Episode 115 with Robyn Street

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Rob- Introduction- Welcome to episode 115 of Self-Defense Gun Stories.  This podcast is for people who might want a firearm for self-defense, and for those who already have one.  I’m your host, Rob Morse. We have firearms instructor Robyn Street with us as co-host.

Hi, Robyn.  How have you been?

Robyn- Hi, Rob.  I’ve been good. We have been working on strengthening our self defense tool box.  We have been working on enhancing our situational awareness, self defense and knife training.  I would like to avoid ever being attacked, but if I am attacked, I want a robust set of skills to escape and to protect myself.  I am really enjoying learning and refining my skills. I also got to shoot black powder muzzle loaded rifles with my friends. It was really fun but my friends just kept saying if I had been a soldier back in the old days, I would not have lasted very long.  I was not very fast loading the rifle. My primary focus was on safety.

Rob- And speaking of safety tools, please introduce our podcast to our new listeners.

Robyn- We study three recent examples of armed defense.  These gun owners survived a life threatening situation. What should we do if we were in their place?

Our first story took place last week in Fresno, California.

Rob- First story-  Are you armed at home?  

It is well after dark when you hear someone knocking on your front door. You check your doorbell camera and don’t recognize the woman standing on your porch. The stranger says her friend lives there. The strange woman is obviously confused, and she also sounds increasingly angry as she demands to be let in. You call police. The strange woman rips the screen door off your entryway and the screens off your windows. Your doors and windows are locked. The intruder throws herself an your door over and over, then starts banging on your windows.

You tell her you have a gun and to go away. Police arrive a moment later and arrest her. The intruder is a 30-years-old and she was drunk. She faces charges with vandalism.

Robyn- The homeowner, a retired police officer, had a gun and was mentally prepared to use it to defend herself.  This was something that our homeowner had already envisioned as a possibility. She had done a good job of hardening her home.  The doors and windows were locked and secure, camera was installed and operating, phone was charged and in hand, gun was available and ready to use.  Hooray.

Robyn – I love the fact that she had installed a doorbell camera.  She could identify the person at the door without compromising her security..  I am not sure if the camera had a speaker but regardless she also issued clear verbal commands to leave.

Robyn – She did so many things right.  She called the police and got them on the way. A further benefit to calling 911 is that they can give you updates on the position of help on the way, you can keep them updated on the location of the threat and on your location.  Finally, it is recorded in case any legal action is required.

Robyn- She was frightened..and she is a retired police officer.  She did a great job of analyzing the threat as it was unfolding. I think it is important for us to mention how upset she was sharing how  close she was to shooting the woman. Perhaps she had drawn the red line at crossing the threshold of the house. She was prepared and stayed in control.  She had police on the way but they were not there yet. She was her own first responder. If we find ourselves in a similar situation this would give us a good mental map to follow.

Robyn- No shots fired.  I wish that every self defense scenario was like this one.  The preparations were sufficient to keep her potential attacker away.  Good job! Our second story happened North of Daytona Beach.

Rob- Second Story-  Are you armed at work

You work in a pizza restaurant. It is almost time to close the store for the day. A man walks in and you look up. The customer wears a mask and before you know it he hit you with a wooden post. You duck and the post breaks on the counter. The stranger pulls out some scissors and tries to stab you. You draw your firearm and shoot him several times.

You call the police. The video shows the robber waiting outside and then attacking you. There are no other witnesses, and the police find your attacker behind the store wearing a clown mask.

Robyn- Our defender got a late start. There is a lot to do as you close a restaurant. You’re cleaning up from today and getting ready for tomorrow. No wonder the employee was paying attention to clean-up and prep rather than the stranger coming in the door.

Rob- So the first clue is that you’re getting hit with a fence post.

Robyn-I understand that the worker was probably anxious to get home, but if possible he should have waited to do clean-up until after the doors were secured.

Robyn- This is a situation where he had to earn his draw.  The attacker was already attacking him at close range before he defended himself.  This is where the skills I am working on this summer might have come in very handy.  Avoid getting hit, block and work for your counter movement

Robyn-Thank goodness that he was armed.  He was able to defend his life with the tool he had. He was mentally and physically prepared to do whatever to took to get home to his family.

Robyn-He stayed in the fight until it was over.  But when the threat no longer existed he stopped.

Robyn- He did a good job calling the police and letting them do their job.  They found the attacker behind the store.

Robyn- Our third story happened last week in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Listen to Gun Freedom Radio at http://gunfreedomradio.com

Rob- Third story- Are you armed when you’re at home?  

It is still dark outside when you hear someone in your basement. You tell your wife to call police and you grab your gun. You go downstairs and tell the intruder not to move. Police arrive a few minutes later.

The intruder is charged with second-degree burglary and the police think he is responsible for several other break-ins.

Your wife and children are unhurt.

Robyn- Wife and kids in the home. Do you shelter in place or investigate the noise in the basement?

Rob- Is there only one way up from the basement? How do I know there is only one intruder?

Robyn – That is one of the reasons that we have cameras in our house.  I can search my house via my phone. If you can see them you can give good information to the police and you can to a better job evaluating the threat and planning your defense.

Robyn- If you had not installed cameras, the first thing that popped into my mind was to barricade the basement door.  If there was indeed an intruder or intruders in my basement they could take any of the basement stuff they wanted but they were not allowed to hurt me or my family.  Single entry up a staircase through a door is relatively easy to defend. Let the police come investigate who is in the basement. My job is to keep them away from my family until the police arrive.  

Robyn-I like the team effort.  The wife called 911 to get the police on the way.  That freed her husband to protect the family.

Robyn- I would suggest getting set up in a defensible position and issuing verbal commands.  “The police are on the way.” “Get out of my house.” It would also be nice to illuminate them and or record them.  Many people can turn on lights remotely. Criminals do not want to be seen or filmed.

Robyn- I am glad that the husband had the gun and had it accessible at the time of the break-in   I am also glad that the wife had access to the phone and it was charged.

Robyn-I am not sure what people are thinking when they go off to investigate.  That is very dangerous. He held the intruder until the police arrived. He was lucky that it was a single intruder and that the intruder complied with his command.  This could have very easily turned out much different for the homeowner. I am glad that it worked out for him and his family. I would suggest letting the police do their job.  They can search, they can decide what to do with the criminals that they find. My job is to stay as safe as possible until they arrive.

Robyn- Police arrived in four minutes.  That is a very good response time but I imagine it felt like an eternity to the homeowner.

Exit-  Rob- I had a good time talking with you.  That wraps up this episode. Robyn, thank you for helping us again. Where can we learn more about you?

Robyn- You can find me at Step by Step Gun Training in Naples Florida.  We offer custom training courses as well as group classes. Leave us a message on the Step by Step Facebook page.

Rob- You can share your thoughts with us by leaving a message on the podcast facebook page.  

Robyn-   If you liked this show, then you’ll like the other podcasts on the Self-defense radio network. We share this podcast with you for free.  Please share it with a friend and give us a rating on I-Tunes and Stitcher.  We’re also available on Google Play Music and Spotify.

Rob- I’m Rob Morse.  We’ll be back next week with more Self-Defense Gun Stories.