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What really happens ...

Mudinyeri

20g
"Philanthropist"
... when you have to defend yourself with a gun?

Recently, the wife of an acquaintance was forced to defend herself and her children while alone in her home. Her husband was at work and received a call that went something like this:

Phone Rings
Husband: Hi sweetie!
Wife: I need you home now, I just shot two invaders!
Husband: On the way now! (end of call)

Link to news story:
http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-new ... 3636.story

Now that the dust has settled a bit, the husband has jotted down some of his thoughts about what happens after you are forced to defend yourself in your home. Below are his pearls of wisdom after going through something we all hope we can avoid:

What do you do when you have no choice but to use deadly force to protect your family? I think that the best way to explain what we did is to use an outline.

Here is a list of things you need to do now to prepare for this:
· Have a plan on how you want the family to respond in case of such an event.
We had a “safe” room where the wife and kids would go while I provided cover but no plan on her being home alone.

· Look up, and interview a hand full of lawyers. Find one you are comfortable with and establish a report in the off chance you might need legal counsel.
We did not do this. I did have a name and contact information but had not gotten around to calling him yet.

· Be prepared to lose whatever weapon you use to police custody for a very long time.
Even though my wife was cleared of all charges, my gun will be in custody for at least two years according to the police department. The point here is to have another weapon because you will not feel safe without one.

· Check with your insurance company for the bio-hazard clean-up.
I got lucky here because I never thought of it before. Actually I don’t know for sure if any would not cover for something but it never hurts to ask.

· Take care of your friends! It is good to have them in times of trouble.
If you think it’s hard to find help moving, try getting out of your house in 10 hours when there is blood on the floor and nothing is packed.

· Find a safe location that you can stay at for at least a week.

Short term priories:
· Make sure your family is safe first! Nothing else matters at this point.
· Get out of the area, the house, the city, and do not talk to the press.
My wife was told by our lawyer she needed to give a statement to the press. He made all the arrangements, screened all her answers, and made sure her face was hidden.

· Get supplies to last for a week (cloths, meds, kid’s favorite toys…)
· Find a place for household items.
I had the entire house into a storage unit within 12 hours of the first shot.

· Contact your Lawyer.
· Set up counseling, even if you don’t need it immediately after.
· Contact your homeowner’s insurance company and get the cleanup started and the house secured.

Long term goals:
· Is your house in an area you can go back to? If not then make sure you can afford to pay a mortgage and still have enough money left over to live somewhere else.
Mine is not. My neighbors support our actions but the other small time gang members do not.

· If possible get out of the area.
I moved 30 miles away and am actively looking to move out of the state. There is no way to put a price on peace of mind.
 
Yea I never really thought about that aspect of home defense. Thanks for posting!
 
A very good post , still ...what if she didn't shoot. An older gentleman in the Phoenix (AZ) area a few years ago shot and killed an intruder with a 38 special , he shot three times all of them hitting their mark. He had his gun back in 72 hrs.
 
Good info to think about. Have most of those covered.

As far a getting your weapon back, I think it depends on the state/city laws in place. But, for me, thats fine, keep it for all I care, it served its purpose and I'm glad to be alive to go buy another one.
 
Excellent post! IF it ever happens to you, be prepared to deal with all the monday morning quarterbacks.
Depending on state- NY and CA Everything is chattel- never any reason to shoot- unless of course you are a
LEO or have a lot of LEO friends. Even a Castle Doctrine state- after the police then you get to deal with DA's etc.
Just make sure you have a real good lawyer.
 
Yes, interesting and informative. I was drawn to the comments on cleanup; I have a friend who worked for a company that cleaned up after crime/suicide events in homes around the Dallas/Ft Worth area, and they always have plenty of work there. He said when he first started doing the work, he was amazed at the amount of blood and where it was: he told of one guy who was shot at the bottom of the stairs in his 2-story home. He said the splatters were up on the second floor and even on a bedroom wall up there.
 
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