A man has been arrested in a Fairfield Drive armed home invasion in which the attackers allegedly held a gun to a baby’s head and threatened to kill the child.Terell Anthony Williams, 31, of Pensacola was arrested Tuesday night on charges of aggravated assault, aggravated battery, kidnapping, grand theft, home invasion and damaging property for his alleged part in the Feb. 8 attack.Police arrived at the victims’ home on Feb. 9 and found an adult man bleeding from the head. One of the adult female victims said two men had been let into the home by her mother-in-law after they knocked on the door.
Source: Pensacola family held hostage in home invasion
I remember reading in my youth that the Great Wall of China was indeed a great defense against the Mongols hordes, but it failed at its weakest link: The human factor. Guards were bribed and gates were open. The same applies to any modern security system, may it be the NSA serve farm or your home as it is the human weakness the one weak spot that can and will be breached.
The training of the family members on safety protocols (fancy way to say “keep the frigging door closed”) is primordial. Although children are in many cases the culprits for that failure, they are easily instructed and trained to be careful. The issue is when you have stubborn elderly people, set on their ways and once they have established a pattern, it seems impossible for them to break it.
It is not easy to have your parents or older relatives living with you to change their ways. It is a mixture of patience, repetition and even using modern technology to keep everybody safe. My mother is in her 80s, lives with us and although she is pretty good about not opening the door to strangers (after living in Venezuela, your are bound to be untrustworthy), she has some silly quirks like leaving the front door unlocked if she is talking to a neighbor or doing some gardening in the front of the house. I have remedied some in part by pretty much eliminating greenery but the minimum required by the HOA and allowing her to go bananas with her plants on the back of the house.
You can never be 100% safe from Home Invasion. There is always some idiot out there that thinks he can buck your safety preparations, but you can reduce his chances of success and keep yourself and your family unhurt.
