If you or your wife is going to get attacked at your door, it's going to be when you're arriving, not when you are leaving. (Unless you have ticked off men in suits who drive black Suburbans, of course.) It will be the result of an opportunistic tail. Definitely something to think about. On the other hand, the overall odds of it happening are tiny.
 
#13 ·
20 minutes too early? The problem I see is that you are expecting someone to enter late at night. Anything could have happened. If it was your child prowling around then in the dark you might have looked over them (literally) and tripped on them. You didn't say you did a head count before setting out, so I'm just sayin' this JIC.

What I would do:
  • Secure/headcount your children first.
  • Then from a secure, covered position, call out: "Is that you, honey?"
  • If no answer, stay in secure, covered position, call 911 and announce that even if you don't have a phone.

If the BG comes for you, too bad for him; you have the advantaged position. If he leaves, good riddance. If he doesn't, the cops will take care of it. Even if you have a right to it, you don't want a shooting over a TV set. Insurance claims are much less hassle and not nearly so messy.

If you thought it was a BG, then walking around looking for him is not the right option, IMO. You don't know where he is, and he does so he has the drop on you by default. You're sleepy. He's not. He'll drop you from a concealed position. He knows you're coming from a stairwell.

Get a security/alarm system so you'll know if someone has come in through a window downstairs. Shut Fido out of the bedroom so he can do his job.

You probably won't like my reply. Sorry about that, no disrespect intended, just making observations because you asked.
 
#15 ·
Even if you have a right to it, you don't want a shooting over a TV set. Insurance claims are much less hassle and not nearly so messy.
And how do you know they only wanted the TV? How do you know they are not armed? If you don't show a display of force, what is to discourage them from returning if they think you are a soft target? How do you let all the other criminals know not to mess around in your neighborhood if you and your neighbors don't take a stand?

Two years ago, about 3 miles from where I live a mother was trying to wake her 13 yrd daughter for school. The girl didn't wake... Unfortunately, an intruder had broken in during the night, raped and strangled the girl in her own bed. The individual responsible was caught, an illegal alien that lived in the apt. upstairs. (Arlington, Tx)

If I catch an intruder in my home, I don't remember who originally said it, but "God have mercy on them, because I sure as hell won't".
 
#16 ·
though it was early for her to be arriving home, it is so easy to check it out--

call her on from your cell and when you hear her phone ring/ being answered from the living room---
no need to stress or be walking about with a loaded gun.

so you did fine in that no one was injured, you did not have a plan in play for communicating with her and
this is what you learned from the event.

and yet another good reason for not having a flash attached to the gun--
you never want to point the gun at something you do not intend to shoot;
like your wife and children.
 
#20 ·
I would have called out a name or asked something...wouldn't want to have shot the wife.
Congrats on hearing the keys, I'm a pretty sound sleeper unless the dog hears something and gets my attention.
 
#21 ·
Okay, After having most of the day to think on this topic and talk with my wife. We found that we both made mistakes.

1) We are suppose to let the other know when we are going to later or earlier then Normal times.
- This was not don't - Wife admitted to forgetting to call as she is almost never out early (first time in one and a half years)

2) I didn't think to call her cell phone at all. --- My Big mistake --- Yes I F'ed up....

But on the good side She liked how I did the check of the down stairs. When I came down I shined the flashlight in the kitchen and moved in the the dinning room. in an attempt to get behind any one that had come in.

As for it being one of the kids getting up we have a alarm on their door's from when we first moved in due to the new 2 level apartment. that I still turn on at tuck-in and off when I get home.

Thank you for all the reply's. I found Most of the info very helpful as I am always trying to learn and be the better person and make my plan's and reactions better and easier to follow.
 
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