Here is a video from a surveillance camera showing a home invasion by three criminals in Neptune Beach, Florida. Take a look and we can discuss some of the self-defense lessons from this attack.
According to NewsJax4, the three criminals forced their way into an apartment during the afternoon forcing a resident inside to open fire, driving the attackers off and wounding one.
Neptune Beach police confirmed one man was shot in the chest and is at a hospital while the other two are still on the run.
In the video, three young men can be seen walking up the stairs to a second floor balcony. One uses his body to push in the door, while another puts on gloves. They are inside for roughly eight seconds when at least five gunshots can be heard.
There are some observations on this video which we should consider in our self-defense training:
Notice the suspicious behavior of the three criminals. They are wearing hoodies to disguise themselves despite the news site showing that the weather that day in April was 75° and cloudy. One of the criminals put on gloves while on the stairs. The lead attacker makes a furtive glance for witnesses. The second and third criminals on the stairs also look around for witnesses. When the door breaks open the three charge into the residence. While we have the advantage here of knowing what's going to happen so the criminals' behavior seems obvious, this is a good time to study this behavior so we know what it looks like when this situation happens in the future.
It's frightening to see how easily the lead criminal can break in the door. He simply shoulders the door three times before it comes open. And he does it while keeping his hands still in his pockets. The bad news is the typical residential door and frame cannot hold up to a determined attack. The good news is the loud noise and the delay before the door breaks open should alert us to begin responding to a violent attack.
Although we don't have details of what happened inside the residence I think there are two items which are interesting. First, the audio of the shots indicate that the shooting response starts with a string of three shots followed by a string of at least two shots. This would seem to indicate a more measured response than a panicked spray-and-pray response. Secondly, the reaction of the criminals immediately fleeing the apartment. One even jumped over the railing from the second story. The other two run down the steps. None of their actions seem to be hindered in any way despite one of them being shot in the chest! There are other videos which show wounded criminals fleeing the scene. You may not be able to see the results of your shooting. You may not be able to see the impacts on their bodies because of their clothing and they may not show any reactions to being hit. Real #gunfights are not like Hollywood gunfights. That's why we train to shoot to stop an attacker, not to kill or wound an attacker. We are shooting to change their behavior so they stop attacking us. If we hit them with our shots and they stop or leave, we win. If we miss them with our shots and they stop or leave, we win. Do not be dismayed if you are not seeing hits or they are not reacting like stunt people in the movies. Concentrate on the continual applications of the basics of your shooting to make your hits until the threat stops.
The criminals are out there.
They want what you have.
Train like your life depends on it.
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