After Action Review (AAR): Break In Shooting (Video)

The story and follow up from Local 8 News in Idaho.

Cvengros had a camera rolling to document the commotion after seeing glass flying from the upstairs apartment onto the cars parked below. He said once he heard unusually concerning noises coming from the apartment upstairs, he started documenting the commotion using his digital camera, not realizing that camera would soon serve as a witness to what was about to take place in his apartment.

The video was played during Thursday’s sentencing, and in it, Thomas kicks in the door, and both Gearhart and Cvengros yell at Thomas to leave, warning him he needs to get out. After Thomas was shot, Cvengros tells Thomas he already called the police, and Thomas confirmed he was trying to kill Cvengros.

And here is the video

If you look at the entire event as a whole, I’d say it was as success.  Man feels threatened, retreats to his “castle” and locks the door while obtaining his gun.  Bad guy intrudes, threatened the lives of those inside and was put down.  Success story.

Yet…what else could be noted about the sequence of events which could be deemed as actions to improve upon or sustain?  I will state that if the comment section turns into a debate about which handgun round is best for self defense that will get slightly annoying…

Thoughts?

 

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    • Echo5Charlie on January 21, 2015 at 11:15 PM
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    My first thought was what a flimsy door. Not that you should have to barricade yourself, but still that is horrible protection. A better door could have bought time for the police to get there. Who dead bolts and chains a hollow core door anyways?

    The shooter yelled good verbal commands like “Dont come in here, I’ve got a gun and stay down, dont move.”

    It sounded like other people at least a woman was close by, she probably should have been farther away behind the shooter. I dont know for sure though, maybe she was.

    Since you brought up caliber… I found it interesting that Wayne didnt burst into a ball of dust because he was shot. In fact he had to be told again to stop moving and the homeowner had to deal with the intruder as he lay there moaning and bleeding on his house. I felt the shooter showed good restraint shooting till the intruder showed no more threat and then he stopped.

    I agree with the homeowners decision to shoot. He tried barricade and verbal commands, all of which is above and beyond. Wayne forced the issue when he forced his way in. Its sad, but could have been sadder if he would not have been shot.

      • PJ on January 22, 2015 at 9:10 AM
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      Great points and I agree with all of them, I’ll add a few of my own.

      – The door definitely sucks, I would have been very hesitant to rent that apartment initially based on that feature. As a renter, I’m sure there wasn’t much he could do about it except complain to the landlord, who most likely wouldn’t care.

      – The verbal commands couldn’t hurt the case, especially with a video camera rolling but in that instance I doubt they were necessary. He could have stood there in silence and fired shots and been alright, given the circumstances there was all the evidence in the world to prove he was in danger.

      – Speaking of firing shots, personally I would have started firing sooner and it would have been more than 3. The foot comes through the door and then the next instant the rest of the door starts to give way I’m going center mass until the target is down. In the video he had a machete, but what if he had a gun? He would have gotten off a few shots for sure since he actually got all the way through the door into the apartment before being shot.

    • Echo5Charlie on January 22, 2015 at 9:26 AM
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    Good points. I didnt think about him renting the place, which makes sense, explains how wayne was arguing with a neighbor before kicking his door.

    Its true he could have fired sooner in my state. Just by being in the house it is presumed he is there to cause great bodily harm allowing the use of deadly force. The machete in his hand is icing in the defense of shooting.

    One other thing, he did call the police already. They were not able to respond in time. We are the first responders to these kinds of crimes, stay prepared people.

      • PJ on January 22, 2015 at 9:29 AM
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      When seconds matter the police are just minutes away!

    • The Maj on January 22, 2015 at 4:15 PM
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    PJ and I discussed the door last night. It is simply a hollow core door that was very common for interior doors in the 60’s and 70’s. You can still find similar one’s today and they are absolutely worthless for any type of security. I wish we had more video of the apartment or down the hallway outside that door because I wonder if that might have been a single family house that was converted into apartments. Either way, that was not a good interior door but it definitely was not an exterior door by any stretch. The door frame was not an exterior frame either, so I imagine the deadbolt was added. Very strange either way.

    On the subject of doors, especially exterior doors… Standard installation of exterior doors will not keep an average size man from kicking the door in if he is determined to get inside. Most are sold with a wood frame, which means even if you have a metal exterior door, the frame (where your deadbolt secures) is going to be the weak point and the little plate that comes with the deadbolt doesn’t help much. You can strengthen the wood frame but going with a metal frame is the strongest option which is going to cost more and isn’t generally found at home depot or lowe’s.

    When the foot came through the door, lead would have followed it out in rapid succession. At that point, it is obvious the guy outside is determined to gain access and do me harm.

    At least in this case the resident was armed, had ready access to his firearm, and knew how to use it.

    • Echo5Charlie on January 22, 2015 at 8:25 PM
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    There are kick plates that can be added to wood frame doors. They can be purchased as a kit with 4″ long screws. The metal reinforcement can be as little as 8″ or as tall as the jamb. They range from 10 bucks to a couple hundred. Adding 3″ screws in your existing hinges is helpful too. I added 36″ jamb reinforcements here for $40 each, they came with 8 four inch screws 1/4″ thick with three being right between the dead bolt and knob. It would take a sledge to get through and bash the door apart before the metal will give.

    Its a good idea to swap an interior door to a solid core door and make it more safe roomish. All of them if you can afford it. I can’t, so I did the master bedroom. The goal is for my wife to grab the kids and get to the room while some idiot breaks his foot on the front door. Of course there’s a phone and protection there.

    Thats just what I did, theres more and better things to be done if you can afford. My thinking is this setup is far from 100% but it buys time to react appropriately.

      • PJ on January 22, 2015 at 9:47 PM
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      I was thinking about my home’s most vulnerable point of entry. Obviously if I have the garage door open someone charging right through the unlocked door into the kitchen is one thing, but assuming everything is closed and locked down…

      Front door is a no-go, too obvious and would attract too much attention. Late night, ladder, 2nd floor entry at the part of the home furthest from the master bedroom? That’s the ticket right there, at least in my opinion. Top down approach.

      All that stated I have reinforced my front door and have other measures in place to keep it from opening if necessary. 🙂 If Cletus wants to come into my home, I might just refrain from busting caps just to watch my GSD tear at his throat.

    • The Maj on January 22, 2015 at 9:28 PM
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    No doubt Echo, but if you live in a house with windows, there will pretty much always be a way in. Unless you have some serious cash laying around.

    Of course there are always gates and bars if you want to live in a prison and chance getting trapped inside if a fire happens

      • PJ on January 22, 2015 at 9:59 PM
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      I’ve been to a few islands in the Caribbean, many homes had walls and bars on the windows. Crazy.

    • Echo5Charlie on January 22, 2015 at 10:30 PM
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    You’re right Maj. My windows happen to be a little higher than newer homes, so i figure it will take a lot to break clear and climb through. Again, buying time to react. My back door is the typical half glass 9 lite. I removed the grid and added security film. Again, buying time. None of it makes my house a fortress that cant be seized, but keep improving and harden the next weakest link.

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