Sandy was startled from her sleep by the sound of hammering just before sunrise.
Not on the roof.
Not outside the house.
It was on the handle of her locked bedroom door!
Two men, Michael Delaney (18) and Nicholas Hanks (20), were on the other side, pounding away, dead set on reaching her.
She didn’t wait to ask why.
She didn’t shriek in fear.
She didn’t plead.
She grabbed the pistol from her nightstand, and aimed it at the door while screaming at them to “Get out of my house!”
The Two Home Invaders Didn’t Listen And Broke Through The Bedroom Door With Their Hammer, Intent On Attacking The Woman Where She Least Expected It!
Sandy Pulled The Trigger – And Found Out The Hard Way That Nighttime Home Invasions Aren’t The Crime That Most Citizens Think It Is…
Sandy’s single gunshot echoed against her bedroom walls.
She missed – but her shot still did the job…
One of the intruders let out a scream so loud it could wake the dead as they both turned and bolted like rats from a sinking ship.
By the time deputies arrived, they found the two men cowering in a nearby field and took them in for a string of robberies in the area.
Sandy didn’t get robbed.
She didn’t get raped.
She survived — because she was “Warrior-Ready”!
Let this be a warning to you…
1. Home Invaders Aren’t Always After Your “Stuff”
Yes, it’s true that some criminals sneak into your home to grab valuables and leave quietly.
But not these two…
They came in armed.
They weren’t tiptoeing through the living room.
They were busting through a locked bedroom door, targeting Sandy directly.
Had she not woken up?
Had the door not been locked?
Had she not had a weapon within arm’s reach?
She might have woken to hands on her mouth, and two predators in her bed.
Don’t assume anyone who has illegally entered your home is there to simply steal your stereo.
If a criminal breaks in at a time when they KNOW you’re home – they’re looking for you!
And you’d better be ready to answer.
2. You Don’t Have To Live In The City To Be A Target
People like to think remote living means “safety”.
No gangs.
No noise.
No crime.
But isolation cuts both ways.
Sandy lived far from town.
No close neighbors… no traffic… no one to hear the hammering or the screams.
And that’s exactly why they picked her.
If you live in a rural area, don’t be lulled into a false sense of security.
Home invaders love quiet places where no one will interrupt their crimes.
The fewer the witnesses, the longer they have.
Unless you stop them.
3. Owning A Gun Isn’t Enough!
If you take just one thing from Sandy’s story, it’s this…
It’s not the weapon that saves the day – it’s the Warrior who wields it!
Sandy didn’t just “buy a gun” and keep it in a safe somewhere to collect dust – and neither should you.
You need it close.
You need it loaded.
And you need to know exactly what to do the moment you wake up to the sound of boots or fists or hammers coming down your hall.
Because in a real attack, there are only two options:
Freeze and become a victim…
…or take fast, decisive action like your life depends on it – because it does.
When Seconds Count, YOU Are The First Responder…
The cops were minutes away…
Sandy’s gun was two feet away!
Let me be clear:
If you can call 911, DO IT!
But the cold, hard truth is that you don’t get to choose how fast the bad guys move.
Sexual assault and possible death were hammering through Sandy’s door, the intruders knowing full well that Sandy was inside.
If she had waited for the cavalry, she might not be alive right now.
Her plan and her actions are what kept her from becoming a victim – can you say the same about your own home defense plan?
What you do in those first critical seconds when you find someone in your home can mean the difference between scaring the criminals off right away, or being caught in a horrific tale of rape, torture, or worse.
Don’t believe the pretty lies, like…
...”nothing could happen to us in our nice community”…
…“the neighbors will call the police”; or…
…“the police would come to save me”.
Facing the brutal facts will protect your family.
No one expects a home invasion.
I hope it never happens to you.
But if, God forbid, it ever does… I want you to be “Warrior-Ready”!
Exterior perimeter alarms and cameras, alarm system, 8 mil caulked security film on all ground level glass, and 800 lb night locks and charlie bars on exterior doors. Interior motion lights in approach area, barrier on end of approach area and hail of lead beyond that point.
Excellent post! You are absolutely right, especially about the third point. Many people believe that a firearm is a “magic shield against crime,” but the truth is that it’s just a tool that may or may not provide an advantage, depending on the operator.
Safety tip to increase chances of surviving home fires is to sleep with your bedroom door closed. As this case would also point out, having solid core interior doors can add precious seconds of response time (most homes have only flimsy cardboard or foam core doors that look great, but are easily punched through). Conversely, if you live in an area where earthquakes or ground movement might occur, do you have a small pry bar inside your bedroom that could be used to open a jammed door if you need to escape the room? If you don’t believe in firearms, your pry bar could serve as a formidable defensive impact weapon. In any case, the old adage “Failure to plan guarantees a plan to fail” applies, so after reading this article and all these comments – what’s your plan, and what have you actually done to test how well it works?
Bummer she missed and didn’t pop off more rounds.
All great advice and instruction about being ready. Unfortunately my wife has no interest in self defense or home defense. I asked her-what would you do if someone broke into the house? She said ” Scream ” She then said I don’t want to talk about it. Even if I tell her that her disinterest only makes it more dangerous for me as a home defender.
I have cameras and lighting around the house and have reinforced all my exterior doors including the bedroom doors, but besides that my wife is no help.
What can I do I trying to move
I live in Orlando Florida but was born in Brooklyn New York 1961. I hope and pray for myself and wife they stop trying me for their own safety and our freedom I am trying not to take their life
And right now I and my wife are stuck where we live at even though some day I can highly walk my wife right leg is fused together with no knee cap and recently had a heart attack because of roach spray being sprayed in her face police say they can’t do anything about it just make reports I and my wife are good people but I also am good at killing with my hands if I am forced to so living here puts me and my wife in bad situation I am looking for new place to live landlord doesn’t care only money most likely he probably down with these people police say I am right but I need to call them I says they are too slow me and my wife will be dead waiting for them so I will have to do what I have too do defend my wife and myself by any means necessary
I live in a roomimg house with my wife and my self and 6 others bad people I have too constantly watch and I’m 64 years old wife is63 and I am handy cap got hit by a drunk driver my wife and I 52 miles hours were standing still when it happened it was ahate crime now my wife and I have to watch our self from these messed up people in this rooming house of wack jobs how you think we dealing with it in Orlando Florida in pine Hills nick name crime hills
I know one thing I’m going to do, and that is get locks for bedroom doors
She was alone so she didn’t worry about other occupants. Should she turn on lights? Should she rely on a red dot, gun light, or learn how to shoot with a flashlight? Should she take cover? Should she have a hall cam? What about other occupants? I’m clueless
The good thing is that she knows the lay of the land. Forethought of her best places for cover and concealment would be wise. Also a light on her gun would be a good idea. A panic alarm button near her bed would be good too. Turning on the bedroom light would not be something you would be reaching for since the light switch is normally by the bedroom door where the danger is coming from. Cover and concealment with a gun/pepper spray, cell phone would be great.