KSAT News 12 recently reported on a devious tactic some home invaders are using to get access to your house. According to a recent report, a woman showed up on a man’s doorstep in broad daylight and asked for a glass of water. When he turned to pour her a glass, her accomplice was already inside. From there, they tied up the home owner, beat him and took his gun. Once he was secured, they proceeded to steal two laptops, his wallet and the keys to his truck.
What started off as an innocent enough act by a Good Samaritan wound up being the launch point for two home invader’s criminal career. Who would deny someone a glass of water? Taking advantage of the basic fabric of human kindness is something very few of us are ever truly prepared to deal with.
Sadly, we live in a world where we have to be cautious of strangers and never let our guard down. Especially as concealed carriers, we have an obligation to maintain accountability of our firearm at all times and certainly avoid letting it fall into the hands of seasoned criminals.
While it’s hard to fault the man for just trying to be hospitable, it hurts to see an event like this take place. The best thing we can hope to do is learn from his situation and unfortunately prepare ourselves to be much more skeptical of strangers.
What Are Some Things You Can Do To Prepare Yourself?
As concealed carriers and people who live and sleep beneath roofs (most nights), what are some things we can take away from this incident to help us in the future?
1. “Stranger Danger”
This is a hard one. Is it a group of Girl Scouts selling cookies on your doorstep or is that Scout Leader setting you up for a home invasion? No one wants to get stuck at this level of paranoia. If you’re home, have your firearm on you when answering the door for strangers. If it’s concealed, they don’t even have to know you’re armed.
2. Maintain Distance
A concealed carrier’s best friend is distance. The further, the better. But doorways and entrance ways can quickly become close quarters situations. It’s hard to keep that personal bubble at all times. That’s why it’s important to give yourself room to maneuver on the inside of the doorway.
3. Need Something From Inside? Wait Here.
If that person on your doorstep isn’t bleeding or on fire, they can wait a moment for you to bring them a glass of water. If you see someone looking like Clint Eastwood crawling out of the desert at high noon in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly – obviously do the right thing. And you can do the right thing while keeping yourself safe.
4. Letting Someone In? Close The Door Behind Them.
You’ve invited a stranger from your doorstep into your home. In addition to the prior two points of always giving yourself room to maneuver and maintaining distance, also ensure he or she is the only person coming in.
5. Keep An Eye On Your Visitor At All Times
Concealed carry firearm? Check. Distance? Check. Door closed? Check. Okay, now all you have to do is make sure you know where they are at all times. They shouldn’t be walking around your house unattended or poking around in your stuff. As you’re offering a stranger’s kindness to them, they’re obliged to be polite and follow your rules.
What are some good rules to follow when dealing with strangers on your doorstep? Tell us in the comments below.
