13yo home alone can only hide & call police

"Terrified teen dials 911 while hiding from intruders"

The 13-year-old girl was alone in her... home yesterday when she heard the noises, then saw a stranger.
The teen grabbed a phone, hid under her bed and called 911.
Deputies were at that home within minutes of the call.
They spotted two men, and were able to arrest one of them.

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That poor girl!
I'm glad everything turned out OK for her, but her parents should help her make a better plan for protection when she's home alone.

Borrowing from what a friend of mine posted in the comments:
"Imagine what those criminals could have done to her, then imagine the looks on their faces after breaking down a bedroom door to get to her, only to find themselves facing the business end of a double-barreled shotgun."

Even hiding in a locked room would help, or locking the door then going out the window while they break it down.

But your suggestions presume that her parents actually bothered to think about what could happen to their princess when they were not at home, then bothered to think of how their princess could protect herself with or without firearms or other weapons, and then bothered to teach their princess and then bothered to make her practice.

Yeah, I'm being harsh. But then so's the world out there. Avoiding BGs has many similarities to getting out of the house during a fire or other disaster involving the structure. For those who have not made plans and taught them to everybody living in the home (adults as well as children) this is as good an excuse to start now as any you could want.

stay safe.

This young ladies home invastion plan may have been, "hide under your bed and call 911". We just don't know.

I think: go to your/your parents/room, pick up your/your parents/home defence weapon (one that she has already had training with and knows how to use) and then call 911. BG breaks down the door? Commence fire. that would be better prepaired.

There is no reason that a 13 year old girl cannot be taught to properly protect herself, and be given the tools to do so. I would hope she knows where the fire extinguishers are too. (and that her family has some)

Wouldn't that be a violation of the law, though? If someone found out that the parents left a gun accessible to their thirteen year old daughter, even strictly for self defense purposes, wouldn't they be able to cause all sorts of legal nightmares for the family?

Jack House said:

Wouldn't that be a violation of the law, though? If someone found out that the parents left a gun accessible to their thirteen year old daughter, even strictly for self defense purposes, wouldn't they be able to cause all sorts of legal nightmares for the family?

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In modern america, yes. Probably. It is getting to the point that you would have been best off to have been a victim of a crime than the victim of the courts.

At the risk of flames, I do not think a typical 13 year old, and her friends, have the decision making skills required to be given unsupervised access to a firearm. If you are concerned about your child's safety, firearms are probably not the answer. OC, evasion and hand-to-hand training, better doors, alarms, or other means might be better. But your child might be the exception.

nonameisgood said:

At the risk of flames, I do not think a typical 13 year old, and her friends, have the decision making skills required to be given unsupervised access to a firearm. If you are concerned about your child's safety, firearms are probably not the answer. OC, evasion and hand-to-hand training, better doors, alarms, or other means might be better. But your child might be the exception.

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You do make a good point, in that not all kids are ready or able to use a firearm.

That's why my own kids learned the basics of gun safety at age 5-7 with a bb gun, will each get their own .22 at age 10, and progress from there when ready. Sure, it may not be 'legal' and admitting even this much on an open forum might be setting myself up for legal trouble, but i would NEVER leave my children alone and defenseless. That's morally reprehensible. If the kid can't handle a gun, don't leave the kid at home.

I think this really comes down to how the parents feel. Some children mature faster than others. Some 13 year old girls might behave like an adult while some 17 year old girls might behave like a child. Only the parents of the girl in the story know how their child is and can determine if this specific 13 year old girl was mature enough to have access to a firearm for emergencies.

Sure, parenting can play a part of how mature your child is, but even with good parenting a child is still a child and may behave accordingly.

I was given a .410 shotgun at age 5 and a .22 for my 6th birthday. I shot with my dad all the time and had a gun rack in my room.

When I was 12, I was home alone and had two men try and break in through my front door. I went to the gun cabinet and pulled out a 12 ga. loaded with buck shot. I called 911, then called my dad. I sat on the stairs in front of the door and waited for them to make it inside or the police to show up. Luckily, the police showed up first.

I don't think every kid is ready for that. My daughter would definitely not be calm enough to handle that, but my two sons would be ready. The kid's SHTF plan should be based on the kid. One plan doesn't fit all.

Saw the interview on the Today show this morning; it's incredible that LEOs showed up as quick as they did--this practically never happens. I believe 20 minutes is considered a "good" response time. Most of us live in places where the average is going to be more like 2 hours.

I do agree that a lot of kids aren't going to be ready (either physically or emotionally, but usually both) to defend themselves in a situation like that. But i'm uncomfortable with the idea that they're usually not given the option. The father had a gun collection. Was it in a locked cabinet? Did she have the key or access to any ammo? It would have been just terrible if they had killed the poor girl with one of her father's own weapons (or any other negative outcome).

She's not my daughter, but i'm still thankful this was a good story instead of a bad one. I think everyone should use it as a reminder of what can happen though.

This is how a young lady should respond to a home invasion.