Mom Defends Children, Shoots Attacker in Her Home

U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)-– At about 9 pm, a woman at home with her children defended herself with a firearm. The event occurred in Hidalgo County, Texas, on October 25th, 2022. As noted in the news release by the Hidalgo County Sheriff, the mother did everything reasonable to prevent the necessity of the use of deadly force.

When the suspect was breaking into her home, she retreated to a bedroom with her children with her defensive firearm. She attempted to deter the intruder by notifying him she had summoned the police and she was armed.

From Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page:

On Tuesday, October 25, 2022, at approximately 9:13 pm, Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Deputies and Deputy Constables responded to a Burglary of Habitation in progress on the 5500 block of Nardo Street, north of Rogers Road on 10th Street, in rural Edinburg, Texas.

 

Deputies made contact with the homeowner who advised that a male subject, identified as Carlos Garcia, 36 years of age, had broken into the house through the garage and was trying to get into the bedroom where she and her children had locked themselves. The homeowner warned Garcia that the police had been called and she had a gun. When Garcia refused to leave and continued to try to get into the bedroom, the homeowner shot once through the door. Garcia fled the house.

 

Deputies searched the area and with the assistance of DPS air support, Carlos Garcia was found approximately 100 yards away in an open field with a gunshot wound to his left arm. Garcia was medically cleared and booked into the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center for Burglary of Habitation with Intent.

Further reports have stated the woman did not know Carlos Garcia.

This is a classic tactic in the use justified of deadly force, which has been taught for decades. My recollection is it was first popularized by Massad Ayoob in his timeless book, In the Gravest Extreme.

The point of the tactic is to force the intruder to come to you, where you are barricaded in a defensive position and where the intruder has to expose themselves to your fire in order to reach you. As they attempt to do this, their time is limited because, at your chosen redoubt, you have the communication capability to contact reinforcements in the form of police.  The defensive position channels them into a deadly funnel.

Cellular telephones have made the selection of the redoubt easier. A room with only one readily accessible entrance, preferably with a solid, lockable door stout enough, can provide some time for you to call 911 and make ready.

Any intruder who keeps attempting to break through your defenses has shown they should be viewed as a deadly threat, not only by you in that moment but by a prosecutor or jury later on.

A woman with children in this situation has even more reason to use deadly force to protect herself and the innocents in her care. Once the intruder breaches the interior defensive perimeter, she and her charges are in a highly vulnerable situation, which nearly all adults will readily understand.

There will be a few who refuse to see the obvious. From the comments on the Hidalgo Sheriff’s Office site:

Sergio Pardo Jr. Eric this is what’s wrong with America, she had already called the police, no need to use military style weapons to harm another human being.

Mr. Pardo ignores how long it will take the police to arrive. The average response time can vary from minutes to hours.  The Edinburg location is semi-rural with large lots, within 15 miles of the Mexican border as the crow flies, 19.3 miles or half an hour by road.

Much can happen while the victim waits for official reinforcements to arrive. The close proximity of the border means a miscreant has a good opportunity to flee and cross the border before being apprehended.

I have been unable to discern what type of firearm was used. Nearly any firearm will penetrate a door and cause serious injury or death.

About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.