Communication during an attack at home

Communication during an attack at home

During an attack would not be the time to be silent: screaming at the top of your lungs such phrases as “I have a gun”, “Help! Someone is breaking in” or “Call 911” may be enough of a deterrent to cause the attacker or invader to flee. Maybe not. If you remain silent then there is zero chance that a neighbor may hear you and call 911 for you. You want to have as many chances as possible.

Communication against the threat:

Tone: it is wise to command the phrases coming out of your mouth. If you sound skittish or unsure, the threat may take what you are saying and NOT believe them. Then they may call your bluff, and possibly win. Be commanding and be loud!

Commands: Using commands such as “I have a gun” will alert the threat that there may be a firearm in your vicinity. Once again, if you sound as if you are bluffing, that may anger the threat enough to cause them to charge into your location.  Using specific commands will work in your favor, especially when calling 911 (see below).

Communication during an attack can also pertain to your family:

If an attack is occurring (home invasion, burglary) it is important to get the family into the safe-room as quickly and safely as possible. Having key phrases (when it is practiced in that home) will allow the family members to respond to a familiar phrase and do exactly what they need to – despite how scared they may be.

Communication also includes the family’s speech back to each other: if the father is preparing for the attack in the safe-room, chances are he would be next to the door (never in front of it), this would be where the child or wife informs the father that they are talking to 911 at that point in time. The family member on the phone would also update the father on everything the 911 operator has to say such as where the police are, if they are on their way and so forth.

Communication while 911 is on the phone:

This may be vital in some cases: with 911 on the phone while an event is taking place, the operator is recording the entire conversation and everything in the background. In the event a firearm is present in the home, a very loud and commanding call to the threat, while 911 is on the phone, would be that there is a firearm in the home and it will be used if they do not leave!

By repeating to the threat(s) that you do have a firearm and that you WILL use it, you are also being recorded through the phone and that does show that you are trying to warn the threats that you are prepared to defend the safety and wellbeing of your family if it comes to it.

This is not the end-all-be-all but it can help you. There are too many cases where someone was shot while invading a home and that person sued the homeowners for shooting them (while they were breaking into the home to cause the family harm at that!) and won their case. This is sad.

It you own a firearm for home protection it would be wise to ask yourself this question:

“Would I use this if someone were threatening my family or my health?” if the answer is NO, then you may want to choose other options such as a guard dog of decent size. Some people would answer that question quickly with a “yes they would” but no one truly knows how they would react in that situation until they are in it themselves.

If the family is separated it may be wise to have other means to communicate to not alert the threat that other members of the family are hiding somewhere separate. Cell phones are usually a big part of the household and codeword’s could be used to signify safety such as sending a text “We made it to the neighbor’s house” which could mean that they are safe. If a threat were to get that phone, then they would know the police are going to be called.

There are numerous options but if scenarios are not practiced, no one would know how they could react, what other options they may have to think about or where they should go in an emergency. It is always wise to practice the simple emergencies and work upward from there.

Always practice scenarios safely and slowly until proficiency of reaction increases.