“According to Phoenix police, the 20-year-old man smashed the arcadia door with a garden weeding tool after rattling doorknobs and ringing the doorbell,” azfamily.com reports. “The 47-year-old woman grabbed her gun and hid in the bathroom.” Before we reveal the upshot – so to speak – of this unfortunate event it’s important to note that the Phoenix woman faced a standard-issue home burglary, and might have avoided bloodshed if she’d acted differently. . .
Generally speaking, burglars don’t want to rob a house when residents are inside. People who own stuff don’t look kindly upon strangers entering their home to take their stuff. In places where firearm ownership is common – and in places where it isn’t – burglars are well aware that they face the possibility of ballistic ventilation from frightened and/or aggravated home owners.
So burglars tend to surveil their target and then, as an extra precaution, knock first. If a home owner answers the door, they make up some excuse for their presence and piss off. If there’s no answer, it’s one, two, three, green light.
That’s why burglars often operate in two-man teams. One guy knocks on the front door, the second waits around back. When the second gets the all clear he breaks in and lets number one in the front door. Or number one joins number two ’round back.
So if a stranger knocks on your door, you best be answering. NOT OPENING THE DOOR, of course. If you don’t know someone, if you’re not expecting them, don’t let them in. Don’t even open the door. “No thank you!” is an excellent answer to their enquiry, no matter what the caller’s excuse. Repeat it loudly and then retreat. If you suspect bad intentions, if your spidey sense is tingling, call the police. Preferably with a description.
Note: some burglars aren’t quite so polite. They rely on our old friends speed, surprise and violence of action to perform their evil handiwork. Again, never open the door to a stranger. And . . .
Home carry people. If someone unknown’s at the door, you want to answer the door with a gun to hand. Sooner rather than later. If someone bad’s coming in hot – if they pose a credible, imminent threat of death or grievous bodily harm and imminence is imminent – you might want to greet them with hot lead. That’s not the time to be hunting for your gun.
OK so . . .
Sgt. Tommy Thompson said the man went into the bathroom and punched the woman in the face several times. She fired one shot, striking him.
Police arrived and found the suspect on the floor in the hallway, still partially in the bathroom. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment and is expected to survive.
Thompson said the suspect will face charges upon his release from the hospital.
Police say the shooting was “certainly” self-defense, which means the woman will not face charges.
“The woman was certainly acting within her rights to defend herself,” Thompson said. “Keep in mind that not only was she the victim of a burglary, but then she was the victim of an assault. One can only ask the question: What might have happened had she not taken the action she did to end this confrontation?”
Or, again, what might have happened had she answered the door.