My morning started out with gun shots * FINAL UPDATE*

Hey DP Friends,

I wanted to share something exciting that happened to me about 5:30 this morning.

We have been having a rash of home and car burglaries, for the last few months. Our car has been broken into twice, both times a several hundred dollar GPS navigator was stolen. The thieves had been getting so brazen that they were going into people's houses while they were sleeping. This is in an affluent neighborhood outside of Austin, TX.
With the Sheriff's office understaffed, and spread so thin, they were basically helpless in catching these guys.

But the reason I write this is to show the mentality we are dealing with. When we filed a report previous to this incident, I told the deputy that I was armed, and that if I confronted them that they would most likely be shot.

He responded with "You're not trained for that" and you need to call us when this stuff happens.

Translation: Be a good sheep and stay in your home hiding until we get there (45 minutes later)

Needless to say, we finally got a belly full of the thievery, and purchased an alarm that has a motion sensor, and a unit that alerts you inside the house if there is someone in the driveway. We spent 75 bucks on this thing, and it was frustrating setting it up, because it only seemed to work in the daytime.

Regardless, it went off at 5:30 this morning. I sprang out of bed and grabbed my gun and exited the back of the house within 60 seconds.As I came out from the back of the house, I could see that one of the truck doors was open and it had been rummaged through. I then went to the edge of the driveway to investigate further. When I reached the end of the driveway, I saw a truck flash its headlights as to signal their guy on foot. I guess they thought I was their guy.

As I approached the truck with its lights off and engine not running, a car came up from behind me and distracted me for a second. I guess it also alerted the guys in the truck that I was not their guy. The truck immediately turned on its lights and engine and sped toward me in the middle of the street. I fired one round over the cab to keep him from running me over. I fired four more shots at them when he stopped to pick up his guy on foot, right about where I came out of my driveway.
I was basically firing shots directly overhead as the guy was diving into the truck to escape. I think he is probably changing his underwear as I type this.

So the Sheriff FINALLY showed up after I called 911 and reported shots fired. They had to do a detailed report because of the discharging of a firearm.

I really felt that they were going to press charges against me for defending my property. I think the one thing that saved me, was the several neighbors in the immediate area coming up to thank me and shake my hand. A couple even called me a hero.

ALL of their cars had been broken into this morning, and they all had to file reports with the sheriff as well..

The point of this is to not encourage you to shoot at anything in the dark. But it is to encourage you to stand up for the protection of life and property. The sheriff, as nice as guys they were, were not going to be effective catching these guys. And their training is to tell you that you are not capable of protecting yourself or your family.

Well I'm here today to tell you, that a pretty clear message was sent to the thieves, and I don't think they'll be back.

Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself, because the "authorities" are not going to be able to in most circumstances.

Anyway, that is how MY morning started out. I am going to finish calming down. I hope all of you are armed, as I think the crime is only going to get worse.

UPDATE:
Now I am going to have to speak to the Commander/Detective that has been communicating with the neighborhood email group.
It has upset me that he inferred to someone else that there were discrepancies in my story.
I take great pride in being honest, to the point of sometimes being brutally honest. I am on the side of the truth, and it upsets me greatly that I am even going to be questioned in this manner.
I spoke with him briefly on the phone about 30 minutes ago, and told him that I would rather meet with him in person. I plan to meet with him @ 1pm tomorrow.
From what I can gather, he is going to scold me and read me the statute, so that he can insure that I know the consequences, if it happens again.
It is going to take a great deal of strength, to not cop an attitude ( no pun intended) with this guy.
What matters to me is that I have the support of the people here in this neighborhood. I will face the consequences of my actions in need be. If I was put in the same situation again, I don't think there would be anything I would have done differently.
It is easy to armchair quarterback, and say " I would've shot the tires" or "I would've shot the radiator" or whatever.
But until a person is put in that situation with only seconds to react, they don't know what they would do.
I will let you guys know what happens with my conversation with the " commander", after it happens.
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Here is the email the detective sent to the email group.

Hello to all with the Lake Ridge Crime Watch Group.

As most of you know, we had some incidents that occurred Friday Morning around 6:00 am where shots were fired at a suspect vehicle. More on that at a later date.

I have only one comment at this time about using deadly force to protect your property.

If you fire your weapon at someone and that bullet misses the suspects and strikes an innocent third party, YOU CAN BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE BOTH CRIMINALLY AND CIVILLY by the family or person you might strike.

IF YOU SEE ANY SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY, DON'T TAKE MATTERS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS, CALL 9-1-1 IMMEDIATELY AND GIVE THE DISPATCHER THE BEST DESCRIPTION OF THE SUSPECT OR SUSPECT VEHICLE (LICENSE PLATE NUMBER IF YOU CAN GET IT SAFELY)

Lake Ridge/Lakehills has had 16 Burglary of Vehicles and 5 Burglary of Residences in 2009. ALL OF THEM HAVE HAD NO FORCED ENTRY---ALL WERE FROM UNLOCKED OR UNSECURED VEHICLES OR ENTRY WAS GAINED BY GETTING INTO UNLOCKED VEHICLES AND USING THE GARAGE DOOR OPENER OR KEYS TO GAIN ENTRY INTO THE RESIDENCE.

PLEASE LOCK YOUR DOORS AND REMOVE ANY VALUABLES FROM YOUR VEHICLES. IF YOU ARE NOT SURE YOUR VEHICLES ARE LOCKED, CHECK THEM.

MAKE AN INVENTORY LIST OF ALL OF YOUR VALUABLES TO INCLUDE MODEL NUMBERS AND SERIAL NUMBERS.

Please sign up for Alerts from the Travis county Sheriff's Office at www.citizenobserver.com it is a free service and you will get alerts from Travis County Sheriff's Office of crime sprees that may be taking place in your neighborhoods.

If you have any information in reference to the recent break-ins, please get in touch with me.

FINAL UPDATE

Well, I had my meeting with the commander this afternoon. I must say that it went much better than I expected. I was expecting a finger wagging, condescending scolding.
The man was very nice. He did have to inform me of the liability of my bullets striking another bystander in this situation. I think he was comforted by the fact that I am an avid shooter, and know about things like backdrop etc.
He did not ask me anything that was different than my initial statement. When he began to ask questions, I respectfully told him that I did not have much to add, other than my original statement. I did run through the basics of what happened with him. The only reason I clarified, was because the deputy that took the report, reported that I could see the truck door open (in my driveway) from my bedroom window. It is impossible to see our driveway from that window.
I conveyed to him that it was frustrating for us to have done everything we could to prevent crime, and it was still happening. I also conveyed to him that it must be frustrating for him, to work with such limited resources.
Well, that opened up the flood gates. He spent the next 30 minutes telling us all the tactics that they use to to and catch these guys, and how frustrated he was. One of the interesting things he shared, is that they scan Facebook, and Myspace on a daily basis. He said you would not believe what people admit to on their Facebook page. He brought up some things about getting DNA from people, as I politely bit a hole through my tongue.
I am glad I made the decision to speak with this man in person. It was on my terms, and took place at my house on the back deck, with witnesses. (one of them being an attorney)
I do believe that we must make allies out of our local Sheriffs departments, as they are one of the last bastions of unmolested authority. By unmolested, I mean Federalized, and Militarized. We have to remember that most of them are just regular people too.
We had a very calm, civil, discussion over a bowl of watermelon. He thanked me when he got up to leave, and I thanked him for his service.
My girl walked him out to the car, and gave him a homemade praline before he took off. She said you could tell he was drooling, when she offered it to him (he was kind of a big boy).
Deep down, he understood what I had to do, and I understood what he had to do. There was a mutual respect, and I believe a greater respect, after the conversation. Hopefully this will be the end of it...