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Ensure your safety during a home invasion with these invaluable pointers
Waking up to the sound of someone breaking into your home is a complete nightmare, but there are numerous measures you can take to prepare yourself beforehand and enhance your security during such an event. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to understand about confronting an intruder in your residence, including legal considerations regarding the use of lethal force. From locating a suitable hiding place to confronting an intruder directly, continue reading for the finest safety and self-defense techniques!
Key Facts to Remember
- Escape from your home through a rear exit, window, or utilize a fire escape ladder. If that's not feasible, seek refuge in a secure room and lock the door.
- Dim the lights, maintain silence, and contact emergency services. Refrain from leaving your hiding spot until law enforcement arrives.
- If you encounter an intruder, remain composed and comply with their demands. While most states permit the use of firearms against intruders, exercise extreme caution when resorting to lethal force.
Procedures to Follow
Concealing Yourself from an Intruder
Confirm the presence of the intruder in your residence. Quickly assess and listen attentively. Are there any unusual sounds, like footsteps on stairs, drawers being opened, or whispers? Is there an unfamiliar vehicle parked outside? Once you ascertain someone is inside, maintain composure to plan your next steps.
- Do not open the door or confront the intruder, as it may provoke a violent reaction.
- Send a text message to your housemates or family members to check if they're responsible for the noises.
- If feasible, access your home security cameras remotely via your smartphone to confirm any intruders.
Determine if you can exit your residence safely. If the intruder is still outside or far away, attempt to leave through a rear exit, window, or fire escape ladder. This action will increase the distance between you and the intruder, minimizing the risk of confrontation or harm.
- Once outside, seek refuge in your vehicle and contact law enforcement.
- If residing with others, inform them via text message about the intruder's presence. Advise them to secure their rooms, exit discreetly, or retreat to a predetermined safe area.
Take shelter in your designated safe area and secure the entrance. If escaping isn't feasible, seek refuge in a secure location within your home. Designate a safe room equipped with a sturdy door that locks internally. Optionally, fortify the door with heavy items or furniture to impede intruder access.
- Install a deadbolt lock on your bedroom or safe room door for added security.
- If unable to reach the designated safe area, remain where you are, lock the door, and maintain silence.
- Pre-stock your safe area with provisions like food, water, first aid supplies, and a defensive tool (e.g., bat, hammer). Ensure your cellphone is charged to facilitate police communication.
Dim the lights and remain quiet. To avoid alerting the intruder, switch your phone to silent mode and turn off all room lighting. Refrain from moving around, opening internal doors, or making noise.
Contact emergency services and adhere to their guidance. Once secure in a dimly lit location, place a call to 911 or emergency services for assistance. Furnish the dispatcher with comprehensive details and maintain an open line for updates and reassurance.
- Anticipate inquiries regarding the emergency nature, your address, personal identification, household occupants, whereabouts within the residence, and intruder description.
- For instance, provide information like, “I’m Sally Smith residing at 123 River Road. I've detected an intruder in my home. I'm currently concealed in the upstairs bathroom, while suspecting their presence downstairs in the living room.”
Minimize interaction with the intruder unless they attempt entry into your space. Avoid confrontation or divulging your police call, maintaining silence until law enforcement arrives. However, if the intruder breaches your sanctuary, boldly announce, “We've alerted the authorities, and they're en route!”
- Employ the collective pronoun “we” regardless of solitude. Creating the illusion of multiple individuals may induce panic in the intruder, prompting departure.
Strategically position yourself within your secure area. Should the intruder breach your hideout, assume a corner opposite the door, positioning family members behind. This stance offers visibility advantage, enabling preemptive action assessment, including defensive measures if armed.
Stay sheltered until law enforcement arrives. Despite suspecting the intruder's departure, maintain seclusion until police secure the premises. Remain in contact with emergency services until official confirmation of police presence outside your abode.
- Ensure comprehensive property inspection by police, particularly if the intruder remains at large. Request thorough scrutiny of vulnerable spots within your property.
Contemplate seeking refuge with a trusted acquaintance or neighbor for the night. Despite police reassurance, experiencing post-burglary stress, paranoia, or trauma is normal. Reach out to a reliable individual to arrange temporary accommodation until morning.
- Additionally, assess entry points utilized by the intruder: Was a lock manipulated or a window forced? Consider repairs or lock replacements for enhanced security and peace of mind before resuming residence.
Dealing with an Intruder When Concealment Isn't an Option
Activate your security system or panic alarm immediately. Initiating your home security setup could startle the intruder, potentially prompting their departure. Some security companies may phone you automatically upon intrusion, so be ready to respond.
- If coerced to disarm your security, input your duress code instead of the usual one. This discreet action alerts the police silently.
- If the intruder demands you answer a call from your security provider (anticipating that ignoring it would summon the police), use your predetermined distress code during the call. For instance, casually say, “Mom, I'll chat with you in the morning,” signaling distress.
- Without police-notifying security, dial 911 promptly. If confronted by the intruder, mention police dispatch to potentially deter them.
Activate your car alarm if accessible. When the intruder remains outside your vicinity and you have keys within reach, trigger your car alarm. The piercing sound may startle them, encouraging their retreat.
Maintain distance and composure. In the event of intrusion into your space, comply with the intruder, avoiding sudden movements. Raise your hands to shoulder level to appear submissive and position furniture between you. If reaching into your pocket, inform the intruder beforehand.
- While self-defense may become necessary, compliance enhances survival chances. Seek escape routes, maintain calmness, and avoid confrontation—reacting nonviolently.
EXPERT ADVICE
Adrian Tandez
Self Defense Trainer
Self Defense Trainer
Always consider the possibility that the intruder may be armed, even if you don't observe a weapon. Exercise extreme caution when dealing with an intruder. Err on the side of caution and presume they are armed. Even if the intruder appears unarmed, they may resort to using a weapon if provoked, so remain vigilant.
Self-Defense Strategies
If you can safely exit the room, use pepper spray for self-defense. Ensure you have a clear escape route before deploying pepper spray against the intruder. Pepper spray exposure can induce coughing, choking, nausea, and temporary blindness, so ensure you can promptly leave the area after use.
If necessary, render the intruder incapable of causing harm. While escaping or cooperating is preferable, you might find yourself in a situation where self-defense is unavoidable. Target vulnerable areas such as the groin, neck, face (eyes, nose, mouth), or knees. Assess the intruder's position; for instance, if they are not in close proximity, striking their knees might be more effective than attempting to reach their neck.
- Use your hands to inflict harm. Keep your dominant hand open and flat, fingers together, and thumb out. Then, forcefully thrust your hand towards the intruder's neck.
- Alternatively, aim your elbow at the intruder's neck, face, groin, or abdomen, putting your full body weight behind the strike.
Employ everyday objects as defensive tools. While attempting to disable your attacker using your hands is an option, assess your surroundings quickly for potential makeshift weapons. Items like a pen, baseball bat, frying pan, or even car keys can inflict significant harm, granting you an opportunity to escape.
Exit your residence promptly if feasible. While physical confrontation may become inevitable, prioritize fleeing at the earliest chance. Generate as much noise as possible to alert neighbors or passersby to your predicament.
Understanding the Use of Deadly Force Against Intruders
The permissibility of using deadly force hinges on state laws and the circumstances surrounding the intrusion. In many states, claiming self-defense after shooting someone is admissible if: you are not the aggressor, employ the minimum force necessary to counter the threat, reasonably believe immediate force is required, and cannot retreat. However, several states have exceptions:
- “Stand Your Ground:” This legislation eliminates the retreat requirement, permitting a forceful response, though a reasonable belief in the necessity of shooting may still be necessary.
- Castle Doctrine: Removes the obligation to retreat, presuming that deadly force was necessary. This doctrine allows shooting any unlawfully entering individual without evaluating the level of threat they pose.
- Approximately 28 states and Puerto Rico currently lack a retreat duty, but consult local self-defense laws for precise regulations.
Using Deadly Force for Self-Defense
Confirm the intruder's identity before resorting to gunfire. To prevent tragic mishaps, maintain composure when suspecting an intruder. Verify their identity before firing to avoid accidentally harming innocent family members, including your spouse or partner.
- Pause briefly before shooting if an individual breaks into your room. It might be an intruder, necessitating self-defense, but you must ensure you're not mistakenly firing at law enforcement.
Only shoot if you genuinely perceive a threat to yourself or your family. While shooting an intruder typically receives legal protection, most states mandate a reasonable belief in imminent danger and proportional force usage.
- If the intruder lacks a firearm, shooting them could result in legal consequences.
Safeguard your firearm in a secure location and utilize a gun lock. If firearms provide a sense of security, ensure they're stored and locked in a gun safe, especially with children or teenagers in the house. For enhanced safety, invest in a gun lock rendering the firearm inoperable when not in use.
Keep firearms and ammunition stored separately. It's advisable to store unloaded firearms and ammunition in separate locations within your home. Ensure quick access to both during emergencies, and secure them in your safe room (with concealed keys) to prevent children from reaching them.
Helpful Suggestions
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Before leaving your residence, leave the front porch light illuminated to create the illusion of occupancy.
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Deploy indoor and outdoor surveillance cameras, prominently display home security signs, and position a beware of dog sign near your front entrance to deter potential intruders.
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Avoid hiding under your bed, as it can be challenging to extricate yourself. Instead, seek refuge in a room with a window for an alternative escape route if the intruder obstructs the door or attempts entry.
The guidance provided herein is derived from the firsthand experiences of Mytour readers like yourself. Should you possess a valuable tip you wish to share on Mytour, kindly submit it using the designated field below.
- If confronted by an intruder while at home during the night, relocate to an area where you can observe the intruder without being seen. Consider the challenges of navigating in the dark, providing you with an advantage over someone unfamiliar with your residence.
- In the event of needing to break a window for escape, wrap your shirt around your fist to prevent injury and strike with force. Prioritize your safety over property damage.
- Exercise restraint in resorting to lethal force unless absolutely necessary. Initially aim to incapacitate the assailant; for instance, target the knee with a firearm to impede their movement and maintain distance.
- Always carry some form of defensive weapon. A broken selfie stick, for example, can serve as a makeshift tool for self-defense, offering better protection than being unarmed.
Cautions
- Even if you suspect the intruder has left, remain in your safe room until law enforcement arrives.
- Avoid making prolonged eye contact with the intruder if you encounter them directly. Such behavior might be perceived as a challenge or indication of potential identification later.
- If you return home to discover signs of a break-in, such as a shattered window or tampered lock, refrain from touching anything and promptly notify the police. There's a possibility the intruder may still be present.
- Familiarize yourself with the self-defense laws applicable in your state before considering the use of lethal force. Regulations vary, with some jurisdictions permitting the use of firearms against intruders, while others define the boundaries of 'reasonable force' differently.
- In the event of encountering an intruder, prioritize cooperation over confrontation initially. Assume the intruder is armed, reserving physical confrontation as a last resort. Remember, your safety outweighs material possessions!
