Technology can serve to make life simpler. It can also be used to warn of imminent danger as it did for a Lehigh Acres, Forida man and his girlfriend. A pair of would-be home invaders showed up at their doorstep in the dead of night, one armed with a Draco or similar AK-style pistol.
Then they knocked on the door.
Upon seeing them on the monitor, the girlfriend screamed and the goblins took off running into the night.
NBC2/WBBH has the story:
LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. – Two hooded men are on the loose after surveillance cameras caught them knocking on a home’s front door while armed with a rifle.
As seen above, they had a pistol. But the reporter doesn’t know the difference, and “a rifle” sounds more dramatic.
The attempted home invasion happened in a Lehigh Acres neighborhood just off Leonard Boulevard South early Tuesday morning.
“I don’t want anybody to go through this. It was scary,” the victim said. He asked to remain anonymous for safety.
The victim said he and his girlfriend were sleeping when they heard a knock on their door around 12:15 a.m.
Nothing good happens after midnight. Especially when it comes to reprobates.
“She woke up and looked through the cameras and saw the gun. She started screaming trying to wake me up,” he said.
The men took off running when they heard the screams. As an added measure, the victim’s girlfriend even activated her car’s alarm to scare them away.
Somehow I doubt they went right back to sleep after the police left.
“I’m pretty sure if they would have got in they probably would’ve killed us,” he said.
Maybe. If the homeowner or his girlfriend had, say, a shotgun, it would have evened the odds.
Here’s the footage.
NBC-2.com WBBH News for Fort Myers, Cape Coral & Naples, Florida
Thankfully this story has a fairly happy ending. Hopefully the homeowner will take measures to repel a return visit with more than a blood-curdling scream.
I still need to get around to installing a home security cam system. As of now, I sleep with a flashlight, gun, mobile phone, and car keys on the nightstand. The keys are for setting off my vehicle alarms if necessary, as the woman in the article did.
But video evidence of any hooliganism would be a benefit for pressing charges against would-be hooligans. Or defending myself from legal repurcussions if they break in and don’t live to tell the tale.
Haz, may I suggest Ring or Kuna? These also come with free to download apps and you don’t have to pay a monthly fee. I started with a Kuna porch light, easy to install and set up the app, then later added several flood light cameras. It’s a great deterrent, as soon as motion is detected, it lets out a loud chime, and w/o failure people look up to the source of the sound and I have a great view of thier face. Costco seems to have the best prices on Kuna and Ring.
Forgot to mention, with the Kuna app, there’s a one touch 911 dial, and this horrible loud alarm sound (like a sci-fi aliens invading), and you can remotely have a 2 way conversation, I.e. when you are away from home, see and tell the solicitor, “Thanks but I already found Jesus”
Thx. I’ll check out Kuna to see what it’s all about, but nix on the Ring. They’ve gotten into bed with LE Depts and are hackable. The husband of one of my co-workers owns his own security service company, and he installs all this stuff and is wary of Ring for its vulnerability as well.
Negatory on the Kuna, also; it seems you can’t trust ANY of these tech companies; who knew?
See line item number III, there;
“Law Enforcement; Subpoenas
Kuna may disclose Personal Data, including the information or data uploaded to the Service, with or without notice (i) if required by a subpoena or other judicial or administrative order, (ii) where required by law, or (iii) at our sole discretion, where we deem it necessary to protect the safety of any individual or the general public or to prevent violation of our Terms of Service, this Privacy Policy or the rights of Kuna or any third party.”
I Haz a Question,
When you do get around to installing cameras, please, for the love of all that is good and decent, do NOT mount those cameras way up in the air on sofits and such. Surveillance footage of the tops of people’s heads is useless.
Find a way to mount those cameras at FACE LEVEL so that you get high quality images of faces.
What would have happened legally if the home owner, upon seeing what he did on his security camera, opened fire THROUGH his front door with an AK of his own, killing both?
I’m sincerely asking.
A real good question. The homeowner can argue that he feared for his life and has the video to justify that belief.
On the other hand, a aggressive prosecutor can argue that no threat exists because the door wasn’t breached.
Could go either way. So, I guess this one would be a matter of which way the DA and the Grand Jury want it to go.
If that is the desired outcome, IMO it would be better to leave the door latched by a chain, take up a position on the behind side of the door, out of it’s swing, and then unlatch the bolt. One would stand a good chance, with a simple pump shotgun, of neutralizing the entire force as they breach through the chain latch, before they even catch on to your position.
Hypothetically, OFC. Just thinking tactically. Attempting to maximize one’s advantages while simultaneously taking advantage of the opponent’s weaknesses. Basic risk management. Behind the door is a good position, since it’s a place people seldom use. The breached door will be prima facie evidence of the threat of bodily harm, justifying lethal force in every State that I’m aware of.
OFC, a claymore would really be the hot ticket here! But I don’t think one could justify THAT, no matter how much one is willing and able to pay an attorney.
The door is not a bullet barrier but rather is a legal barrier that must be broken open to justify iminent danger.. So just wait for them to break the door open and then fire from cover.
Quick thinking by the girlfriend to set off her car alarm.
I have my wife set on scream. The one she uses for those huge giant SPIDERS that only live in her bathroom that can jump six feet.
“But the reporter doesn’t know the difference, and “a rifle” sounds more dramatic…”
Legally it might be a pistol but for practical purposes it’s a short rifle. I’d be a lot happier about my odds in a gunfight against someone who is using a pistol, for example.
Hey, at least he’s got trigger discipline.
Did it have a stock? Stock = SBR. No stock = pistol. It could have been equipped with a folding stock, but i can’t tell in the picture.
Nah, give me two goobers with an unwieldy stockless nonsense-gun that probably doesn’t even have sights on it over a homeboy with a Hi Point he might actually be able to shoot straight, any day.
Just stay away from Ring and Google Home.
Ring.
Holy shit, is that ever a well-deserved shit-storm they brought on themselves…
For those who haven’t heard yet, ‘Ring’ has gone full ‘Big Brother’ :
“Ring asks police not to tell public how its law enforcement backend works
Ring asks cops not to call its security cameras “security cameras” in public.”
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/08/dont-call-our-surveillance-products-surveillance-ring-tells-police/
The blow-back has been *spectacular*. Check out this in the comment section :
“Quote:
Users who decline to share footage through the app may have police showing up at their door asking them to share in person if online requests don’t work out.
That right there is a sign that if you have a Ring, you should rip it out and throw it away yesterday.”
Also Ring giving cameras to police so they can be given out free to the public, “for the greater good” no doubt.
Also, Google-owned Nest is harvesting facial recognition data, for ‘reasons.’ I’d be mighty surprised if Ring wasn’t doing the same (if not, only because they don’t have the spy infrastructure Google does)
The car alarm was an amazing thing. We have it, but would not have thought about it. I will now if the unfortunate event ever happens. We do have two dogs and 3 Cameras with night surveillance mode. I’m glad the people didn’t open the door. Sad!
Does anyone react to the sound of car alarm where you live? I don’t know a single person who as much as looks out of the window.
I want to know what caliber scream it was. One scream, one stop.
“I want to know what caliber scream it was.”
A woman’s scream can defeat *any* armor…
Banshee caliber!
6.5 db ScreemMore! Duh!..;-)>
Just FYI,
The biography of the late General Paul Tibbets Sr, DUTY, includes the statement that the elderly general kept a 12 gauge shotgun for home defense.
If a 12 gauge shotgun is good enough for the man who had no regrets about killing 50,000 people when he nuked Hiroshima, it is good enough for anyone.
BTW, if President Obama had two bastard sons, they would look like these two home Invaders.
Brig. Gen. Tibbets Jr was the Enola Gay’s pilot. Sr. was a candy seller. Brig. Gen. IV was also a commander of the 509th Bomb Wing, which descended from the 509th Composite Group that Jr commanded in WWII.
Regardless, technology changes. Jr may have driven a Packard, but that doesn’t make it the ultimate auto. The question is of he were alive today, would he choose a pump or break action scatter gun, or would be pick a suppressed AR SBR in .300 BLK?
Thanks for correcting me on the names.
Paul Tibbets the candy seller favored a Colt 1911, .45 ACP.
The elderly Paul Tibbets jr recounted watching his dad respond to an intruder who was attempting to force their front door by emptying a full magazine through the door.
General Paul Tibbets IV flew the B2 bomber.
Those were your two bastard sons. Shouldn’t have cheaped on the condom with the dirty hooker you used 30 years ago
The camera looking at the door is a great idea. I have the Mossberg shotguns (2 of them, one with the bayonet), the bright lighting and a Civil War saber …. but no video.
I keep one edged weapon, other than my folder, as a home protection blade. A ka bar cutlass machete. Wicked and handy.
My son got a saber and found out what I warned him about. In most single guys homes a saber is too long and unwieldy. So he got a 1917 model cutlass. He’s happy with it and a 12 bore for his apartment.
For home a defense blade I’d prolly go with a 2 foot spatha or a similar sized naval dirk. Pretty much meant for that kind of encounter.
The saber is an antique I just happen to have inherited. I sometimes think of it in the gun locker but wouldn’t ever reach for it. Not with all the boom sticks I have at hand.
There are other edged weapons though. A Buck General 120 I bought over forty years ago. An M7 bayonet for my Mossberg 590A1.
Cool Breeze had sense enough to pull his mask down, Ray-Ray not so much.
Meh, home invasions where the perps are armed like this only happen to criminal scumbags who are dealin’ drugs or something.
At least that’s what I keep hearing.
Good point. In addition, in my neck of the woods, we’ve had the home invasions where insider info was known about the homeowner, also a small ligit business owner (I.e. resturaunt, nail/beauty saloon) keeping large amounts of cash at home. I recall this happening to Asian and Hispanic folks.
They weren’t white , so there’s no news here folks, just the same old , same old…
Dressed all in white? With white hoods?
Were they pretending to be a certain organization?
Cheap camera system,,, every thing will be in black & white…,
In low light, it probably changes to IR…
time to get a bigger nightstand i guess
something big enough to place something on it that is greater than 26 inches in overall length
question:
if you see somebody on the camera outside your door in the middle of the night holding something chambered in 7.62×39 do you…
give a verbal warning
>from around a corner
or immediately start sending lead through the door
>from around a corner
or do you wait until they try to force entry
or do you wait until they kick the door open
when i lock up for the night my entry doors are kick proof and battering ram resistant
it buys me a few extra precious seconds to think just a bit before i have to act
i should probably make my decision ahead of time of what exactly is going to trip my trigger finger
If I saw that in front of my door, I’d empty my AK magazine through it.
But, what would the real world legal repercussion be?
Story doesn’t say if the perps were caught or not.
Lehigh Acres aka Sh!t Town.
CONGRESS, THIS IS THE TOP REASON CIVILIANS AR15’S FOR HOME DEFENSE. CRIMINALS DON’T CARE ABOUT LAWS AND HOPE YOU ARE UNARMED!!
+1. Gun control ain’t stopping these fools, nor are the local cops. The only thing screaming should be hot lead at about 3000 FPS.
“Legally, should I shoot through the door?” In Texas at least, I’d say you’d better wait until they are attempting to break in.
“The actor’s belief under Subsection (a)(2) that the deadly force was immediately necessary as described by that subdivision is presumed to be reasonable if the actor:
(1) knew or had reason to believe that the person against whom the deadly force was used:
(A) unlawfully and with force entered, or was attempting to enter unlawfully and with force, the actor’s occupied habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment;” Texas Penal Code § 9.32
Surveillance system that activates a remote controlled trapdoor to a moat with a dozen angry and hungry 10ft alligators…Or trapdoor to a large spiked pit ! LOL! Sounds better…
As soon as the gun barrel or body part of the perpetrators break the plane of the door they are bought and paid for. Before that it gonna cost you big time in legal fees and depending what political party is in office of your jurisdiction probably some time away from home cooked meals.