[Bama tactical]

Our home is a single story house that has the master bedoom on one side of the house and our daughters bedroom is on the other side of the house. That always sounds good when you are building one but in hind sight it makes it difficult to protect your entire family in the case of an intrusion. I would really like to hear your ideas on how to handle this layout.

When I travel for business my wife (who is a ccw holder also) moves her into the room with them and keeps that interior door locked as well. In the event of something happening they would retreat to the bathroom (locking that door as well). Of course she would have access to her ccw or a my ccw or shotgun and call 911 and stay on the line with them so that exchange could be heard and recorded or she could give direction when a unit arrived.

I have tried to think through things very carefully but I am just having a hard time with a family member on the opposite side of the house.



I have also heard suggestions such as having a house key on a light stick or illumination device of some sort to throw out a window so that the police can gain entry into the house without them having to break anything. Is this really a good suggestion?


Also, in the case of a SD shooting what is your opinion on the amount of information that should be offered when talking to the police? Is it advisable to give them any information other than I was afraid for my life or should one inform them that they intend to fully cooperate but would like their attorney present?


Thank you for taking the time to answer all of our questions on this forum as you are a very valuable resource.

[JC Refuge]

Well, I can give you my thoughts, but I suspect there are many more qualified on this board who can offer real-world, self-defense, household security advice that I am not really best suited to offer up. (Preparedness is my gig.)

First question that I have is, how old is your daughter? That could have some bearing on how much responsibility you can put on her to react in certain, preordained ways given various threats.

I also wonder about your neighborhood and the threats you feel are commonplace around your home. Perhaps not only crime, but potential threats from fire, storms, earthquakes, etc. could play a part in your planning.

In general, if there is real danger for your daughter--I would probably look for a way to harden her bedroom--door, windows, maybe install an intercom. A well-designed, monitored home security system may also deliver some peace of mind.

I don't have an opinion on the lighted key out the window thing. Not sure if that is of value or not--perhaps an LEO can respond to that.

Lastly, I think we are at the point in this society where you usually want to be very careful about any possibility of self-incrimination. An attorney would be well-advised in any self-defense investigation by police.