An octogenarian operator operated operationally with flying colors in Missouri a few days ago.
The 80-year-old homeowner, who has more than 60 years of experience with firearms, came home to find that something was amiss. First, his garden hose had been turned on and was lying across his driveway. When he got inside, he found his wife concerned that someone had been in the house.
“She heard the door open, she said something but nobody answered,” recounted the homeowner, who remains anonymous. “And when she came to come out the back door, the deadbolt lock was locked on the inside.”
The man got a handgun and started sweeping the house. When he got to the basement, he discovered more things that weren’t as he’d left them. That was also where he found the invader, a 36-year-old man who also has not been identified.
“Well I had to reach in and turn a light on under the steps, and that was a little bit concerning, but I did it. When I stepped inside he was really on his knees. I guess when I turned that light on he was starting to get up,” said the homeowner.
Telling the intruder to comply or else get shot, the homeowner patted him down to make sure he was unarmed, then marched him into the backyard, where his 56-year-old son was waiting on the phone with a police dispatcher.
“I either thought he was high on something or hallucinating,” the octogenarian recalled dryly. “He was trying to say something about being an undercover agent.”
The intruder was taken into custody and is now being held by police, without any shots fired and with no injuries to the family. If that’s not a fairytale ending, I don’t know what is. Kudos to this experienced, cool-headed, and responsible gun owner.
You can enjoy a brief interview with news coverage of this heartening tale below: