Forced Enty... Know Your Rights,,, A once great City...now a shit town...chicago
By Gregory Kielma
Chicago Just another Shit Show
Defending Against Forced Entry
USCCA/Gregg Kielma
In a quiet Chicago neighborhood, where witnesses say “nothing ever happens," an 80-year-old man answered a knock at his door and found a young man and a woman waiting for him. The duo pushed their way in, demanding the homeowner give them money and then assaulting him.
The bigger, younger and stronger male beat the homeowner badly, putting him in critical condition when he was later hospitalized. But the gentleman fought back. Despite being beaten nearly to unconsciousness, the defender retrieved his firearm and shot the attacker once in the chest. The woman fled. Both intruders were arrested. The attacker was later hospitalized and was reportedly in critical condition from his gunshot wound.
In Review: No two self-defense incidents are ever the same. From what we know from the reports of this incident, here are my key takeaways:
Legal:
The defender faced a pair of deadly threats. The robbers had both the intention and the means to critically injure him … and did so. In addition, they were engaged in a felony. This case appears to be an appropriate use of force.
Tactical:
First, our defender had a firearm available and in a location he could get to under stress. But that stress would not have been present had he done two things: installed cameras to monitor the front door and refused to open the door. In most cases, a home invader will not invade if you make it difficult. Additional barriers such as dead bolts and an alarm system would also have been helpful.
Training:
Our defender learned the hard way that in today’s world, the rule needs to be “pants on, gun on.” Having to retrieve a firearm once a fight has started is not a viable solution for anyone, but particularly not for an 80-year-old gentleman.
How important is it to have quick access to your firearm in a home-invasion scenario? What are effective ways to ensure your firearm is both secure and accessible?