Masked Man Shot Dead Trying To Break Into Home

WFTV-TV ^ | 06/19/2009 | Staff

[VeniVidiVici]

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- A man was shot and killed outside a home near Altamonte Springs early Friday morning. Deputies say he was trying to break into a home on S. Magnolia Avenue when someone inside shot him.

Investigators say at approximately 4:00am on Friday, a woman was awakened by a loud, pounding sound coming from the front door of her home. She woke up her husband to let him know what she heard and asked him to go check on what was happening.

"Yes someone's just tried to break down my front door," said the caller to the 911 dispatcher.

[MediaMole]

She should find some cover to shoot from.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Anyone trying to break into my home is automatically assumed to be hostile until they prove other wise.

And they had better do it fast.

[GOPJ]

Good shoot. No drunken frat boys, no high teenage neighbors. Bad guy trying to bust in and gets a free burial for his trouble.

Crime's a dangerous occupation ...

[hiredhand]

She should find some cover to shoot from.

I know her pretty well, and usually she would be in a place of cover, or moving to one. But I also know that if the photo hadn't been staged, she would have shot the hell out of the area where she figured the guy's chest was...before he was in plain sight...IF he had he forced the door. She's not exactly a "shoot once and panic" sort of woman. :-)

In fact, knowing her, after going through a 30 rounder on that front door, she would have turned and run for the BACK door while reloading, and then outside and around the house to hunt the SOB down and either finish him off, or make certain he was dead....probably the latter.

I will agree with you though on the issue of cover and concealment. Those are very important! :-)

[Redcitizen]

How do you like that C-more red dot sight?

[Hoodat]

I bet that guy never tries that again.

[healy61]

Another, Dying ain’t much of a livin’ boy.

[BobL]

Clearly NOT GUILTY!

[AAABEST]

Yay! I think we can now all agree you would have to be stupid to break into a house in Florida!

You got that right.

Florida is hands down the absolute worst state in the union to live in if you're thinking about breaking into houses. According to our "castle doctrine" we're dang near compelled by law to shoot intruders. I don't even think Texas' laws on this particular matter as as good.

Unless the homeowner is clearly in the wrong, cops who arrive at a scene with a shot or dead perp just kind of shrug and go "oh well." Perps' lawyers rarely if ever waste their time going after the homeowner.

There may be things to complain about re: FL, but our gun laws aren't one of them.

[hiredhand]

How do you like that C-more red dot sight?

I actually like it a lot. There are good and bad things about it. One of the good things is that it's a whole lot more rugged than it appears. I read that C-More couldn't get the U.S. Special Operations Group to evaluate them simply because of the way they were designed and built. So C-More essentially copied the tests and the sights passed testing...according to C-More. Among these tests included one in which the weapon was dropped from 15 feed upside down such that the sight struck the ground first! I wish I could remember where I read that, but unfortunately I didn't make a note of it.

The sight is VERY simple to use. There's a simple rheostat on top just behind the diode module...closest to the operator. If you turn it clockwise, it turns ON. If you turn it full anti-clockwise, it turns OFF. The father clockwise you turn it, the brighter it gets. I understand some of their newer models have push button switchgear, which is preferred over the rheostat.

It's "virtually" paralax free...at least out to about 200 yards as best we can tell...so pretty much no matter where you position the dot inside the lense, THAT is POI!

In very bright daylight, the lower settings on the sight are inadequate. You have to turn it up. But during the daytime, I just use peeps.

At the rate I was using the sight, I got about 5 years out of the first battery I had in it. The batteries it uses are NOT "common". I thought they were, but they aren't. When I finally found them at a local hardware store, I bought a few!

The diode is 4MOA in mine and a bit "fat" at 200 yards....too fat for me. But at 100 yards and under, it does a fantastic job! I "think" replacement diode modules are available from C-More which make a smaller dot...as well as green diode modules too. The one in mine is red.

Now for what we don't like about it...

The rheostat can be difficult to find and turn ON with gloved hands...especially under stress. My buddy who recommended the sight (an SRT with a local Sheriff's Dept) told me that they go to Radio Shack and buy a little knob that just slides over the rheostat post which makes it a LOT easier to find and turn. It's a standard sized post. I haven't done this yet, because I've pretty much gotten use to turning the thing on and off with gloves just the way it is.

The lense tends to be more exposed to the elements than something like an AimPoint Comp series sight. There's really nothing sticking over the C-More's lense but a small bit of the plastic. This isn't a huge factor, but you'll notice by the way it's designed that there's just no way you can put protective caps on it! I "think" C-More makes a cover. "Somebody" does... at least I thought I remembered seeing one. But it looked like something that could get lost...and that's all I need!...more small items to lose! :-)

Zeroing in can be a real PITA. Anybody who's going to do this should zero in the open sights FIRST, and then simply co-witness the C-More. I zeroed one in for somebody who hadn't installed open sights yet, and I thought we'd never get it zeroed in! The adjustments aren't very "granular". Also, the lock screws for windage and elevation take a certain sized small allen wrench. But the elevation and windage adjustments use a small standard screwdriver. But the battery cover uses yet a DIFFERENT small allen wrench! So all in all, you have to make sure you keep the tools handy and with the weapon. Magpul's MIAD (modular grip) would be good for this. One of my sons keeps this sort of stuff in the forward grip on his, but I don't a forward grip on mine....YET. :-) A very minor gripe in my opinion because the sight stays put VERY well once zeroed.

All in all...for the price (still a little over $200.00 from a lot of places) I think they're a good deal. For a little over twice that, you could have something like an AimPoint Comp-ML series (various models), or an Eotech... but for the money, this is a nice sight. It stayed zeroed in after dropping the weapon...accidentally in the back of a truck!

[USNBandit]

I have an Eotech on my govt. weapon. Had never tried one until the firearms guy at work said “Here’s your M-4.” The reostat issues you’ve encountered are taken care of by a set of push buttons that run the brightness up and down. It has a large field of view and acquisition is pretty easy. It seems a bit more accurate for paralax in elevation than lateral deviations. I wish it had a choice of reticles because the standard reticle is a bit busy for long range, great for CQC. The Eotech also has the option for pop up front and back covers when not in use.

[Quix]

JimRob,

I wonder,

could we have some sort of FREEPER award we could send such folks . . . a certificate and maybe a “lifetime donation free” membership or some such?

Wouldn’t cost much but would highlight such patriotic behavior and wise gun ownership.

Maybe we could call it something like . . .

FREEPER FAMILY PROTECTION AWARD

OR

FREE REPUBLIC FAMILY PROTECTION AWARD

OR

FREEPER FAMILY SURVIVAL AWARD

etc.

[jwparkerjr]

re: They are still trying to determine if the masked man was armed

Well, if he had no arms then obviously they should be looking for the accomplice who helped him don his mask.

[pa_dweller]

The husband armed himself before heading to the front door to investigate the noise. When he arrived at the door he opened it and there was a masked man standing right in front of him. He shot the masked man in the chest, killing 21-year-old Donald Salaam instantly, police say.

Tuco's dictum applied; (When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk.)

[GOPJ]

Another, Dying ain’t much of a livin’ boy.

Amen to that...

[Joe Brower]

Heh-heh, right on. Her temperament must have something to do with the red hair! $;-)

[hiredhand]

Eotech makes NICE hardware. I've used them before, and I agree with everything you say! My next sight for ME is either going to be an Eotech, or an AimPoint. Although Tasco a new ProPoint out now that looks promising. I'm not sure though at this point because it "could" be junk.

The Eotech that I used (a 550N) turned itself off after a time. I think it used regular AAA batteries too. For the price, I think Eotech is one of the best...all things considered. But any time I buy something, I usually have to buy in multiples and that adds up!

[Teflonic]

That is a great idea! May be even simpler to find and post the mailing address of the defender on banglist posts so freepers can send cards.

[Quix]

True.

WORKS FOR ME.

Thanks.

Perhaps an ongoing thread listing such and highlighting nice things about them and their family.

[Quix]

Though I think it might be a good idea . . .

for FR to have more publicity praising such with an “award”

publicly given by a local FREEPER.