Freaking good for this woman... hit with bear spray and still fought back...

Source: Denver real estate agent survives attack by man during open house
POSTED 6:22 PM, AUGUST 7, 2019

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- A local real estate agent survived an attack by a man she was showing an open house to in Commerce City.

At 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, real estate agent Dawna Hetzler of New Dawn Realty and Metro Brokers Elite pulled up to the Aspen Hills Condominiums for her scheduled open house. Hetzler has been in real estate for 14 years.

As she turned on the lights at the home, a man knocked on the front door. He said he was interested in the property.

“He was asking the right questions about how long it had been on the market. We talked about loans and what he might qualify for,” Hetzler said.

Hetzler showed him the kitchen and living room area. Then, he asked to see the rooms upstairs.

“At that point, we got into the master bedroom and he pulled a knife out," she said.

Cornered in the master bedroom, Hetzler said the man laid out a knife and six-inch rope.

“He wanted me to take off my ring and go in the closet, and at that point, his intentions were deadly, in my opinion,” Hetzler said.

Fearing for her life, Hetzler drew her handgun that she is licensed to carry.

“As I drew my firearm, and he saw that I had that, he doused me with bear spray. At that point, I could not see. I could barely see. My skin was burning, my eyes were on fire and so I fired," she said.

Police say it’s unclear if the bullet hit the man, but he was spooked and ran off.

“My primary purpose is to capture this man. We want to get him off the streets so we live in a safe society,” Hetzler said. “My life was in danger and if I did not have my firearm, I would not be here today.”

Meanwhile, Hetzler hopes to encourage other realtors and women to be prepared for the unthinkable.

“I have heard about fearing open houses. I don’t live my life in fear. I live my life in faith. Faith trumps fear," Hetzler said. "For my fellow realtors, we always hear take two to an open house. Two is not enough, you need to know what you’re going to do in any certain circumstance and be able to act on that. For my fellow women out there, every woman has experienced some type of trauma and if you have not shared your story with police, and perhaps it needs to get to the police, then share it. There’s healing in sharing.”

Commerce City police detectives are working with Hetzler to create a sketch of the man. They are hoping that will generate tips and ultimately lead to an arrest.

If you have any information about the incident, you’re urged to call the Commerce City police tip line at 303-289-3626.

Hetzler is an author and Christian speaker, with a passion for encouraging women. She writes a blog twice weekly.

Good for her. Lucky he ran, instead of circling behind her. Blind and guessing on the assailant is too late.

I hope he caught lead for his troubles, & is dead in an alley somewhere.

That’s damn nice shooting by the lady.

Dirtbag found and under arrest.

https://kdvr.com/2019/08/08/ma...nt-in-commerce-city/

Drat. I was hoping he had bled out somewhere.

I was a RE Agent for 21 years and I can tell you this is a very real problem for Agents. Not for me (Older, ugly, male), but for the female agents I worked with. We never had anything as bad as this story, but lots of unwanted advances by men pretending to be buyers. I kept telling them, ladies you need to start carrying, but to my knowledge none of them did.
Rod

Sounds to me like that attack was well planned. He was prepared for her to fight back.

I've seen more than a few cases of realtors raped and/or murdered showing houses. I encouraged my realtor friends to carry, but most won't.

Criticizing tactics is fine, but you must realize a female Christian realtor may not have the same tactical skills as a LEO or former soldier. Alls well that ends well.

quote:

six-inch rope.

What was he hoping to do with a 6 inch rope?

quote:

Originally posted by Elk Hunter:

quote:

six-inch rope.

What was he hoping to do with a 6 inch rope?

I’m thinking typo. Probably meant 6 foot rope.

Beat that sunuvabitch to within an inch of his life, let him recover, rinse and repeat. I'm with maximus and arfmel...wish he had bled out in a painful, horrible death.

quote:

Originally posted by doc45:
Dirtbag found and under arrest.

https://kdvr.com/2019/08/08/ma...nt-in-commerce-city/

He is in custody and they are still unsure if he was hit or not? I'm going to assume that is lazy editing and he was not shot?

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:

quote:

Originally posted by Elk Hunter:

quote:

six-inch rope.

What was he hoping to do with a 6 inch rope?

I’m thinking typo. Probably meant 6 foot rope.

Or was supposed to read six-inch knife and a rope

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
He is in custody and they are still unsure if he was hit or not? I'm going to assume that is lazy editing and he was not shot?

Lazy editing. They inserted the arrest at the top of the original story and one sentence below the original story instead of adding all new info with an "Updated blahblah" and then "Original Story blahblah" to show the separation.

Meanwhile, good on her for being prepared and good on her for following through. We had a guy killed here in MD at a model home this past December by an 18-yr-old who went there simply to rob the guy. Only 33, two young kids, terrible story.

My wife's a realtor and open houses should only be done with more than one agent or another person present. She only meets new customers at the office first or has another person with her if it's at the house.
I know of several other agents that have a gun but none carry it in a method that would be accessible in an instant. So it's actually next to worthless as a self-defense tool.
The truth is that this agent did several things that are a bad idea. Complacency is the enemy of good habits. Nothing else had happened to her in those fourteen years that made her alert enough and she took shortcuts. At least she did carry on her person and was clear headed enough to save her life.