So I was burglarized last night...ever been?

[zulchzulu]

Last night between around midnight and dawn, my place was burglarized and some things were taken, including keys, credit cards and other irreplaceable items. (Madison, WI)

Since we were asleep, we have no idea if the assholes who violated our space checked us out and decided not to do whatever they wanted.

It's made life seem a little creepy...just in time for Halloween.

Anyone else have this happen to them?

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. Yes, but we weren't home at the time.

Get your locks changed -- house/apartment and car.

[dave123williams]

2. Yes, and we caught the guy. 3-5 for grand larceny and burglary.

[yardwork]

3. I'm sorry this happened to you - we had a home invasion once

The burglars didn't actually get in - they woke me up breaking the front door window and we called 911 and they ran off. I was seven months pregnant. We were in a second floor bedroom with no way out if they had come in.

I developed anxiety about being in the house alone after our son was born. Even after installing a burglar alarm I still had panic attacks. We moved some months later.

I understood for the first time what it is like for people to live in high-crime neighborhoods and fear home invasions. I realized how miserable it is for elderly people, shut-ins, people who can't afford air conditioning in areas where it isn't safe to open windows.

I'm sorry this happened. I'm glad you're ok. If you start to develop symptoms of anxiety, get some counseling. Consider installing a burglar alarm that can be set while you sleep.

[amber dog democrat]

4. Yes - its happened more often than i care to think.

I have had my house broken into twice, no three times. The last time i was home when it happened. It had to be drug orientated and i feel my old neighborhood had something to do with it.

These fools would steal a broken Betamax deck, my guitar tuner and my microwave, but leave my Martin D-35 sitting on a stand in plain view in the living room.

I agree this i s very creepy. Sometimes even with a deadbolt locked thugs will force entry.
When I was broken into the last time, ( I moved 6 years ago from this part of Austin ) , I awoke to chase a person out of my house at 3:00 AM. I don't know what I was thinking beyond needing to get control of the situation. There was not much time to decide what to do.... but I have taken to locking my car and house. There was a time when i did not feel the need to.

I few years before that I noticed how some one was tampering with the front door know a little after midnight one night.. I very quietly went to the closet to fetch my mini-14. While it was unloaded I did make a most satisfying Clacka-Clack ! sound as i pulled back bolt and lit it fly, as if I was chambering a round.

That person disapeared.

I agre you are being violated when people do things like this. I wish you the chance to press charges if this person is caught.

[booklearninboy]

14. Your guitar angel was watching over me, too.

Guys broke into our apartment last year. Went through my wife's dresser looking for jewelry, and found the keys to her strongbox, but couldn't find the strongbox. I had three guitars in the living room. They weren't touched. In fact, nothing was taken (although they wrecked the place). But when they were leaving, a maintenance worker saw them, got suspicious, and took their license plate number. They were caught and ended up getting charged with about 50 counts of B&E.

[Tsiyu]

33. An electric guitar is a great burglar alarm

I need three things to sleep soundly- a dog, a gun and a guitar. I found out that my strat makes a great alarm system. Plug it into the amp, cramk it up, and lean it against the most likely breakin door or window or your bedroom door. If that rig gets knocked over, man does it make a noise!

[Dukkha]

35. I lost mine

A Jackson PSR copy

Six months later I was burglarized again. Lost two bikes and a camera

[Tsiyu]

36. I'm sorry

We have a few gitfiddles here, but there is one I take whenever no one will be home. I am so freaked out about losing it I just carry it along. So sad to lose a beloved instrument.

[amber dog democrat]

42. That is too funny.

It sure would discouraqe from proceeding further.
For what ist worth I also have a Markarov 9.18 mm in the drawer of my night table.
Loaded.

But honestly, if I keep the doors locked , as well as the garage, cars and shed, maybe robbers and thieves will go eslewhere.

[FloridaPat]

5. Yes. But we had an idea who it was. They were never caught

though. I was freaked out for months. Got an alarm system. Had to change locks, add locks, and jump at the slightest noise anywhere for months.

[qnr]

6. Kind of

I was part of a group of GEnie users getting together in New Paltz, NY back in the eighties. Someone broke into my car, which was packed with the personal items belonging to four of us that I happened to be transporting. I was in the middle of a move from one unit to another at the time, so I was carrying all of my treasured items. Photographs and souvenirs from places that I had visited on all seven continents - bleagh.

Never had any sort of home invasion (and I'm pretty much a NYC boy).

[lilymidnite]

7. Yes.

Broke through small basement window. Stole all my jewelry. Wedding ring, mother's wedding ring ...

Get more insurance on jewelry, that's what I say. You have more than you think.

[joeybee12]

8. Sorry to hear--and yes, it happened to me...

...it makes you feel violated and angry. My apartment was broken into, but luckily my nosy neighbor caught them and they fled. My cats were only a few weeks old at the time, and one wouldn't come out of the closet for a day she was so scared!

Phuckers!!!!!!!!

[zulchzulu]

9. Thanks for your stories and thoughts

I'm setting up the bear traps now. :->

[getoffmytrain]

10. Every story here is why...

People should have a firearm for home defense.

[greatauntoftriplets]

11. Hmmmm. when I was burglarized, no one was home....

A gun in the house would likely have ended up in the hands of the criminals.

[getoffmytrain]

And if you had been home?

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

16. That solves everything, huh?

[getoffmytrain]

17. No, of course not...

But it sure gives you a fighting chance. Don't tell me you're waiting for the police to save you?

[politicat]

23. I'll stick with the compound bow, thanks.

I know how to use that, and most who invade my house would not. The bows can't be taken from me and used against me.

DH says same for swords - after all, the guy with the handle of the sword wins. (Yes, he knows how to use them. So do I, but I'm better with the bow.)

We own a firearm. We still prefer the silent weapons.

I think it's far more critical for people to determine a weapon that works for them - even if it's just the cast iron skillet - and work with it until they're comfortable destroying a watermelon with it. For some, that may be a firearm. For others, it may be a staff, a katana, or a taser.

Pcat

[getoffmytrain]

24. You're totally right....

My statement was with the implied notion that one knows how to operate the firearm and is comfortable with it. If you ARE NOT comfortable with a firearm, get adequate training before attempting to use it to defend youself. If a bow is what you're most comfortable with, then by all means use it, it's better than nothing.

[greatauntoftriplets]

18. I would have called 911.

n/t

I know someone -- a gun collector -- whose home was burglarized. The thieves stole about 100 guns. Whose hands did they end up in????

[getoffmytrain]

22. Do as you wish...

I'll keep firearms in my house..... you don't in yours if you don't want to. I value my life and that of my family and believe in self-defense and don't expect people to save me in a time of need.

If I were a crook, I'd rather break into your house over mine any day.

[Logansquare]

27. They like to proselytize...then threaten

WFT?

[getoffmytrain]

26. Sounds like the gun owner

didn't properly have his guns stored. But, I don't know the whole story.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

28. I've lived in a big city my whole life and never been robbed

there was a case 10 years ago here in Boston where the robbers found a gun during a robbery and shot a whole family. The robbers weren't armed until they found the victim's gun. Most people keep their guns safely locked away, and in a situation like a robbery, you often don't have time to access your strongbox.

I'm pro-Second Amendment, but there are situations that guns can put you in a worse position than without one. Good locks and an alarm system are the best deterrents.

[getoffmytrain]

29. Of course that happens...

Defending yourself is a dirty business and can certainly go wrong... ask anyone that's ever been in the situation.

We can trade stories all night long... of people using firearms to successfully defend themselves, of people not having a weapon and being raped or killed in their home and of course there are plenty of stories of firearms being taken away and used against the owner. It's not perfect, I never said it was. Nothing is perfect.

It's this simple... If someone broke into my home, I'd rather be armed than not.

PS. GO RED SOX!!!!!

[Kathy in Cambridge]

32. Schilling won't be pitching. The curse lives!

:cry:

[artboy]

13. once...

I shot them......






end of story!:nuke:





j/k-ing ;)

[Nevernose]

31. Not EVERY story here

For instance, in another post, I listed several things a person can do to prevent their homes from being robbed -- far more effective than owning a gun.

At the end of that post, I recounted the story of the last time I was robbed. I had three guns stolen in that robbery -- a .38, a .45 (both Colts), and a S&W 9mm. They apparently didn't find my other weapons, which, due to my child's age, I have since put into storage.

Most non-domestic gun crimes occur with stolen weapons. People, if you own a gun and you're not home, lock the fucking thing up. If you have kids, leave it locked up at all times anyway. A decent gun safe will cost you less than a gun. It'll take about as long as putting on a seatbelt would, and is just as likely to save a life.

Gun owbership is about one percent safety, and ninety-nine percent responsibility.

Okay, lecture over.

[skygazer]

12. No, never

And I'm glad. I'm sure it would freak me out. I'm sorry you had to go through it. That has to be a creepy feeling. :hug:

[Nevernose]

15. Statistics that may make some of you feel better:

Ninety percent of all burglaries occur during broad daylight. The most common method of entry? Kicking open the front door.

Most daytime burglaries (60% in some communities) are not performed by professional thieves, but children truant from school. I don't know what percentage of nighttime burglaries are committed by kids, but I personally suspect the figure is pretty high. They're looking for prescriptions drugs, booze, guns, and whatever else catches their attention.

Interesting note about "professional" burglars: They usually (or at least often) have jobs, and rob homes on their way to/from work, or while they're at work if they have jobs that require them to drive.

Simple burglary prevention methods that everyone should use, and which appeal to thieves innate sense of laziness:
1. Put up a couple of "beware of dogs" signs, whether you have dogs or not. Why rob a house that has mean dogs when the neighbor's house is easier?
2. Put stickers from alarm companies in your windows. Why rob a house that may have an alarm when the neighbor's house doesn't have any?
3. Put locks on every gate on the fences around your front and back yard, even if it's a little tiny fence meant for keeping in toddlers or purely decorative. Why hop a fence when the neighbor's house doesn't have any?
4. Make sure your home's outside is well lit. Low-wattage flourescents don't use much electricity, and one or two on every side of your house set to timers or light sensors will make things much more unpleasant. What if the neighbor's house is darker?
5. Radioshack sells cheap anti-burglary devices, essentially noise makers -- and they HAVE WORKED FOR ME. I came home one day, and the side window was open about six inches. I could hear the noise in my car with the radio on a block away. The neighbors had already called the police, and the thieves had already split.

The last time I was robbed, we had dropped my daughter off at school and went out for breakfast. Came home, the whole placed was trashed -- they'd even ripped apart the couch cushions looking for god knows what. I feel for you.

[amandae]

19. GREAT tips!

Thanks :hi:

[Monte Carlo]

20. I guess a perk of having little money in a rich, rich town is...

... that you are not high on the list of the thieves. The last time we have gotten robbed is when our next-door neighbor - someone we've personally known for years - stole my brother's car stereo. Other than that, there are just more fruitful targets nearby.

[amandae]

21. Our car was broken into

on Christmas of all days. This was many years ago. They stole a bunch of stuff out of the car, mostly belonging to my husband.

It's funny, but they basically cleaned the car out. Stole a clip for climbing (rocks) that was attached to my visor but left the clip of an angel my dad had given me (the one that talks about protecting passengers) that was right next to it. Apparently we were robbed by crooks with a conscience. :eyes:

[HEyHEY]

25. Yikes you were home - that is spooky

[deadparrot]

30. Once, when I was three.

I was sleeping in my parents' room for the night, the guy came in, took my mom's jewelry box, stole some stuff, and walked out. I only have very hazy memories of it, seeing the jewelry box on the floor, my dad grabbing me and saying, "Don't touch it," and waiting for the police to come. I think the guy got a couple years in prison, too.

It is kind of creepy, I guess. Being a toddler helps, though. :)

Good luck in proceeding with all of this. I hope it all works out.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

34. The feeling of violation is awful!

Someone broke into our basement and stole a bunch of tools and a really nice microscope. Fortunately, we had a lock on the other side of door leading into the main part of the house, and we kept it locked.

We later learned that the stuff was stolen by a friend of a neighbor who had a drug habit to support. He stored the loot under their porch, and the neighbor became suspicious when he saw the microscope, since his friend wasn't particularly into science.

I'm sorry this happened to you...:hug:

[Tsiyu]

37. Yeah, that's kinda freaky

thinking about some stranger staring at you while you sleep. yikes!

Someone tried to get in once. My German Shepherd must have stopped them. This was in the afternoon. I left the house for twenty minutes.

I came home, the door was wide open and my dog looked nervous. I was kinda worried but nothing was missing.

A few hours later they hit my neighbors. She came home and they jumped out the window. They had all the couple's guns on the bed ready to roll. We suspect it was crankers ( meth heads) and we all got pro-active and scared the piss out of anyone we heard in the woods.

Sorry this happened to you. Get some bells or something noisy to hang on all the doors and check your windows too.

[PartyPooper]

38. Yes. I can't say more than that or I will reveal my identity.

The perpetrator was eventually arrested and went to jail.

And, it took a long time to get over the intrusive act.

Sorry, I can't be more specific.

[Nightowl_2004]

39. A Guy broke into my grandpa's place the night before we came last year

My grandpa is a tough old bastard (meant in a good way, if you can understand that) and actually gave him a butt-stroke with a 22 that he has lying around the house. The Police were surprised to find him standing over the passed out burglar with a 22 (made him put it away before they came inside) when they came. LOL!

He loved telling the story to us and at his 36th Infantry Division Reunion a couple weeks later. I love my gramps (And in case your wondering, he hates Bush with a passion :) )

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

40. Yeah, couple times

Never home at the time though. Glad you didn't get hurt.

The first time I got home right after he left...in fact, he was in the apartment next door. He didn't get much - I didn't have much - but the feeling of violation lasted for months. I dropped the evening class I was taking so I could get home before dark.

Two other times happened in another apartment building, a large one, where the maintenance guys were crooks. Never signs of a break-in, just missing stuff. I filed police reports but didn't have evidence so nothing happened. I changed locks regularly and finally moved out.

[peacebuzzard]

41. I always had dogs around, and once my beautiful Great Dane was poisoned.

she died by the works of a vandal. I was so upset I would have killed the vermin who did that. I wasn't home, I was at work, and even tho it was Friday, (I came straight home that day after work)--it had happened during the day. I had two other burglaries, one at a vacant home I owned and one other time, the dog I had didn't have access to the front yard where the vandals entered a front window. (no one was at home, and the dog was behind the house in the fenced back yard.) I could care less what the marginals steal, just leave my dogs alone. What happened to you is creepy though, you just slept right through it all, ?