Eric and Missy Bartlett of Buxton, Maine, were alerted by the barking of their hunting dogs that something was seriously wrong. NBC affiliate NewsCenterMaine has the story about how the couple stopped a home invasion:
"It was nerve-racking obviously. It was 3 o'clock in the morning. You don't expect that," Eric Bartlett said.
Both Eric and Missy are avid hunters and instantly sprang into action.
"I was on the phone with dispatch when I heard the banging,” Missy said.
That bang was the intruder barging in through the front door of their house. Eric said that is when he confronted the man in their dining room.
He said he immediately blinded him with a flashlight and forced him at gunpoint into a nearby bathroom. Eric never fired a shot.
A well-resolved situation:
The couple worked as a team with Missy dialing 911 and Eric arming himself with a handgun and a flashlight to investigate.
When the home invader broke in, Eric used the flashlight to both blind the criminal and identify the invader as a threat.
Eric herded the criminal into a bathroom -- presumably to limit his ability to move -- and held him at gunpoint until law enforcement arrived.
Two comments here:
You don't always have to rush to the point of the calamity to investigate. Depending on your circumstances, you might be more tactically prudent to take a position somewhere that is more defendable. Eric ended up confronting the intruder in the dining room. It might be better if you take up a position to control the hallway to the master bedroom or at the top of the stairs.
Good on Eric for having the foresight/knowledge/training to bring his flashlight along with his handgun. You are legally -- and I think morally -- obligated to be able to identify your threat before you engage. Using the light source to identify the threat keeps you from accidentally shooting your drunk brother-in-law or the neighbor with Alzheimer's.
It's axiomatic that the vampires come out under the cover of darkness. You need to train to fight at night.