Shaken and needing advice

[22many]

jennyfell55, thieves and criminals usually go after people that they think is easy pray. If it came down to a womans house or a mans house, their gonna go with the womans house.

This leads me to my next point. If the criminal knew that you were home then its probally a good chance he has been watching you for awhile. You more than likely didnt notice because, why would you? Im not trying to make you more shaken up then you already are but it better to know then not know.

Always be aware of your surroundings. If there is a car parked down the street that you have never seen before, remember it! See if its still there in a hour. If it is, call the police. If nothing comes from it then good. But, it will force them to patrol the area more. When you get home from work sit for a minute in your car and just look at your house. Look at the windows, look at the driveway, anything out of place? Look at the people walking on the street, never seen them before? Do they look shady? Dont just brush something off if its out of place. Listen to your instink.

Thats more than likely gonna help you the most. Being aware and never take anything for granted!!!!

 

[jennyfell55]

Thats the worst part about this location actually. I'm kind of hidden from the street, so a car parked down the block isn't gonna be seen. On the other hand, that means the only way you can watch my house is to be right outside it, which I definitely would have seen. There's a low cost apartment building down at the end of the street that means there's a fairly good turnover of cars, which does put me at a disadvantage for spotting a strange car. The thing I found odd is that when the guy walked away from the house he never got in a car... no door shutting... no engine sounds... just walked down the road.

I'm thinking that having a guy friend over the next night when creep came back probably helped quite a bit.... "ACK not just a girl living here scram!". I know I'm not perfect when it comes to situational awareness, but I also know I'm leaps and bounds more aware than the typical girl is.

 

[Riot]

Now... 3 months later and for some reason this whole thing is REALLY bothering me now and I have no idea why. I haven't really been overly worried over these last couple months and now it hit me like a ton of bricks. Nothing has happened since June and all the sudden I can't get to sleep because I'm worried he's going to come back Part of what bothers me so much is the fact that even with the porch light and front room lit up he STILL tried getting in. I don't think he knew I was home.... but even that part worries me since I had 2 cars in the driveway at the time. Just lost and reaching for advice...

Probably because he (or someone else) is scoping you out again. As already been said before, trust your instincts.

Nobody...and I mean NOBODY follows me home. From ANYWHERE...I know I have some military training to fall back on, but being paranoid means being carefull. Obviously, you can over do paranoia and let it control your life (hence why people avoid the term). However, I embrace my paranoia. I have no illusions of the violent nature in people. Criminals are cowards and opportunists. What you need to do is make THEM scared to follow YOU.

Be observant! Scan for people and manorisms...cops can pick out outher cops just because of the way they act. Can you pick out people that are possible threats? Who is paying more attention to you than they should? Why is there a guy hanging out in the alley? What are the "choke-points" and how can I use them to my advantage?

Train to fight and fight to win! You've stated before that you own a firearm, but do you know how to use it? When you go to the range, do you only shoot at static targets? Have you ever tried practicing drawing and shooting at someone that was already grabbing you? What about from a target that is behind you? Do you know how to defend yourself without any weapons? As already suggested, I would also suggest reading The Cornered Cat.

There is some good advice here...my main advice, however, is just to simply trust your gut. Sometimes things tell you to leave the club early, to check on a friend or to simply take another route home. LISTEN TO THESE INSTINCTS!

Stay safe...

*Riot Out*

 

[James1300]

HK's are great. How about a nice 12ga. pump shot gun as well?
Nothin scares the crap out of a bad guy as 'Rack'in a round of double 00 buck shot into the chamber'.
It makes a very distinctive sound.

I understand money is tight.
So down the road how about a couple of 'Game camera's?
Hunters use them to spot game.
You could use them to spot prowlers, raccoons, etc. They are motion activated.
Now I'm going to recheck ALL my widows and doors.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Sound to me like the kitties need a friend, maybe <broken link removed> . They'll die for their family, especially for children. Helena, MT is a nice weekend drive..

Any dog breed who almost went extinct after tearing out the throats of some Krauts is good in my book.

I second talking with a professional, there is no shame in that. Your workplace probably even pays for it. Watching the local evening news yesterday it seems like every other story was about a damn predator in Seattle/Tacoma.