Portland Man shoots shotgun into floor to scare off burglars

[DoubleTapDrew]

I didn't see this posted elsewhere. It seems like an odd strategy, but then again it's probably cheaper to patch a hole in the floor than the legal ramifications of killing a burglar. No mention of what kind of load he had in the shotgun.
Thoughts?
<broken link removed>
here's a snippet:

PORTLAND -- A Portland man said he fired his shotgun to scare away an intruder who sneaked into his home early Tuesday morning while his wife and baby were asleep.

Police were called just before 3:30 a.m. to the report of a burglary at a home in the 2100 block of Northeast 37th Avenue, according to Portland Police Sgt. Pete Simpson.

Homeowner Read Williamson told responding officers he and his family had been sleeping when their dog woke them up. He said he couldn't call 911 for help, because the phones were downstairs, so did what he thought was the best at the time.

"I wasn't going down there... So I just shot a hole right in my floor. I don't know how smart that was, but in retrospect, they left real quick," Williamson said. "I'd do it again, I mean it was the loudest thing we had. It did work, he was gone, just like that."

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[soberups]

Kind of hard to argue with the outcome; no one got hurt and the bad guys took off running!

 

[ThemGunsThough]

I agree, at least noone got hurt. Gotta love man's best friend(s) though.

 

[Thebastidge]

One of the thigns we touch on in NRA Refuse to be a Victim classes is home invasion strategies, an dI recommend to people that they keep a phone in the bedroom- even if they turn the ringer off to avoid sleep interruptions.

 

[csp243]

This "strategy" would not have come across my mind, but it worked! I'll keep in my bag of tricks.

 

[The B]

It worked... good job defending your castle. I don't think the odds would look that great if you took a cross section of everyone who announced their presence to home-invaders without firing at them, though.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

It worked... good job defending your castle. I don't think the odds would look that great if you took a cross section of everyone who announced their presence to home-invaders without firing at them, though.

For home invaders whose goal is to kill all the occupants of the house I'd agree, you give up your position. But that seems like a very small segment compared to the number of meth heads who have the goal of grabbing some valuables and getting out, and who definitely don't want to get into a gun battle with the homeowner.
My grandpa had his guns stolen while he and my grandma were asleep upstairs. He got up to use the bathroom and that noise is what scared these (now armed) criminals off. I agree society would be better off with them six feet under, but I question the number of criminals that are so determined that they'll go from burglary to murder to score some quick $$.
That is why I still wonder about the whole disdain for the "racking the shotgun" stragety. Scenario 1: You rack the shotun, the bad guy freaks out and gets out of your house as fast as he can.
Scenario 2: The bad guy isn't deterred & now knows your location (as an armed homeowner) and starts firing blindly through walls towards the sound, because he has no problems with killing you, or decides to play commando and stealthily stalks his way towards your fortified position hoping you aren't on the phone with 911.

 

[The B]

For home invaders whose goal is to kill all the occupants of the house I'd agree, you give up your position. But that seems like a very small segment compared to the number of meth heads who have the goal of grabbing some valuables and getting out, and who definitely don't want to get into a gun battle with the homeowner.
My grandpa had his guns stolen while he and my grandma were asleep upstairs. He got up to use the bathroom and that noise is what scared these (now armed) criminals off. I agree society would be better off with them six feet under, but I question the number of criminals that are so determined that they'll go from burglary to murder to score some quick $$.
That is why I still wonder about the whole disdain for the "racking the shotgun" stragety. Scenario 1: You rack the shotun, the bad guy freaks out and gets out of your house as fast as he can.
Scenario 2: The bad guy isn't deterred & now knows your location (as an armed homeowner) and starts firing blindly through walls towards the sound, because he has no problems with killing you, or decides to play commando and stealthily stalks his way towards your fortified position hoping you aren't on the phone with 911.

Since antiquity, probably since pre-history, Man has recognized the heinousness of invading a man's dwelling. This is no casual thing- it's one of the few things the Bible says justifies one-on-one homicide. To this day, Castle Doctrine remains, in most states, the only justifiable use of deadly force without any other cause.

If a person is so desperate, so belligerent, so insidious as to break the sacred threshold of another man's dwelling, knowing all of this, he must be assumed to be there for the express purpose of doing harm. Light that mother bubblegumer up.