Franck Wang 
No matter what way you look at it, anyone who tends to get into your house at night is more than likely to be a home invader, creeps around 3 a.m., without seeing and listening to any signs that his selected victim is awake. He smashed the basement window with his elbow fully covered. After getting in, he climbs the steps, stops to take up a small 2× 4. Hearing the crack and the noise below, you assemble your family in a secure room. Hiding safely, somebody in the family calls 911 while you grab your gun. What will you do next?
Don’t move. Drop your gun
The thief is entering the corridor into your bedroom, and you understand that he is aiming at you and your family. Immediately you blind him with your flashlight and he follows your orders: “Don’t move. Drop your gun!” See more Kvar Firearms here.
You avoided the potential crime and protected your family from the danger that the perpetrator was going to cause. What you do has an impact on your defense.
Whenever you kill the criminal, you will be terrified of the inevitable crime and concentrate on the legal consequences of the shooting while he’s still alive, fearful and aggressive, likely to be a threat. There were confirmed suspicions. He was just caught breaking into your house and nobody knows what other menaces he may cause.
To forbid access to a possible concealed weapon, the hands must be high above the head, not close to the shoulders.
He had a gun and his goal was to seek sleeping victims. You should expect violence if anyone breaks into a house informed that people are living there. All in all, you have a violent criminal who is facing time in jail and is looking for a way to escape at any price — for a good guy such a dangerous challenge.
Your role now is to defend your family through the dominance of the perpetrator before the police arrive and to preserve it. Although a single article cannot cover all potential happenings, I’ll outline some techniques to manage a single intruder successfully and efficiently. The plan is barely the same when you fight several criminals.
Look at the gun concealed behind his back.
Begin with the most threatening ones and keep them next to each other so that your eyes can remain in the same direction. You have to employ exaggerated body movements to communicate if the suspect does not speak English or even pretends so. Hold the gun’s hand firmly and make sure that the gun still aims at the suspect so he can’t strike.
Look at the gun concealed behind his back.
Keep in mind that though this article offers a good strategy, in reality, something can come out of the plan. He may not be cooperative, having his own ideas of how events should go. He may be able to pull you into a sense of control and strike when he feels you’re not prepared or warned. Either he can’t follow you, or he can strike you. The bad guy may even seem to be submissive or cooperative, thinking you’re going to lower your guard.
This article provides a good approach but something can come out of the plan. It is very obvious. If he has ideas of how events should unfold, he would not be cooperative. In case the bad guy notices you’re headless or not attentive, he won’t lose a chance to pull you into a sense of control and attack. He could not follow your order, or he could strike you. At first, he might also act submissive or cooperative, hoping that the guard will be lowered, so you should always remain alert.
Now let’s return to the point when your flashlight blinds the criminal and you keep him under target. He drops his arm and waits for your orders. Keep your family secure so that all of your attention can be pointed to the attacker.
Holding the lights in his eyes, you keep him blind and preserve control.
Turn the room light off so objects or other people in the room will be difficult for him to recognize. You will have to switch on the lights in the room if the flash begins to decrease due to a weakening of the batteries. (This is a valid reason to consider charging your flashlight batteries regularly)
Force the suspect to get on his knees to restrict
Beforehand, you need to gain extra situational control by placing the invader in a physical position that will make it difficult for him to strike,
Distance is always preferable. There is no strategic benefit to being close to each other, only a threat. If needed, you can shoot him from 20 feet as easily as from 5 feet. He has more benefits in near proximity than you might imagine.
He will get a chance to disarm you at close range quicker than you can pull the trigger. Although it seems difficult to believe, it always turns out to be true. Action always beats reaction. If there is an action to disarm you at a close distance, you should primarily detect the movement, understand that it is an effort to take your weapon, determine your response, and after this fend off the gun snatch. Realization of the movement and determination of the danger is the hardest aspect of the whole operation. Before your mind manages to realize the threat, the intruders will pull the weapon out of your hand.
Force the suspect to get on his knees to restrict his actions.
Let him know with a very heavy, profound, and serious voice: “If you make any quick moves, I’ll assume you’re aiming to target me and I’ll shoot you!” The next command should be, “Lift your hands high above your head!” All your commands must be again in a loud and deep (if possible), confident voice. If this is not your usual voice, you can also practice being able to use it in emergencies.
Whenever he tries to raise his hands anywhere but over his head, order him to place them over his head. Rigorous movements aiming in a different direction than the one you order are a certain indication he tries to get a concealed gun.
If it’s his firearm or just something that could be used as a weapon, is near his feet, just command him “Slowly, kick your weapon (or whatever object is close) to your left or right side!” Push it in a direction that won’t be accessible for him but also close to you. You do not want to lift the gun, because it turns your attention from the invader, ties up one hand, and can affect the fingerprints of the criminal, or any other physical evidence.
You don’t like it at your side, since when you walk, you don’t want to trip over it, nor do you want to look down in order to stop tripping over it. You might just as well command him to “Back off the firearm!” (and away from you and your family).
Once his hands are placed right, you should order “Gradually, get to your knees!” Command him to move (with his hands raised over his head) on his knees to a position that is sufficiently wide for him to lie on the floor, and that does not prevent you from approaching your family, your phone and your door, nor is it close to any possible guns. He is not allowed to stand again from that point. If for whatever reason, it is necessary to move him, he may move on his knee or crawl.
The assailant’s final pose is face down, facing away from
Force him to the floor, saying “Lie slowly on the floor,” and the final placement, aimed to noticeably reduce his capability to get up quickly and fight, is: “Lie your arms on your sides and face up your palms!” Afterward, command: “Remove your head and place your side flat on the floor. Cross your leg on your ankles!”
He should be once more told that he is not allowed to move. “I’ll expect that you will attack me in case you make any rapid movements, and I will shoot you!”
The assailant’s final pose is face down, facing away from you, arms extended upwards with palms, and feet crossed.
To keep the police updated, it is better to make a family member stay on the phone with the police during the whole incident. If the cops are already on the phone, tell them that you are now keeping the invader on the floor under your target. Contact the police again if the call has been interrupted to inform them of the latest condition. They must be kept up to date so that they know the good guy is the one with the firearm. If there was no time before to make a call to the police, do it now when the suspect is in the most inconvenient physical condition possible.
Provide your address instantly every time you dial 911, then give it once more to make sure they got it. Not all 911 services automatically display the address. It is recommended to provide the address first, so the police will at least know where you are and that you are in trouble if the call ends for some reason.
Second, tell them your name and tell them that you are at home and hold a criminal who broke into your home with a firearm. Then say to the criminal: “In case you make any rapid movements, I’ll expect that you will attack me, and I will shoot you!” Repeat that once again when you’re in a line with police for your warning to be recorded by their phone. If you have to fire to protect yourself, the tape will serve as evidence for your safety.
The feet should be crossed to make standing harder.
Explain to the police what you’re wearing and do the same for the criminal. Be easy, specific, make full sentences, and talk slowly and clearly. Mind, you’re going to be under immense stress, and you can mumble, whisper, or talk so fast that the police may have difficulty listening. Inform them about your location in the basement, and then how to enter through the main door.
The feet should be crossed to make standing harder.
If there is a mature family member who can greet the police at the door without passing close to the attacker, let him unlock the door and give them an image of what goes on. The member of the family needs to remind the police officer who you are and what you look like to avoid any possible confusion.
If it is not possible for you to securely open the door, inform the dispatcher of 911 that you allow the officers to break the door to enter since you can’t leave the invader even for a second.
When the police are near, tell them you’re the householder and that you’ve been broken into your home by the intruder (with a weapon). Once the police arrive, they are in charge of the situation and you should cooperate precisely and immediately with the officers, especially when they tell you to remove weapons. Put you in their shoes – they come and find someone on the floor under the gunpoint. Who looks more life-threatening? Make sure the police get the situation well.
A caged animal is the most hazardous. The invader knows he’ll be in jail and he might feel he has nothing to lose. Despite being disarmed, he can still cause a threat. These techniques help you keep him under control till the police come.
Above the author explained in depth how to treat a home invasion. What would you have done better or additionally, compared to the guidance given by the author? In the comment area, share your response.
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