What would you do if someone breaks into your house?

[Pinay_ako]

Has your house ever broken into? I was just watching dateline about homeowner shot two teens who broke into his house and he’s jailed for life.

[Lliam]

I'm well armed. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot them if they posed any kind of threat. If they were just a dumb ass, I'd make them lie on the ground with their legs crossed and their fingers laced behind their head until the cops arrived.

There is no law that says I can't defend myself in my own home.

[exitseven]

@Lliam "There is no law that says I can't defend myself in my own home." YET!

[Lliam]

@Pinay_ako. Thanks for the MHO.

[Pinay_ako]

You’re very welcome ☺️

[DaBiggestBird]

Try to let them leave, if no then death penalty

[ShesRad80]

grab my phone, on the way to a door, call the cops and run out the opposite way they enter.

dateline is one of my fav shows, that old guy it was premeditated, is why he's in jail for life. he made like he wasn't home on a Thanksgiving holiday and laid in wait in the basement, even voice recording his story. a kid (nick) who previously broke in stealing things of value more then once went back with his cousin and attempted to rob the senior again. he's in jail because instead of calling the cops asap he sat there waiting to kill them, ambushed them form a chair in the basement shooting them as they came down the steps even after the female cousin ran away, he shot and killed her as well

[Pinay_ako]

Didn’t they make a movie about it? Don’t breathe?

[ShesRad80]

no, but they run that episode of dateline a lot. though the teens were stone wrong, he could have just called the cops

[Pinay_ako]

One of the teens works for him. He had enough though. He was broken into twice. He was head of security and a recluse. They messed with the wrong person and he’s older.

[ShesRad80]

what got him life in jail was he made audio recordings while sitting in wait, proving it was premeditated, had he not done that he would have skated on the charges

[Pinay_ako]

Yes, that was creepy

[richardcory]

Leave and call the cops. Even from a purely selfish point of view, there is nothing in my house that is worth more to me than the time and effort I'd have to put into all the legal ramifications of shooting someone.

Its almost certain they were just random burglars. I don't have real valuables in the house - the most expensive portable thing is probably a laptop. I don't have any living enemies who want me dead. So why turn a small issue into a big one.

Also security system will have happily recorded everything so it will be easy for the police to pick them up later.

I pay taxes so that I don't have to clean bloodstains out of my carpet

[CassandraSpender]

And that's great for you wonderful cityfolk (it really is) but where I come from we don't have law enforcement response... we are 20min from the nearest town and the entire county has a total of 6 deputies, meaning at any given time there might be 2 on duty...

We had a bad rash of burglaries a few years back, they hit 30 something houses, the sheriff's dept basically had you do DIY CSI (I joke and am serious) because they were so busy. Unfortunately they didn't stop until one of them caught a bullet with his forehead (not advisable).

I am reminded of an episode of an old western show, might have been The Rifleman, where someone pointed out that theft can be worse than murder because murder simply ends a life, something people are more comfortable with at a certain age, but as you approach that age, theft can be the same as stealing away all that a persons life has built up to. ... if you're retired, and someone steals all of your retirement funds, what you've put back 50 years so you can enjoy, then they stole 50 years of your life, where jf they killed you, they are likely only stealing 20-30 years. ... not certain how I feel about it, but it's something to think on.

Sometimes lethal force is the only way to stop something like that though.

[richardcory]

@CassandraSpender Isn't most of people's wealth these days in non-physical things - retirement accounts, property ownership and the like? The house and car are usually insured.

But I do agree that the situation is very different in areas where there is no rapid police response.

OTOOH, I expect dealing with a dead body is a PITA. Even if you are completely legally OK, there is going to be a lot of effort sorting that all out.

[ohsheeT]

Well I hate to say it but the odds of it happening is that person probably would not walk out alive
First of all they broke into my house I don't know their intention I don't know that there is there to steal something from me I have to think the worst

Sometimes I have friends that come from out of town sometimes my kids come to visit and if they were in my house while this was going on I would definitely protect them
I don't know if I would just shoot the guy I would try to get the guy to get down on the ground but all you have to do is look at me wrong if he had something in his hands I would probably kill him if he didn't have anything in his hands and he came at me I would probably shoot him in the leg but definitely something's going to happen

[RavVid]

I have fairly hefty round section piece of wood. My theory is to use it like I would a rifle and bayonet. If I am going to break anything it will be their jaw/teeth as they will then be in too much pain to do more than whimper.

Depending your jurisprudence you may be limited as to what you can do. I certainly am not allowed to shoot somebody just because they have broken into my house. If they threatened me with a knife I could be entitled to gun them down.

The test would be if I used a commensurate amount of violence appropriate to the threat. Your householder didn't, it would seem the court thought. If they waved a knife around and I had a gun I would certainly shoot them. If they didn't run away immediately I discovered them, I would consider I was under threat of being over powered and that anything might happen to me. So yeah I would shoot in that case too.

[whirled_up_girl]

I wonder what case that was. I heard a about a case many years ago where the homeowner shot two teens but after the initial shots injuring then he went and shot both of them in the head. The jury found him guilty because after the first few shots when they were wounded they felt the threat to him had been removed.

[Pinay_ako]

He left their bodies for 24 hours in his basement before calling police. He claimed it was Thanksgiving, he didn’t want to trouble them to come in

[whirled_up_girl]

Yep, i think it’s the same case, he was some kind of retired security person at the state department. Yeah when I heard about the case it seems like he was charged and found guilty because of the kill shots after injuring them. Experts said it was hard to argue self defense if the burglars were injured and unarmed when they were shot. Something seemed wrong with those teens though. They knew him, knew he had guns and robbed him before. My guess was they were on a suicide mission, if I remember correctly they were cousins and we’re very close. That was just my guess though that they were trying to push him over the edge so he would react violently.

[Pinay_ako]

Yes, that’s the same one ☝️. The male used to work for him. But that wasn’t the first time they broke in. They stole many valuables from him. He was a recluse. He was ready the second time

[bolverk]

I’m willing to bet that the homeowner that shot two teens who broke into his house lived in a Democrat run town/City, Over here in the UK much the same conditions apply even though for the vast majority of the population firearms are unattainable, but if you resist someone breaking into your house you have to use the minimum amount of to stop the criminal, but you could still end up being the one charged by the police. And yes my home has been broken into in the past more than once, the first criminal ended up face to face with me and a cricket bat, he ended up with busted wrists for his trouble, the next criminal ran into my Border Collie who got to him before I did, he left in zip cuffs with bloody ankles, this was before the current breed of woke cops arrived on the scene buggering up how people can deal with criminals in their own homes.

[Pudsmucker]

I have two guns in the house. One is a shotgun and the other is a 9 mm. The shotgun is loaded with rock salt. The 9 mm is also loaded and locked in is safe. If someone breaks into my house my wife calls a place while I grab the shotgun and put the suspects in front leaning rest. If the suspect shoot at me I take care of business with my shotgun. Rock salt doesn't kill him but it sure makes things feel like they wish they were dead. Yes sounds like I don't give a crap. When a person break into my house I do not give a crap cuz they're going to take what they deserve. The criminals have no rights when they break into my house. Oh yes my my family safety comes first.

[Emii_Urashima]

In Japan, we have the absolute right to defend our home. Burglaries are extremely rare, here. I would grab my tanto (short blade) 🗡 and introduce it to his gut. The police would ask me a few questions and the injured or dead burglar would be quickly removed. 🏥

[BoopBoopBeep]

Shoot them. I don't live in some liberal state where that's frowned upon. Even the cops here are like "they can't sue you that way and it'll take us a while to get there."

The guy that went to jail put them in the basement for a while then executed them long after the threat was over. That's frowned upon.

[molonski2]

Yeah , you can't just randomly shoot an intruder , that's not equal or opposite.

What do you do? Call the police , if they have left check for what might be missing , check insurance policy , update your security.

I have been broken into , only ever lost one good thing. Should be treated for what it is.

[BoopBoopBeep]

Lethal force can be applied in many jurisdictions to stop the commission of a violent felony. If someone breaks into an occupied dwelling, that's considered a violent felony. If they don't immediately give up, they get shot. I don't give second warnings. Call the cops? Call cops and an uber, see who gets there first.

There are three shooters in this house and a gun in every room. Anything violates the perimeter of the house the sensors will make sure that we're well aware of it, to include if they magically parachuted onto the roof, so by the time they get inside at least one of us is passing out "bad days."

[molonski2]

@BoopBoopBeep
No mate , you are talking about the wonderful US of A..
I have ZERO connection to that utter utter bullshit , and you need to understand you are far from the ONLY country in the world.
You LOVE guns , " We " collectively hate them , just think a little outside your own bullshit. You can't just SHOOT invaders.

[BoopBoopBeep]

The three other counties I've lived in you could, too. Sorry you keep picking wimpy countries.

[molonski2]

@BoopBoopBeep Okey mate , thanks for your input. Goodnight , enjoy your day , life and guns.

[BoopBoopBeep]

@molonski2
Thanks so much! You too... well... except the "and guns" part of course :)

[Fuentes]

No, and California State law says if their in my house I'm free to shoot. I won't be doing no time I claim self defense, a vet and in fear of my life no jury will put me away. If you break into my house it's 2 in the chest and one in the head, for both boys.

[Drumlin2001]

In UK we don't have firearms. I keep a bat by my bed, if I hear something at night that's the first thing I pick up. If there were people on my proerty or trying to het in house I'd call police. In meantime, I do have a machete in the house, though I'd be hesitant to use as I'd probably end up in jail.

[Sparkie460]

Someone attempted to break into my house years ago. Nobody but my wife was home. She tapped on the window with her machete and he took off. The cops arrested him an hour later on the next block over.

If someone tries breaking in now they are getting hit with pepper balls. Then I'll beat the shit out of him.

[Mangospacho]

I would not take a chance when someone has broken in (not entered by mistake or walked in an open door). They have already used lethal force. Therefore, I will use lethal force in return. As for the homeowner who was “jailed for life”, I don’t know what laws apply in that case but, where I live, it is perfectly legal to use deadly force when someone has broken and entered your home.

[PeteA380]

Not whilst in it, but it is super scary since the 1st world still effectively prohibits self defense.
Imagine self defending and then being considered guilty from the outset by your own police, who might conviniently put you in front of a judge that's a cousin of the very people who tried to rob you 😨

[spartan55]

What state was that in? The laws vary widely on that. If anyone breaks into a house where I live (Texas) they are stupid because this whole state is pretty much armed.

[D_Bone_Steak]

The grenade launcher will probably take them out first... then I will play with their guts and hopefully, while they're still alive. I want them to see me picking up their intestines and placing them upon their head.

[ChiTown33]

Tell Alexa to activate "claymore roomba". Then shut off all power to the house. Let the game begin!😂

[Pinay_ako]

Ooh like a movie 🍿

[purplepoppy]

Given I live a fair distance from town they'd have to drive here. Just a case of blocking the drive or popping their tyres and letting the dogs have a bit fun

[The_Big_Jay]

I don't own guns, but I'm a big guy and I can handle my fists, but I'd rather not if I don't have to. If he's armed, then he takes what he wants. If not, then we fight. I would get a quick call into to 911 before any confrontation and tell the intruder I've done so. If he persists on staying, then it's on. May the best win if he isn't armed.