In the video below, you’ll see an incredible event: a machete-wielding attacker literally hacks his way through a locked apartment door. The resident does what he needs to do to protect himself and others in the home. It’s like a scene out of a horror movie — but most directors wouldn’t use the footage, because what audience would believe that a door could be so flimsy? Or that someone with a machete would hack his way through it? Nevertheless, this really happened. 1
What you’ll hear in the first few moments is the sound of the upstairs neighbor going crazy and breaking windows in his own apartment, and the residents deciding how to protect themselves from the threat of violence.
There are a lot of potential lessons here. We could talk about:
- The smart strategic choice the residents made when they decided to stay behind that locked door until the intruder entered. Not only was it physically safer for everyone involved, it was also legally and morally safer. The authorities, the witnesses, and the shooter himself each could have no doubt that the shooter did what he had to do in order to survive. That one smart choice sidesteps some very ugly potential pitfalls a shooter might otherwise need to face after the incident.
- The speed of the police response. On the video, you can hear one person say that the police had already been called before the attacker got through the door. Sometimes, you will hear people who don’t understand how fast criminal events can happen. They’ll say something like, “You should just call the police and let them deal with it.” The problem is, the police don’t have a teleporter and they won’t be at your door instantly! Even if you do have time to call them, you may not have time to wait for them to arrive. Being prepared to defend yourself is not at odds with calling the police to protect you. In the real world, these two ideas actually work hand in hand. They aren’t opposites.
- After the shooting. It won’t be easy, but you’ll want to listen to the entire recording, including the conversations that happen after the shooting. It’s not graphic — the screen will black out — but the voices will send a chill up your spine. Listen anyway. This is what the aftermath of a shooting sounds like.
After the shooting, you can hear the painful sound of the intruder’s response to getting shot — loud groans and labored breathing.
You hear the stress in the shooter’s voice when he says, “I didn’t want to do that!” at 1:50-1:59.
This isn’t about an inhuman monster shooting another inhuman monster, as some political commenters might claim. It’s about an ordinary man facing an extraordinary threat against himself and his loved ones, and doing what he absolutely had to do in order to save innocent lives. After the incident, the shooter is not cheering the downfall of a “goblin.” He’s mourning the fact that he had to shoot another human being.
This is as real as it gets.
You hear the exact reason why the shooter pulled the trigger beginning around 3:55.
Intruder: Ah, you’ve killed me.
Shooter: You were going to kill me!
Intruder: Yeah, I was.
The intruder survived and is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence. The shooter faced no charges.
Forgot to talk about the door. You want a solid core steel door for the outside entrances to your home — and this is why.
That or a very solid wood door made of solid thick boards. My folks have wooden doors at their home which is an Arizona Territorial style adobe house. All of the exterior doors are constructed of heavy hardwood planks of a minimum 2 inch thickness. The planks are secured by hand forged iron carriage bolts to wooden crossmembers on the inside side of the door which is the same type of wood as the planks. The doorframes consist of heavy timbers set into the adobe walls and attached to the doors with heavy iron forged hinges.
Yes, someone could hack their way through one of those doors-provided they have a very sharp axe and a good deal of time on their hands. Like most everything else, you get what you pay for and should get the best doors and locks that you can afford.
It also seems that the shooter knew the intruder by name. He (the shooter) says something like “I told you I have no problems with you.”
From the article, the attacker was possibly a tenant in one of the other apartments.
Once the guy is down and the situation contained, you might also want to send people to see if anyone else is hurt. From what I heard he was yelling at someone, then broke down another door before this one.
The smart strategic choice the residents made when they decided to stay behind that locked door
Amen and amen. Just because your state law doesn’t require you to retreat, doesn’t mean it’s not a real good idea.
And yes, steel door. Plus make sure it’s framed properly with high-quality locks. From the quick look, he could almost have come through the wall.
That goes back to quality construction (or the lack thereof). It’s no good to have a quality door if the attacker can just punch through the exterior wall.