It happened to me! First person account.

Sangamon County Rifle Association
Right Reason on Second Amendment Rights
Springfield, Illinois

Local Armed American in Springfield

Tom Shafer, SCRA Meeting 5/3/10
June 2010 GunNews

Tom Shafer said last October 23rd, he was in bed asleep with his wife at their home just outside Springfield city limits when he was awakened by banging on his front door. He got up and looked out the window to see some strange guy that said, "Come here, come here. I want to tell you about a child molester in the neighborhood."

The guy was obviously intoxicated and Shafer said he tried to tell him to leave. "I don't want to hear about any child molester at 1:00 in the morning in the pouring rain. Leave right now or I'm calling the sheriff on you!"

So the guy proceeded to pick up Shafer's rocking chair and started beating in his storm door. Shafer thought, "Well this has gone from bad to worse real quick."

Shafer went into his bedroom, praying his Glock was in his underwear drawer. Often, he said, he keeps all his toys in his safe in the basement because he worries about theft. "Dang, that Glock better be in this drawer!!!"

When he felt its presence, Shafer was relieved. He thought to himself, "Now I win and he loses."

Shafer looked at his terrified wife and told her, "Not unless he's in the house, don't worry."

The guy was still beating in the front door to force entry when Shafer returned with the gun. "HALT!"

Shafer's 14 year daughter was up by this time covered her ears and cringed after the third halt because she knew what the next sound was going to be as Shafer was taking up the slack on the trigger.

"I've called the sheriff on you. I have a gun and I'm going to kill you if you come in this house!"

His buddy apparently heard that and tried starting their car, which was already running, and then drove away. Shafer said, "Now it's just you, me and this Glock. I live on a dead end street and the sheriff is coming. So basically you're caught. If you'd like to lay down in the front yard and wait for the law or you can break into this house and I'll kill you! It doesn't matter to me either way."

The guy then runs off.

The sheriff's deputies showed up not long after and Shafer leaned out the front door, "He went thataway." They went after him in the pouring rain, 1:00 in the morning. They came back with the guy and he swore he was never at Shafer's home, that he was waiting for his girlfriend in Chatham and that he didn't know who Shafer was or what Shafer was talking about.

When they finally hooked the guy up, he said, "He took a shot at me."

Shafer said, "Oh, you were here huh?"

So that excuse didn't play too good. The cops looked at the gun, saw the dust in the barrel and all was well.."

Shafer said even if the guy had thrown the rocking chair through his door, he would not have shot the kid. Not until and unless he came in the house and threatened his family.

Shafer later found out the suspect was 24 years old and eaten up with dope and booze.

That was the first time Shafer had ever had anything like this happen.

This guy was actively bizzare, menacing, and felonius. Shafer said to him it felt like attempted home invasion.

In fact, when they walked around the house after the hullabaloo had died down, they found muddy footprints by the back door and they suspect a third individual was trying to force entry in the back while the arrestee was distracting Tom up front.

Because the kid never made entry, they charged him with criminal damage to property and they got him for a misdemeanor with probation, fine, restitution for $457.

Shafer is following the case through the courts. The guy has been in Triangle Center for 67 days to try to get off the booze and dope which has just totally annihilated this young kid's life. He has a record for misdemeanor possession of dope paraphenalia, drugs, and alcohol.

This story seems to be headed to a happy ending. Last Friday, Shafer got a letter from Tony Libri, the Circuit Clerk, and in the letter was a check for $50. The guy actually has a job and is paying restitution, albeit slowly.

It's about the best outcome that could be hoped for. So the guy is actually paying the restitution, he's not dead, and Shafer did not have to shoot somebody in the middle of the night.

Shafer protected his home without firing a shot which happens a couple of million times each year as law-abiding citizens thwart criminal attack.

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