Luckily, and unluckily, I was not at home.
This past weekend I came home from visiting relatives to discover my home had been broken into and completely ransacked.
It\'s a 2-story condo end unit in what was once a relatively quiet complex - I found out while talking to the neighbors after the incident that not only I was burglarized, the next door neighbor and a neighbor in another unit a couple buildings over was also robbed in the past two weeks. So much for quiet.
They beat in the front door and left out the back, engaging the useless chain lock after they ruined my jamb.
They trashed my living room, my gym room, my hallway closets and my bedroom. They didn\'t touch my home office for only two reasons I can think of: when they found my gun safe, they concentrated on that, or when they saw my tarantulas in the office, they ran out screaming.
The gun safe is the size of your refridgerator, and I know it was more than one culprit, because it would take more than one guy to move a 600+ pound safe partially out of my closet where it was hidden.
They took one of my adjustable dumbbells apart and used it to beat the combo dial and turn wheel clean off, and mashed a crater in the top of the safe. They also used my FN49 bayonet and a butter knife to try to pry the safe open. Three cheers for Cannon gun safes - it did exactly what it was designed to do, and kept my guns safe.
And the only thing I could find stolen was my watch. My TV, DVD player, CDs, stereos, computer equipment, and everything else was untouched. I hide my good gold jewelry, so they didn\'t find that when they rifled through my jewelry box. I guess these guys were after small, concealable things of value.
Part of me is mad that I wasn\'t home, because my vehicle in the reserve parking spot could have been a deterrent. Part of me also wants to stop thieves. It\'s a violating feeling having strangers invade your home and go through your things and take them.
The other part of me is glad I was not home, because I could\'ve been alseep or in the shower when they broke in. Even if I wasn\'t caught off guard and managed to shoot every single one of them, the legal battle hasn\'t even started. I\'m not that anxious to shoot anybody anyway. I only do what I have to in order to stay alive.
Cannon has 100% warranty for their safes; the friendly technician said a locksmith and a new safe are on the way, paid for by them.
My home has been cleaned up and the door jamb fixed.
Better security has been installed, and this one I have programmed to go off downstairs when I\'m asleep upstairs.
This past weekend I came home from visiting relatives to discover my home had been broken into and completely ransacked.
It\'s a 2-story condo end unit in what was once a relatively quiet complex - I found out while talking to the neighbors after the incident that not only I was burglarized, the next door neighbor and a neighbor in another unit a couple buildings over was also robbed in the past two weeks. So much for quiet.
They beat in the front door and left out the back, engaging the useless chain lock after they ruined my jamb.
They trashed my living room, my gym room, my hallway closets and my bedroom. They didn\'t touch my home office for only two reasons I can think of: when they found my gun safe, they concentrated on that, or when they saw my tarantulas in the office, they ran out screaming.
The gun safe is the size of your refridgerator, and I know it was more than one culprit, because it would take more than one guy to move a 600+ pound safe partially out of my closet where it was hidden.
They took one of my adjustable dumbbells apart and used it to beat the combo dial and turn wheel clean off, and mashed a crater in the top of the safe. They also used my FN49 bayonet and a butter knife to try to pry the safe open. Three cheers for Cannon gun safes - it did exactly what it was designed to do, and kept my guns safe.
And the only thing I could find stolen was my watch. My TV, DVD player, CDs, stereos, computer equipment, and everything else was untouched. I hide my good gold jewelry, so they didn\'t find that when they rifled through my jewelry box. I guess these guys were after small, concealable things of value.
Part of me is mad that I wasn\'t home, because my vehicle in the reserve parking spot could have been a deterrent. Part of me also wants to stop thieves. It\'s a violating feeling having strangers invade your home and go through your things and take them.
The other part of me is glad I was not home, because I could\'ve been alseep or in the shower when they broke in. Even if I wasn\'t caught off guard and managed to shoot every single one of them, the legal battle hasn\'t even started. I\'m not that anxious to shoot anybody anyway. I only do what I have to in order to stay alive.
Cannon has 100% warranty for their safes; the friendly technician said a locksmith and a new safe are on the way, paid for by them.
My home has been cleaned up and the door jamb fixed.
Better security has been installed, and this one I have programmed to go off downstairs when I\'m asleep upstairs.