Amarillo, TX police were called to a home after 5:00 AM, where they found two men dead after an apparent burglary attempt. The homeowner told police that he confronted the two men in his home and that one of them then attacked him. When the second one joined the attack, the armed homeowner shot both of them.
The homeowner was questioned by detectives and later released. The case remains under investigation.
Since every burglary/home invasion is unique, one size fits all instructions on how to handle them are virtually impossible but there are some general guidelines that may help.
In this case, we learn that the homeowner confronted the suspects. This might not be unavoidable as it is pretty normal to want to check out that “bump in the night.” After all, it could just be your cat or dog or something benign like that, but once suspects are found in your home, that doesn’t mean that you have to try to force them to leave by confronting them. Consider giving strong commands to leave as you retreat (if you can safely do so) to a defensible position while calling 911. If the suspects pursue, they have removed a great deal of doubt about their intentions, and your attempts to retreat will generally help you with the authorities later.
If you strongly suspect that someone is in your home from wherever you are, it might be best to resist the temptation to “check it out” and go straight to the 911 call and get the police on the way. Whether you want to issue commands to leave and thereby let the suspects know that you know that they are, there is a judgment call each of us will have to make at that time, but either way, move to your best defensible position and let the bad guy come to you.
The point of this is to do whatever you can to avoid a physical confrontation if at all possible or at least delay it as long as you can to give the police more time to arrive. And if the burglar/invader forces the issue, make them come to you on your terms where you are prepared to defend yourself and have the best possible tactical advantage.
