Talk about a scary night...

[AndrewWiggin]

Holy $#![. I would have fired through the door, but man I'd have nightmares about the fact that some lunatic is screaming at my back door and throwing things.

A woman in Oklahoma woke up to a crazy man she had never seen before banging on her door screaming at her when he saw her. She called the cops, grabbed a 12 gauge, and fired as he breached the door.

I'm pretty sure I'll have nightmares and it didn't even happen to me. I don't think killing the guy would be the most disturbing part, I just wouldn't feel safe for a long time after that. A raving lunatic at midnight is scary as hell.

 

[Dharion]

I wouldn't have been so calm if it was me and not this woman. Wow.

 

[Billy Pilgrim]

Good gravy. That's horrifying. I'm not a gun owner and my wife wouldn't begin to know how to use one, but it makes you think ...

 

[stobes21]

Very scary. The woman did everything right: she called police, armed herself, and when the man finally came in and she had no choice she fired center of mass. Anyone who believes killing another person in self defense is an easy thing to do should listen to this recording.

 

[aybe]

Man... I would not be that calm at all. Having lived in big cities all my life I found this comment to be very helpful:

"cibolo – You reminded me. When you are approaching someone’s house in the country, always honk your horn. Try to get their attention before you enter their property. Most important: Never climb over their gate. If you do, there may just be a new garden spot in the back yard named in your honor."

 

[Argonaut]

Boomer Sooner! Sorry about that, the small towns around here are famous for meth-addicts the countryside is even worse. There's always some drug addled idiot getting shot trying to break into someones house. I hope the woman can come to grips with what she had to do, I'm sure it will take some time to get over.

 

[Mr_Amazing]

I'm all for protecting yourself. In this instance, the operator asked if she had a room she could lock herself in. Now, I don't know what her exact house was like, but just about every bathroom in a home has a lock on the door. Also, she responded "I've got a big shotgun, I'm not going into a tiny bathroom." In my opinion, I think if you don't want to kill the guy (which she says), you go lock yourself in the bathroom. By doing that, she at least gives the guy a chance to live. If he tries to break down the bathroom door, by all means, shoot him.

That line about having a big gun and not bothering to go into her bathroom might cause her to be charged.

 

[AndrewWiggin]

I'm all for protecting yourself. In this instance, the operator asked if she had a room she could lock herself in. Now, I don't know what her exact house was like, but just about every bathroom in a home has a lock on the door. Also, she responded "I've got a big shotgun, I'm not going into a tiny bathroom." In my opinion, I think if you don't want to kill the guy (which she says), you go lock yourself in the bathroom. By doing that, she at least gives the guy a chance to live. If he tries to break down the bathroom door, by all means, shoot him.

That line about having a big gun and not bothering to go into her bathroom might cause her to be charged.

You shouldn't have to hide in your own house. If she does get charged for that, it won't go anywhere. The end result would have been the same anyway, he's crazy high and my bathroom door will fail easier than any of my exterior doors. You don't want to give someone the opportunity to close range, and hiding in a bathroom isn't going to help.

 

[knlgskr]

Did she really have a choice? Hiding in a confined area like a bathroom would limit her mobility; she did what she had to do. Suppose the deceased had broken into an unfended home; by killing the bum she may have saved a life or lives. Good shooting & good riddance.

 

[sol92258]

You shouldn't have to hide in your own house. ....

exactly. Once he's in the house where he doesn't belong, game over.
I feel the same way about someone who is on your property and doesn't belong, but the law is different about that. It would be much easier to stop someone from getting to your house, rather than having to do repairs that should never have been forced on you to make in the first place, but I also understand the reason for those laws.

Anyway, she gave the man a chance to get away alive in the first place by having her door locked.

 

[cfriend]

+1 to defending yourself, and not hiding in your own home. My only thought is that (in the presented audio) she didn't call out to the man once, STOP, GO AWAY, I'M ARMED, etc.

 

[Leche]

That line about having a big gun and not bothering to go into her bathroom might cause her to be charged.

Doubtful. If the person is willing to break down your front door, he is willing to break down any other door you want to hide behind. She has a right to defend herself and her property. None of this would have ever happened if he wouldn't have made the CHOICE to be a threat. He made the CHOICE to die that night. She CHOOSE not to be a helpless victim. Two great sayings from a buddy of mine that has been a cop for a long time and I'm sure many know.

When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6.

 

[Blondie]

I'm all for protecting yourself. In this instance, the operator asked if she had a room she could lock herself in. Now, I don't know what her exact house was like, but just about every bathroom in a home has a lock on the door. Also, she responded "I've got a big shotgun, I'm not going into a tiny bathroom." In my opinion, I think if you don't want to kill the guy (which she says), you go lock yourself in the bathroom. By doing that, she at least gives the guy a chance to live. If he tries to break down the bathroom door, by all means, shoot him.

That line about having a big gun and not bothering to go into her bathroom might cause her to be charged.

It sounds as if this woman is fairly well trained in the use of firearms. If what she has is a full length shotgun, she would have much more limited range of motion in a bathroom with a shotgun. People keep pistols as home defense weapons solely for this reason. A rifle or shotgun has more muzzle velocity and stopping power than a pistol any day, they are just harder to handle indoors, thus the tradeoff.

 

[stobes21]

Doubtful. If the person is willing to break down your front door, he is willing to break down any other door you want to hide behind...

+1. The man threw a patio table through a sliding glass door to get in. No hollow core interior door with a push button lock was going to stop him. He could see her and see she was armed. He did not care. She had a shot and took it when it was necessary. No prosecutor in their right mind would bring charges under these circumstances, especially a prosecutor in Oklahoma.

Besides, to go hide in a bathroom gives her only one way out: through him, and it seriously would have restricted her movement. As it was she could shoot him, see that he wasn't coming towards her anymore, and then run out of the house the other direction. Even a shotgun blast to center of mass is no guarantee that he would immediately stop attacking her. The tight confines of a bathroom are a terrible place to have to fight off an attacker.

 

[Mr_Amazing]

I never said what she did was wrong in shooting him. I would have shot the guy too. I understand that the shotgun would be more difficult to use in a confined area. I happen to think that if you are going to own a gun for home protection, you should have a plan ready in case you need to actually use it. I don't think this woman had any plan other than if someone tries to break in, shoot them.

I think it is absolutely critical that one has a plan in place. That involves what kind of gun and ammo, the size of the house, possible break in points, etc. If this ever happened again, I think she would rethink her choice of a long-barreled shotgun in a small house, she would upgrade her locks, and possibly think about a better back door.

 

[Bertilak]

I don't think this woman had any plan other than if someone tries to break in, shoot them.

Her plan at least also included calling the police. And standing her ground.

Not a bad plan.

 

[SRock]

I'm all for protecting yourself. In this instance, the operator asked if she had a room she could lock herself in. Now, I don't know what her exact house was like, but just about every bathroom in a home has a lock on the door. Also, she responded "I've got a big shotgun, I'm not going into a tiny bathroom." In my opinion, I think if you don't want to kill the guy (which she says), you go lock yourself in the bathroom. By doing that, she at least gives the guy a chance to live. If he tries to break down the bathroom door, by all means, shoot him.

That line about having a big gun and not bothering to go into her bathroom might cause her to be charged.

If she gets charged, I'm moving to Russia!

In all seriousness she did everything right. He got go through the exterior door of her house. If for whatever reason he had it in his mind that he wanted to harm her he'd go through an interior door ten times faster. Unless she actually had a reinforced/professionally installed 'panic room' she really didn't have anywhere to go.

 

[Argonaut]

I never said what she did was wrong in shooting him. I would have shot the guy too. I understand that the shotgun would be more difficult to use in a confined area. I happen to think that if you are going to own a gun for home protection, you should have a plan ready in case you need to actually use it. I don't think this woman had any plan other than if someone tries to break in, shoot them.

I think it is absolutely critical that one has a plan in place. That involves what kind of gun and ammo, the size of the house, possible break in points, etc. If this ever happened again, I think she would rethink her choice of a long-barreled shotgun in a small house, she would upgrade her locks, and possibly think about a better back door.

It sounds to me like she had a plan in place, the right gun and the right attitude. She's alive, he is dead. He broke into her house, the usual outcome is the other way around. She gave him a chance to live by locking her doors. Who's to say she didn't scream warnings at him before she was on tape with 911. I don't see what else she could have done. To think a small caliber handgun in a small bathroom would have been more responsible just to give him another chance to go away is ridiculous. In my opinion, she should have fired a shot through the door as soon as he tried to break through it. Good riddence to bad rubbish.

 

[VR6ofpain]

I'm all for protecting yourself. In this instance, the operator asked if she had a room she could lock herself in. Now, I don't know what her exact house was like, but just about every bathroom in a home has a lock on the door. Also, she responded "I've got a big shotgun, I'm not going into a tiny bathroom." In my opinion, I think if you don't want to kill the guy (which she says), you go lock yourself in the bathroom. By doing that, she at least gives the guy a chance to live. If he tries to break down the bathroom door, by all means, shoot him.

That line about having a big gun and not bothering to go into her bathroom might cause her to be charged.

You are ridiculous. Have you ever tried firing a shotgun in a small bathroom? She would not likely be able to defend herself against a crazy man who just threw a patio table through her back door.

Seriously this man had no right to be there. Regardless of his condition she had every right to defend herself. This was her own house with locked doors. Once he breached her home he forfeited his life.

I believe what this woman did is 100% justifiable. Any court that would try to find fault in her is sickening. The fact that you mention her needing to upgrade her locks and doors is also disturbing.

 

[psychlopath]

Using good inter personal communication skills, she could have talked her way out of this.