Marshall man shot answering the door

[KC5AV]

http://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com/ne ... oting.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A Marshall man was shot in the chest as he opened the door to his residence early Thursday morning.

According to a Marshall Police Department press release, Gregory Roshun Williams, 20, was shot after opening the door for an "unknown person or persons" at his residence, 803 Key Street, at 12:30 a.m.

Williams was transferred to Good Shepherd Medical Center in Marshall, where he was treated for one gunshot wound. He later was transferred to Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview.

This happened less than a mile from my house, and within about 100 yards of the home of some friends of mine. This is not the best neighborhood in Marshall, but it is far from the worst. Let it serve as a reminder to be vigilant, even in our own homes, and especially if you aren't expecting company.

[Excaliber]

http://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com/ne ... oting.html

A Marshall man was shot in the chest as he opened the door to his residence early Thursday morning.

According to a Marshall Police Department press release, Gregory Roshun Williams, 20, was shot after opening the door for an "unknown person or persons" at his residence, 803 Key Street, at 12:30 a.m.

Williams was transferred to Good Shepherd Medical Center in Marshall, where he was treated for one gunshot wound. He later was transferred to Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview.

This happened less than a mile from my house, and within about 100 yards of the home of some friends of mine. This is not the best neighborhood in Marshall, but it is far from the worst. Let it serve as a reminder to be vigilant, even in our own homes, and especially if you aren't expecting company.

Another good reason to use an intercom to answer strangers at the door.

Intercoms don't usually get shot, and if they do they don't need EMS or trauma care.

[DoubleJ]

ah, to make the point about "when" this happened...

[casingpoint]

A remarkable story with a similar beginning, an Ohio woman shot in her own home:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/conten ... deweb.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A 22-year-old suspect has been charged.

[seamusTX]

The Marshall case sounds like an assassination or revenge shooting. I wonder if the shooter thought he had killed the victim.

- Jim

[KC5AV]

The Marshall case sounds like an assassination or revenge shooting. I wonder if the shooter thought he had killed the victim.

- Jim

Or a drunk on New Year's Eve.

[CopOnce]

And some will ask why I carry in my home and the yard...you never know what kind of fruit cake will show up. Of coarse, that time of the morning, it's time to view who it is from a vantage point, not opening the door to who knows what.

[cowboymd]

That is exactly why I armed myself last night before answering the door. At 10:05 the doorbell rang. I wasn't expecting company, and through the peephole I could see a guy w/ a cap on. Asked what he wanted, he said he was pizza delivery (I knew I hadn't ordered it). Got the Kimber, cautiously opened the door. He was ligit, did have a pizza, and I was the closest address to what he was looking for that had the porchlight on. I pointed him in the right direction and sent him on his way. Probably wasn't the best idea on his part at that time of the evening.

[casingpoint]

I don't think I would deliver pizza to an address without the porch light on. People don't eat pizza in the dark. They lurk.

[KC5AV]

When I used to deliver pizza, we'd call to addresses that were unfamiliar to us and specifically ask them to have a porch light on, especially on weekends and holidays.

[CopOnce]

They should do as I do...All my exterior lighting - over the main entrance and one on each side to my garage door - have motion sensors on them. My garage lights are four 100 watt flood lights and my entire yard lights up when someone or something enters my drive way. My light over the main entrance is set to come on if a vehicle goes by on the road, or coarse I live on a cul-de-sac.

I would have answered the door the same way as 'cowboymd' did.

[fickman]

I work from home. . . and I almost never answer the door unless I am expecting you. I'm sort of the neighborhood Boo Radley - I can see everything going on in the street from my upstairs office window, but with the sun shades on you can't see me. It's rare that somebody makes it to the door without me seeing them approach. I have my Sig in the office with me so I don't have to travel to arm myself - just in case somebody decided that a midday home invasion was a good idea or tries to come in the backdoor.

If we're not expecting you, we probably won't even answer. The dog will bark aggressively and we'll wait for you to leave. I usually check one of the front windows (not through the peephole) to see who is there (again, thick sun shades). If it's after dark or my internal alarms are going off due to anything else suspicious, I'll probably have a pistol in the hand behind the door if I actually crack it open. If it's after about 11:00 pm and I don't know you. . . well. . . you'll probably see the gun if I actually open the door, which I probably won't. What I will do - if I am really unnerved by your visit - is turn on the radio or a TV show and sit in a strategic location for a while to see if you plan on returning.

I'm not unfriendly, paranoid, or a hermit. I know my neighbors pretty well. . . we talk a lot, have dinner, hang out, etc. I know my friends, family, and church family. If you're not one of these, and I didn't specifically call you (UPS, FedEx, pizza), I probably shouldn't meet you for the first time on my front porch.

By the way, directly across the street is my buddy. He's a Department of Homeland Security officer. We have an agreement about keeping an eye out for each other's house. . . so while I'm peering at you from the front, his eyes are most likely on your back.

[Stupid]

If anybody knocks at my door, i immediately know it's a stranger and he's up for no good. All my friends call first before they come. And I don't open door for any stranger without a warranty&uniform (No, not a guy with UPS uniform, and no, they deliver to my mail drop, not home).

This happened to me one time about 12:30 mid night. Someone kept knocking at my door and I answered with my Kimber .45 on my side and me leaning against the wall, not the door. The person, a female (if just her), said she's my neighbor (to whom I never spoke more than 'good morning" and "hi") and wanted to borrow a can opener. Since I couldn't see who's out there as it's so dark, nor did I want to peep through the peephole - a good way to get shot, I just said loudly that I didn't have any can opener, and the person(s) went away.

A friend of my friend (they both lived in the same apartment building, but different apartments) got shot when he answered the door. The two bad guys (1 guy + 1 girl) couldn't push the door open as he had chain on and tried to push back. the male just poked the gun through the door crack and shot him through his hand.

NEVER OPEN YOUR DOOR FOR STRANGERS!!! Oh, have a decent size dog if you live in a house. Rarely bad guys would try to break into homes with dogs - not little Maltese, but a ~100 lbs dog. Professional thieves wouldn't care if you have lions, but home with dogs do have significantly less break-ins. Just imagine how your stranger would react when he sees your German Shepherd barking at 100 db, even your dog may be so friendly that it would lick the stranger to death.

Also do what Excaliber says, use the technology available to you. Intercom would be good and a camera would only cost you about $100.

[Stupid]

By the way, directly across the street is my buddy. He's a Department of Homeland Security officer. We have an agreement about keeping an eye out for each other's house. . . so while I'm peering at you from the front, his eyes are most likely on your back.

Good agreement. Next time he can shoot a burglar or two for you just like JH, but this time you ASKED him to watch things over for you. *smile