An almost terrible situation

[J.W.]

So i'm sleeping on my couch around 1 am with my kids upstairs and no one else in the house, pistol tucked between the couch cushions where it usually is when i am sleeping. In the midst of my slumber, the sound of my door's lock clicking and my door creaking slowly open snaps me into consiousness. I keep a spare key in the toolbox by the door and only a few people know bout it but its not hard to find, especially if you were looking for it. So i listen for any sounds of someone i know, my sister or my girlfriend most likely, and as i wait for the sound of a coat to be hung up or my girls overnight bag being set on the ground, my mind is racing. Can this really be happening? You talk and discuss and try to prepare for something like this (duh, why else have LTCF) but let me tell you, i don't think i'll ever be calm in a situation like that. After about 15 -20 seconds of no familiar noises or noises that would give me evidence of someone who has the intention of staying or knowing the house at all, i slide my hand up, wrap my fingers around the grips, and click the saftey off, trying my best to try and pretend to be sleeping while footsteps thump down the hallway and into the living room where i am sleeping. About 2 seconds before i would have snapped up and pointed the gun at the person in my living room, my girlfriend says "Happy birthday baby!". I look up and see her standing there in the buff holding some balloons. I slide the gun back into its holster without her noticing but brought it up to her later that she should definatly tell me when she is coming in the door so late at night, explaining that i had almost drawn on her. She just gave me an ok so i don't think she realizes how freaking close she was to getting shot. So, i kind of feel like a paranoid freak because i damn near shot my naked girlfriend in my living room. I'm getting her and my sister a key made and the spare is going in the house so that nothing like this can ever happen again.

[P-11 shooter]

I would suggest not removing the safety unless you're sure there's a threat.

Also instead of sitting quietly in the dark ready to point the loaded gun directly at a potential loved one with the safety off and most likely finger on the trigger I'd suggest maybe making some kind of verbal contact like "Who's there!!!?

Ya know, might keep you from accidentally shooting someone you love.

Happy birthday!!!! Cool your girlfriend would do something like that.

[GunLawyer001]

Am I the only one who thinks this sounds like a letter you'd see after Bob Guccione bought "Guns & Ammo"?

[david1]

Hey at least she was in the buff!!!!

[shefearsnothing]

When my husband and I were dating he was working 2-10pm. It took him until nearly 11 to get home. One night I drove here to the house because I had a key and figured I'd just hang out until he got home. I knew my son would be sleeping so I could just hang out upstairs and surprise him after he showered and came upstairs.

Well it didn't turn out that way. He had the freaking deadbolt locked and I didn't have a key for that! LOL! I had to sit outside and wait for him. I parked down the street until I saw him pull in the garage and then went up and banged on the door. (doorbell didn't work and I knew he'd be in the basement) Anyway, I told him what my original plan was and he told me I was lucky that hadn't worked out because if he had heard sounds coming from upstairs and not known I was there then he might have come up with his gun expecting an intruder. As it was he said he almost answered the door with his gun. You're not the only one.

I do have to agree about calling out a warning though. I mean, I understand why you wanted to pretend to be sleeping but if it was an intruder you had the upperhand of knowing your house layout, where furniture was etc. Get some inert guns and practice some drills. There was a good show on tv that my husband and I watched that showed how to set up a safe room etc in the event of some kind of home invasion or intruder. Nothing wrong with being prepared. JMO.

[imp81318]

Also, hopefully, you wouldn't have come up firing anyway before identifying your target as a threat. I mean, I understand being concerned and cautious. But, as someone else said, the safety shouldn't have been off already, and when you jumped up and took aim, wouldn't you want to identify the target and stop him in his tracks first, or is your first action to start firing away blindly?

[J.W.]

I didn't think about calling out and that probably would have been my best bet. When i say "snapped up" i surely would have pointed the weapon at the person and yelled a warning, confirming that i did not recognize the person and that they were a danger before firing, but you are all right. I could have called out while they were still by the door either recieving a reply back from someone i know or ending the situation by letting the intruder know that i was aware.

[GunLawyer001]

I didn't think about calling out and that probably would have been my best bet. When i say "snapped up" i surely would have pointed the weapon at the person and yelled a warning, confirming that i did not recognize the person and that they were a danger before firing, but you are all right. I could have called out while they were still by the door either recieving a reply back from someone i know or ending the situation by letting the intruder know that i was aware.

You have no general duty to retreat within your home here in PA, but you can't let an intruder come in to the killing zone if a verbal warning would end the encounter. Your actions must be reasonable. If it was a stranger, and you reasonably believed that announcing your location would get you killed, then fine; but if the intruder hasn't come in yet, and you stay quiet so as to lure them in, a jury could treat you harshly.

[Searcher67]

We've had an unprecendented amount of home invasions here as of late. Not to mention that a previous residence of ours was buglarized while my wife was sleeping upstairs with our first child (1 month old). Then my friend of 28 years came up to Pa. and related a story to us. It was near Xmas time, after midnight and in MD. my friend (we'll call him Derek, no really thats his name) Derek heard a knock at his front door around midnight. Now, if you know Derek, you know not to go to his front door you would go into the breezeway and knock on the family door. He went upstairs to see who was at his door, he looked out the window and saw a figure on the step. Derek walked around the Xmas tree to turn on the light and back to the window. He asked the guy "what do you need" the guy about 6ft tall wearing black with a hoodie on and arms crossed just stood there without a word. This time Derek put his .45 in the window and "WTF DO YOU WANT?" Nothing, the guy just stood there not even moving to notice the gun. Well, Derek being Derek went out the back door and around the house, levelled the .45 on the front step but the guy was gone. Derek looks down the road and see someone walking away from the house. About 30 seconds later he sees a car driving with lights out slowing down the street and the figure gets into the car and they leave..

The next day he finds out that at about 1am a house down the street was invaded by three AA guys.

He had a close call, but I think that had he called PD the house down the road may not have been hit. It was an elderley couple and they were OK but lost over 6 grand.

After hearing this, a few weeks later I was in my living room when someone knocked on MY front door, remember you don't go to my front door if you know us. Well, I went to the door armed with my XD, looked out and there stands this AA guy. Here I am XD in hand guy at door ,senses heightened. It was still light out so I opened the door asked the guy what he needed and WHEEW he was selling meat! GO AWAY I GOT MEAT!

But you never know!

[TaePo]

Tactically, you should have slid off of the couch and between the couch and any coffee table. This would have provided some cover and definitely some concealment and possibly an element of surprise if it was a stranger.

Most people do not look up or down when searching an area, and the couch would have been the first place they would look, either on or behind, for someone. The couch is a large piece of furniture, so their attention is drawn to there first as well.

Just an FYI.