Heres one that happened tonight... a new one on me

[SIXTO]

This one happened to me tonight, I just got home from work.

When I came into my house from the garage, I noticed that my back door was standing open. Very odd for my house.

I went back into cop mode, and started to clear my own home. That in itself isnt post worthy, but the next part is.

I know or at least have good reason to expect, that my wife and kids are asleep upstairs. I dont want to spook any of them, or my kids to even see me with pistol in hand checking on them. One of them might pop around the corner at anytime, or it might be a bad guy.
At the same time, given the circumstance, I had to clear the house room by room. It was a sobering experiance to me, as I never had to clear my own home with my family unwittingly inside.

How would your actions or tactics change in this circumstance?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[HotGuns]

I'd call both up on their cell phones and inform them of the situation,tell them to stay put, and to arm themselves and be ready to dial 911 if shots are fired or even if they hear more than my voice.

Close the door if possible, and do not open it unless I tell them to.

Then I would clear the house.

[Bob F.]

I'd say that's 'tween a rock and a hard place!!

Obviously, everything turned out OK!?! Glad for ya'!

Stay safe, get a better lock.
Bob

[SleepingZ]

Have cleared my house at night with family. Woke up from some noise, don't know what is was, just checked each room and all floors, checked windows and door locks. We are miles from closest LEO's, after finding that all is fine, it's hard to get back to sleep, every little noise sets you off. Can a person really sleep in condition red?


Z

[SIXTO]

Oh yeah, everything was fine. It was just one of my wife's blonde moments.

This situation is a little different than waking up in the middle of the night one, because I just walked in the door. I have no idea where anybody really is, only where they should be. I have no idea what has been going on in my home since I last spoke with my wife on the phone 3 hours before.

[rocky]

Hard to say. guess my kids wouldn't freak out if they saw me with a gun in the middle of the night. My biggest clue something was wrong would be if my dog didn't greet me at the door.
Finding a door open that shouldn't be must be a really bad feeling.

[farronwolf]

I guess the only thing that I would have done differently is that I probably would have my weapon in hand, while clearing the house. The way my house is set up, I can check on sleepers without them seeing that my weapon is in hand. Just to verify that they are ok. I might have checked on them first before clearing the rest of the house, but it would all depend on the layout.

Don't think I would call them on cell phones as the 4 yr old doesn't have one, and wife would be pissed if I called her from the garage and asked if she left the door open. Better just to let her sleep, and tell her what she did in the morning.

Glad it was just a blonde moment.

[SIXTO]

I dont think my kids would freak out, they know what their Dad does for a living, and are quite used to seeing me with guns. I just dont want the memory of me creeping around their bedroom with a pistol in my hand in their heads. They are little, and wouldnt really understand anyway.

Oh my pistol was in hand, its the only place for it to be. Also, because of training and experiance, I carry in a close CQB retention position. Its the only way I can do it now.

[buckeye .45]

Well, at least ya cleared your way to the computer so you could share, finish the rest of the house now.

Just kidding of course. Glad everything worked out. The biggest change it could cause that I would see is making sure of clear fields of fire, if you assume everyone is where they should be.

[Pitmaster]

I would not call them at all. Under no circumstances would I want my family to wake up. If there was a BG in there, the last thing you want to do is give him any warning, startle him, or wake everyone else up. The likelihood of one of the kids getting up to go to the bathroom without knowing what is going on is to great. A spouse would not, no matter what you said, hide in the bedroom with the children down the hall asleep. The risk to your family is too great. I think it would be better to clear the house quietly, but armed.

If I was LE like the OP, I probably would have called for some backup as I cleared the house. Or made contact with an officer via cell phone to keep him apprised of what was happening.

[SIXTO]

Well, at least ya cleared your way to the computer so you could share, finish the rest of the house now.

Just kidding of course. Glad everything worked out. The biggest change it could cause that I would see is making sure of clear fields of fire, if you assume everyone is where they should be.

Yeah, I checked on the dog. He's OK. I guess I better go upstairs now.

Really though, thats just it. Sometimes my wife will fall asleep in one of the kids rooms, or one of the kids is in the others room. From time to time they are all in one room... mine.
How can I expect to have clear fields of fire? It was interesting, but I did solve the problem... I'm just interested to hear how you guys would do it.

[1911packer]

Wow, talk about the one time you want to be absolutely sure of identifying your target.

All my home defense plans call for my family being behind me. I need to work on how to handle a situation where I am not sure where they are.

[SIXTO]

Wow, talk about the one time you want to be absolutely sure of identifying your target.

All my home defense plans call for my family being behind me. I need to work on how to handle a situation where I am not sure where they are.

Luckily, the tikes are still short... easy to ID in a hurry. Of course that will change with time.

[DrLewall]

I would hope that I would do as you did, keep a cool ALERT head!

[QKShooter]

Yep, cool head.
There could have any number of things happening inside and none of them good.
Things get really unavoidably personal when it's your own home and loved ones.
Your one huge advantage is that you'll always know your own home far better and more intimately than any BGs.