Police report.
Talk with and notify your neighbors.
Cameras.
Lighting activated by motion.

Some of my friends call me paranoid for having an extensive surveillance system. That’s fine as I get plates. No paranoia to me. They don’t pay taxes there so they belong to the streets. Would have done the same thing.

Youguys did good. Hope you called the cops in case they had another complaint of the same nature. Get front doorbell camera. so you can be alerted if someone comes up the drive. Cheers

I haven’t read all the responses yet, but I sincerely thank everyone for the comments, even the spicy ones.

This certainly is a learning/training opportunity for my family and I.

Continuing to drive would have surely been the best move. Since I hadn’t trained my daughter on that and I didn’t immediately tell her to, she committed to the driveway. Again, 100% training opportunities here since we came out Ok.

As far as the house goes. We have a very robust security system with cameras covering every inch.

No way was anyone inside or lurking close to the house. Now that doesn’t mean someone couldn’t have been a ways off and charged her before she could get inside. Another training opportunity for us.

I’ve reported the incident through the deputy sheriff that lives a few houses down. He was as surprised as I was and agreed it was concerning.

Thankful that we’re blessed with the opportunity to get better prepared and have friends here to make those recommendations.

I like your daughter’s response - Benelli M4.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGfourme:
I like your daughter’s response - Benelli M4.

Thanks, she’s heard it enough from me about pistols being inferior to long guns.

Definetly going to look into getting a light or lights further down the driveway.

The security company we use is coming out next Friday for an assessment based on this.

BTW- I didn’t show the M4- just turned the light on from concealment behind the vehicle. :-)

Crazy how fast all this stuff goes down.

I think my signature should be “just keep driving” I’ll make like Dora from that fish movie.

The big lesson is never exit your vehicle unless it’s absolutely safe.

All of the other stuff will help the police find who killed you a bit quicker, but your life is more important than your property.

This driver sacrifices his Porsche to avoid a similar incident.

Sorry I’m being so insistent, this hits home. I’ve had cousins and uncles/aunts hit in this way, we were drilled over and over how to react in your exact situation. Stay mobile, keep driving unless the car physically cannot move anymore. Go to a public place, find others, police, fire, whatever, but be visible. Don’t stay in a place where they can surround you in private.

Criminals want money or sadly, in the case of women, something else. By forsaking your mobility, you gave up your best defense.

I’m writing this not just for you, but for anyone else reading this in the hope that it kicks in at the right moment. You can easily die doing what you did.

I wont critique your response. Its very hard to know exactly how to react (and respond exactly right) when something like this occurs. My gut tells me that these people saw you were prepared to resist them and that is what they do not want. I would be on high alert in the future as you approach your home.
Can you think of any reason these people might have targeted you or your family specifically?

Very glad to hear that you and your family are safe. When something seems out of place that’s because it is. Excellent that you did not ignore or “rationalize” what you saw. “Left of Bang” is an important read.

I’d like to hear the thoughts from the personal security experts on this forum have to say about this incident.

Not to add drama to this situation, however, what if these creatures were after you or a member of your family and not property?

Might be a good time for a Neighborhood Watch party.

Silent

First they could have been legit. Walmart delivery, food delivery, Uber eats, etc. These aren’t the best trained folks and they get lost often.

Second, never leave the safety of your car. Just drive by, call 911, and park a safe distance away. Everything in the house is replaceable. Your daughter and you, are not.

On the small chance they were just a lost delivery driver, you don’t want them to see you with a weapon in your hand. Could be an arrestable brandishing offense on your part.

If they were crooks, I’d rather the police come and talk to them then they be scared off and be gone forever to victimize others…

That’s how people get shot.

quote:

Originally posted by recoatlift:
That’s how people get shot.

No doubt. The car never went to another house- it only punched out after dealing with me.

This wasn’t a Uber delivery, etc.

I’m on an iPhone at te moment- and need to consider the post regarding us being targeted.

Love you all.

“Run away from home and hide,” when something suspicious occurs in an obvious residential area isn’t exactly the advice I expected when I started reading this thread. Although in retrospect I have seen something similar in, “Lock yourself in the bedroom and call the police to come and break in and clear your house if you hear something suspicious at night.”

But now I’m curious. We’ve identified the possibility that someone sketchy acting suspicious in a very obvious manner could be a diversion to allow the rest of the gang to employ a flanking maneuver and make an enfilade attack on the individual who isn’t in the house.* We’re also told that that sort of thing is common enough for at least one member to have personal knowledge of its happening more than once (several?). Despite that, though, I can’t recall hearing of any such incidents myself when one would think that they would make the news if they were common in neighborhoods like that appears to me. Are there any links to reports of such incidents available? (The incident with the Porsche hardly involved anyone’s being surrounded. And it obviously makes no sense to try to jump out and run inside with someone pointing a gun at one from a few feet away. But there is a significant difference between the incident in the video and what the OP described.)

In any event, if I understood the OP correctly, it would have been easy enough for him to retreat to the house, just as his daughter did before anything more happened. Having the handgun in hand at that point was of course prudent, but my tactical advice would have been for both to go into the house immediately and when appropriate. I say “appropriate” because of course none of us who weren’t there at the time knows exactly what the situation was. Once in the house then all the advantages go to the defenders—both legally and tactically—and those advantages are far greater indoors once things had gotten to the point of the other car’s entering and possibly blocking the driveway. Yes, he could have just driven on by when he saw an unusual car before entering the driveway, but remaining inside the car would hardly be “safe” once he turned into the driveway: exactly the opposite.

It would also be interesting to know how many people here who live in residential areas would drive to the police if they saw an unusual car parked on the street. Perhaps a poll would be in order.

Thanks for giving us something to think about.

* (Is another part of the assault group going to make a dynamic entry on the residence while the outsider is occupied?)

sigfreund, I’ll clarify my comments: I grew up in Venezuela, in Caracas to be precise.

It is one of the top 5 most cities in the world, per capita murder rate. You have your head on a swivel at all times. With the economic disparity and high crime rates, “secuestros” (kidnapping) and violent crime like this involving vehicles is ridiculously common. Homes in Latin America are generally defended by outside walls, so driving into your driveway presents a moment of opportunity for a criminal to gain access. Not quite the same as the OP, but the training is exactly the same: use the 2 ton vehicle you have as a weapon to get out, and find help.

Generally, bad people are after possessions of value, or yourself (for money on your person, ransom, or rape). The reason I gave exiting the area (which is the most tactically sound response. I can go into detail if you’d like, we can make a decision tree of all the scenarios), is that it was by far the best option given his location, the fact that he was in the car with his daughter driving and the engine on.

What is of value is sitting in that car. Period.

Everything else can be replaced. If that suspicious car had multiple bad guys, if there were others, hell if it was just one decent shooter, it’s over. A car is a much harder target to immobilize with small arms, and criminals tend not to get in shootouts on public roads as the odds of success are much lower.

The only response in this situation is to leave.

Last point: I never said to remain in the car in the driveway. I said to back up, if the car attempted to block then drive either right or left onto the lawn and exit the area. No need to be a sitting target.

I do believe we can agree that different environments might dictate different responses to suspicious acts.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sigfreund,

Ok, I decided to write out the scenarios. We will assume the bad guys are after the humans and not the goods in the house (after all, goods can be replaced).

If you leave:

1. You are a moving target, with sheetmetal and an engine block between you and shooters.
2. If there are multiple attackers and vehicles, a moving vehicle is still the best defense.
3. Once you are on a public road, with vehicle traffic, it becomes harder to commit violence without immediate response from bystanders and police.
4. It is much harder to rape someone in the middle of busy highway than the interior of your home.

If you stay:

1. You are now confined to the interior of your home, or worse, stuck outside. A static target…
2. If there are multiple attackers, you gave them some advantage by sacrificing mobility.
3. You are inside your home. Even in the case of potential gunfire, you are counting on neighbors to hear the noise (rather than see it on the road!) of violence and call it in. Also, no one will know exactly which house is the one with the shots.
4. We don’t need to address this point.

If you are friends with your neighbors make sure they are aware.

Make a police report.

If you showed them your weapons ,they now know where to get some.

I agree with some said above


1) don’t get out of the car and give up some cover and enhanced mobility

2). You should have called the cops from the car. Or rather your daughter should have. Not get ready. Call them.

3). Once you were out of the car, and she opened the door to hand you the shotgun, why not go inside? You have no idea how many, where, when, etc. get in your castle where you have a defensible position and wait for the cops you called in number 2. Outside you are vulnerable from multiple angles, and the bad guys don’t need to do much to access you, especially since you’re alone against an unknown number of people. That said, I’m not sure I let my daughter open the door either


Please take these in the light they’re intended. It’s really easy to sit and Saturday night armchair QB Much much harder to see in the moment. You did well. Just points to learn from for next time. Like “landings”, anyone you walk away from and all that

This thread is a lot to take in.

I’m glad you and your family are safe.

I agree with others. Think you guys handled great. It is a good reminder that one should never come home unarmed. You never know when someone could be there. While we should feel safe at home. Never let your guard down. They had a plan. You foiled it. Be vigilant.
Think why you were targeted. There is a reason.