Had a scary home invasion moment last night.

[MilitaryPower]

I live in a small room about the size of a handicap accessible stall (maybe a HAIR bigger, keeping in mind I still need a bed to sleep on). I moved there when my dying grandmother needed to move in (I live with my parents while finishing school). Good news is that all my guns are within reach of my bed, LOL. Anyway, it is at the bottom of a "U" shape, one side leads to the den which leads to the the living room and the other side goes through the laundry room to the living room. Living room is at the top of the "U". There are doors from my room leading to both. The AC doesn't work in the den right now (hot) so we have fans blowing, effectively muting the sounds from other parts of the house (sucks).

Well, last night after I got home from work, lights were out, everybody was in bed, (my dad (firefighter) wasn't home, so I figured he working) and it was about 1 a.m. and I am sitting on my bed. All of a sudden I see this head and shoulders covered in a mask and jacket peering at me from the dimly lit living room about 20 feet away. I instantly react grabbing the door separating us and slamming it shut and locking it. I then grab the AR while running out of my room through the den while yanking the charging handle and turning on the flashlight at the same time. I burst into the den about 6 yards away from the person keeping them in the flood of light, but not pointing the gun at them. And then my dad pulls off his motorcycle helmet off and says, "Did I startle you?". I about died. He had gone to a meeting out of town and just got back.

I had a lot going through my mind during this. I was scared, but I decided the best way to act was quickly and aggressively. If it was a BG, there was no way for him to know that once I closed that door that I could come from around the corner. I did not want to shoot anybody, but I would if I needed to. There was so much I've prepared for in case something ever happened like this. Funnily, I paused a millisecond to decide whether I should grab the AR with the mounted light or the 870 with the 28" barrel and no light (it's new and a work in progress). I choose the AR and didn't even think about the three pistols ready to rock and the half dozen flashlights. Weird. I didn't even take off the red dot cover, I was just going to point shoot.

I was surprised at the swiftness and smoothness at which I took action. I am glad however that I still retained the conscientiousness of not pointing my gun as something I was not ready to shoot. My dad appreciated it too.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[me]

Glad you took the AR with the light. This is a scary situation when you have a gun ready to go and figure out it is family.

Glad everything is ok.

[dukalmighty]

That is one of the dangers with living in a home that you don't know where everybody is or what they are doing,you need to figure out a safe word or let the others know to announce themselves when they are getting home late at least turn on a light,I could see the potential for something bad happening.I live alone so I see the same thing in my living room and it's getting perforated

[QKShooter]

Good and proper use of your weapon mounted light in that scenario.

[cwblanco]

That is one of the dangers with living in a home that you don't know where everybody is or what they are doing,you need to figure out a safe word or let the others know to announce themselves when they are getting home late at least turn on a light,I could see the potential for something bad happening.

You present an excellent point. I always yell out at my wife if I arrive home late regardless of what time it is, and she likewise announces her presence when she arrives late. At least I am reasonably confident that we will never be shooting each other accidentally.

[retsupt99]

Good reaction...

I trust that you and your dad had a HD discussion about the importance of making one's self known to residents when arriving?

Stay armed...know your target...stay safe!

[PatrioticRick]

That could have been bad all around, thank God you assessed before shooting. Did your dad know how close he came?

[Sky Pilot]

Thank you for the report.
Another real life lesson inserted in the file for future training!

[rdoggsilva]

This is the main reason to know what your target is and who it is. You did right by not just shooting. I always call the wife when I get in the driveway, lets her know it is me coming in, she favors a shotgun.

[Thumper]

Keyrap!

I'll bet you didn't get to sleep quickly that night. I would have been re-playing that scenario over and over in my head!

[Ragin Cajun]

Glad you didn't shoot your dad. Now you know why most stress target identification is so important. I had a simular situtation with my brother who was older and had moved out at my window one night. He was trying to get my attention without waking our dad up. He got it, my attention anyway...

[MilitaryPower]

He says that the light let him know I was coming. In retrospect, I should have used bursts of light (like I practice; apparently not enough). While it would have let him know I was coming, the flashes would have made it much more difficult to estimate when/where I was coming. My new light with a strobe will probably be going on the shotty when I start working on it. I don't think that not using a light would have been an option. How are you going to find someone in the dark? Although finding him without him knowing and then blasting him with light would have been the ideal method.

I've also been doing more thinking. What would have been better? Charging through for an immediate aggressive response thereby reducing the time he could do something but opening myself up? Or taking my time to clear while he had time do something (prepare, hide, ready weapon)? Obviously the second option would have given him time to yell that it was him.

[64zebra]

great example of why to have a light on your weapon for HD
I have a light on my shotty
I too communicate with the wife when coming in late and vice-versa

[shoguneddie]

If you don't see it, don't shoot it.