now if she had just had a gun!!

[grandma4]

Iowa mom repeatedly whacks intruder with toy bat

Posted: Oct. 22, 2009

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — A woman surprised by a man in the front room of her home near Council Bluffs grabbed a plastic toy bat and hit him repeatedly until he ran out the front door. The Pottawattamie County sheriff's office said the 26-year-old woman was taking a bath Wednesday night with her 3-year-old child when she noticed a cat who normally stays outside had entered the bathroom. Thinking this odd, she dressed and walked into the front room, where she saw a man standing over her 4-year-old son, who was sleeping in a recliner.

She yelled for him to leave and threatened to call 911, but he hit her in the head.

She then grabbed the bat and hit him multiple times until he ran away.

The sheriff's office said the woman didn't know the man.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[rottkeeper]

I don't know why but the first thing that popped into mind is why the four year old was left unattended in another room. That and unlocked doors?

It's a good thing the intruder didn't have something more serious in mind or this would have a whole lot worse ending.

[tiwee]

This kind of story scares me to death. Some of the time the outcome is not so benign. Hope this young lady learns several lessons.

[Tom G]

We need to take up a collection to buy this woman a real bat or a gun. I'm surprised how many people leave their front doors open. I have a friend who had his car stolen and he still leaves the keys in the ignition.

[BaserRonin]

That story just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. There appears to be no motive for the intruder. There were no threats, nothing taken, and he was apparently there for a while. Long enough for the outside cat to meander his way into the bathroom anyway. I think there might be more to this. It is also possible of course the dude was so drunk or high he was completely confused about the situation.

[Thumper]

I hope she realizes he could have scooped up that sleeping boy so quickly... yeah, too bad she didn't have a gun and the will and training to use it.

[BikerRN]

There appears to be no motive for the intruder. There were no threats, nothing taken, and he was apparently there for a while.

Maybe the child was the motive and the intended victim.

I'm glad momma and the kids are OK in this situation. It usually turns out different, IME.

Biker

[BaserRonin]

I don't buy the child as a motive thing. My understanding is that when children are abducted, they are abducted, not stood over for a length of time. Time enough for a cat to make it's way to the bathroom, the woman to get out of the tub, get dressed, and make her way into the living room to find the intruder still there. Doesn't add up. I am sticking with my stoned and confused theory.

[BikerRN]

I don't buy the child as a motive thing. My understanding is that when children are abducted, they are abducted, not stood over for a length of time. Time enough for a cat to make it's way to the bathroom, the woman to get out of the tub, get dressed, and make her way into the living room to find the intruder still there. Doesn't add up. I am sticking with my stoned and confused theory.

I don't know what your expirience with pedophiles and sexual offenders is. I do know what mine is, and can easily see this as a case of a sexual predator looking at the beautiful sleeping child and wanting to "love" the child.

The problem is, their version of love is vastly different than mine or society's. To me, what we have here is an unknown intruder that became violent when confronted and presented a reasonable threat of death or grave bodily harm to the homeowner and her children.

It does not matter to me that the door may have been unlocked, as the intruder entered uninvited. While I do encourage locks, from a safety standpoint, they are not required from a legal one. Drunk or stoned also matters not to me, as one is responsible for their actions. If they went into the wrong house because of too much John Barleycorn, that's on them.

Now in this case the intruder was in fact violent. The homeowner in this case could not flee in complete safety, nor with complete safety for her children. Therefore I feel that she was not only justified in repeling the attacker, but in most jurisdictions she would've been justified in stopping her attacker using a firearm.

Just as you don't buy the sexual angle, I don't buy the drunk or stoned angle. The mind of a sexual offender is a scary place and has many twist and turns that are not fit for public discussion. While "there are no winners in a gunfight" the homeowner in this case was very lucky, as this could easily have gone the other way, and most often does.

If your basis for disbelief is the timeline it took for getting some clothes on and discovering the attacker I am inclined to think that maybe you are focusing on the minutia instead of looking at the bigger picture. You may be right, the attacker was just drunk or stoned, but that doesn't negate or excuse his actions. It certainly doesn't excuse his violence towards the homeowner when confronted.

We will have to agree to disagree on this one. Take care and stay safe.

Biker

[retsupt99]

An intruder found in my home looking over my grandchild is never going to hear the 'bang-bang, bang'...

To the OP, this woman is extremely fortunate that the intruder was not a little more desperate.

[rottkeeper]

I don't know what your expirience with pedophiles and sexual offenders is. I do know what mine is, and can easily see this as a case of a sexual predator looking at the beautiful sleeping child and wanting to "love" the child.

The problem is, their version of love is vastly different than mine or society's. To me, what we have here is an unknown intruder that became violent when confronted and presented a reasonable threat of death or grave bodily harm to the homeowner and her children.

It does not matter to me that the door may have been unlocked, as the intruder entered uninvited. While I do encourage locks, from a safety standpoint, they are not required from a legal one. Drunk or stoned also matters not to me, as one is responsible for their actions. If they went into the wrong house because of too much John Barleycorn, that's on them.

Now in this case the intruder was in fact violent. The homeowner in this case could not flee in complete safety, nor with complete safety for her children. Therefore I feel that she was not only justified in repeling the attacker, but in most jurisdictions she would've been justified in stopping her attacker using a firearm.

Just as you don't buy the sexual angle, I don't buy the drunk or stoned angle. The mind of a sexual offender is a scary place and has many twist and turns that are not fit for public discussion. While "there are no winners in a gunfight" the homeowner in this case was very lucky, as this could easily have gone the other way, and most often does.

If your basis for disbelief is the timeline it took for getting some clothes on and discovering the attacker I am inclined to think that maybe you are focusing on the minutia instead of looking at the bigger picture. You may be right, the attacker was just drunk or stoned, but that doesn't negate or excuse his actions. It certainly doesn't excuse his violence towards the homeowner when confronted.

We will have to agree to disagree on this one. Take care and stay safe.

Biker

I agree with Biker, it sounds to me like he was fixated on the object of his adoration.
While it sounds like what she did may have taken a lot of time it was likely only a few seconds. She wasn't casually going from the bathroom to where the boy was she knew something was wrong.

[Patti]

This woman needs to wise up.

1. Get armed
2. Get training
3. Keep the doors locked
4. Wait to take her bath AFTER she puts Johnny to bed for the night

I think the guy is a pedophile and he has a fixation on that little boy...he'll be back.

[pax]

The story is alarming, but some of the responses here even more so.

Not one of you moms and dads who have posted critically that she "left the child unattended" ever allowed a four-year-old to nap in the living room while you did something else in another room?

Really???

pax

[Extreme Defender]

An intruder found in my home looking over my grandchild is never going to hear the 'bang-bang, bang'...

To the OP, this woman is extremely fortunate that the intruder was not a little more desperate.

Ditto. man in my daughters room is a dead one.

[automatic slim]

This guy sounds like a "mentally challenged" person that resides in my girlfriends apartment complex. He wanders the complex and enters apartments at random. She has a Taurus .38 in case he tries to wander into hers.