Kaehne targeted the home because it looked like it did not have many occupants. He entered through a window, which he propped open with canisters, and stood in the bedroom of a man and woman for about 40 minutes before the man woke up.
Summary: So this psychopath breaks into this house after romanticizing (and journaling!) about how great it will be to kill this couple that he has apparently been surveilling. Bad guy comes in through a window, which was probably unlocked and without alarm protection, and watches them sleep for 40 minutes before making his move. He attacks the husband first slicing his throat. While they are fighting, the wife wakes up and gets a gun out and shoots at the bad guy, scaring him away.
What can we learn from this? Let’s make a list.
- Random crime happens and psychopaths are walking among us. The first step is to reserve the space in your mind for the possibility that you might wake up in your bed and have to fight for your life as your eyes open. If you accept that this is within the realm of possibility, you can understand the need for preparing to prevent and deal with it.
- Harden your home. More time to react is always preferred. Cheap window alarms, window locks, or a dog would have alerted the homeowners or possibly prevented the intrusion. Make yourself the harder target so the psycho will kill your neighbors instead.
- The bad guy did some amount of surveillance before choosing this house. There is no telling how long he cased this house before he decided this was the right house. It could have been minutes, or days. In either case, understanding basic Surveillance Detection is a crucial skill. Whether it’s passive or active detection, it’s important to learn some method to see if you or your family are being watched or followed.
- The man might not be the one who shoots at the bad guy. As is often the case, the bad guy singles out the man first, either because he answered the door or the man is perceived as the bigger threat. This is just more evidence that you need to assure your spouse is competent, confident, and capable of shooting whatever guns are at hand. My wife has a Ruger 10/22 with a white light and red dot that she is very competent with. She can operate any gun we own, but she prefers the .22. It’s her favorite gun to shoot, she shoots it most, she shoots it best, and so that’s her home defense gun. Not too complicated. This is an important point because…
- There might be a ‘downrange friendly‘ shot. From the brief description here, it sounds very likely that the wife had to shoot with her husband downrange. Wouldn’t you like to know your spouse could make a shot with you downrange, under stress, in low light and on demand? I sure would.
- When you have to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk. The wife was under no obligation to give verbal commands. Let’s let Tuco from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly explain…
- Sometimes bad guys will stop their actions without being shot. Whether it’s just the sight of a gun or the noise one makes, psychological stops happen all the time. We just can’t count on them. It’s still a positive outcome for the good guys. There’s no telling how many situations are diffused by drawing a pistol and not having to shoot.
Protect the Brood,
DD