Armed North Carolina homeowner stops knife-wielding burglar

That thing that never happens, well it happened again. Some news outlets refuse to talk about it. They never cover the millions of times each year that honest citizens defend themselves with a firearms. Here is one of those stories from last month.

A couple living in Aberdeen, North Carolina, were at home on Sunday night (March 1). It was almost midnight when they heard someone trying to break into their home. One homeowner went to investigate. The defender found an intruder inside their screened in porch and trying to force his way through their back door. The news story is unclear if the homeowner was armed when he went to investigate or if he had to arm himself before he approached the back door.

The intruder said he was armed with a knife. He demanded to be let into the home. The homeowner opened the door, presented his firearm, and ordered the intruder not to move. One of the homeowners called the police.

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Police found the intruder on the back porch. They arrested the 21-year-old male. The police disarmed the intruder and recovered his knife. The intruder was charged with felony first degree burglary, felony breaking and entering with intent to terrorize, and misdemeanor first degree trespass.

The defenders did not know the attacker. It appears that the intruder drove a stolen car to the defender’s home.

Now, let’s talk about the information that wasn’t covered in the news story.

• Do you have a plan with the people in your home about what to do if you hear something at night?
• Are your doors locked so intruders have to make noise as they break into your home?
• Do you have motion activated lights over your doors?
• Who will call 911 and what will they say?
• Do you know when you may legally use lethal force?
• Are you going to leave the safety of your home to investigate outside at night?
• How many attackers do you face and how are they armed?
• When do you need to have your firearm in your hand if you face an attacker who is armed with a knife?
• If you go outside, is your family who remain in the house also armed so they can defend themselves?
• What are you going to do when the police arrive?
• What are you going to say to the police when they question you?
• What is the rest of your family going to say when the police question them?
• Do you have a lawyer to talk to before you give your official statements to the police?
• If you practice with your firearm, how frequently do you practice presenting your gun and not shooting?

Ordinary people defend themselves with a firearm over 2-million times each year. I want all those stories to have a happy ending. Self-defense takes practice. There is a lot to learn.

Rob Morse writes about gun rights at his SlowFacts blog and hosts the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast and co-hosts the Polite Society Podcast.