Doorbell rings at 2:45 AM...what do you do?

[thebaldguy]

I had seen a few of these stories posted before. I have had a previous experience with this as well. This happened early this morning. At 2:45 AM the doorbell rings. It woke us up. I waited, and it rang again and again. I obtained some protection, and went to check out the situation. The girlfriend was ready to call 911. I live in a duplex, and share a locked entry door with the neighbor. I can crack my front door open, and see who's outside the entry door.

It wasn't anyone I knew. He didn't dress like anyone I knew either. Full urban "Gangsta" complete with offset baseball hat and NBA jersey.

"Is T there?" he asked.

"No!" I yelled back. "You got the wrong address! Get out of here!"

"I just want to talk to T!" he said again.

The girl who lives next door is not known as "T" to the best of my knowledge.

I yelled back, "Get the **** outta here! You got the wrong house! Get outta here! I'm calling the cops!"

He then left, saying "You don't have to be an ***hole!" and preceded to tell me to ****off.

I watched him walk down the sidewalk until he disappeared. Our neighborhood has had occasional break-ins occur before. Years ago, they finally got some serial burglars that would use the knock and bash technique. If no one answered, the would kick the door in figuring the owners were gone. If someone answered, they would ask for somebody, then they would split. That's why I answered the door with protection. I didn't call the police; I know it's not against the law to ring someone's doorbell at 2:45 AM. However, I think next time I will dial 911, and they can deal with a suspicious person walking around the neighborhood in the middle of the night.

Do you think calling the police when someone who you consider suspicious knocks on the door is overreacting? Or is is a good idea? I'm starting to think it's a good idea.

[The Rabbi]

Not sure I'd call 911 if he was going away.  I would call the general number and report it.  It isn't a crime to knock on someone's door at 2:45AM but it isn't normal procedure either.
It's amazing how much just having a weapon around gives you security, even if you never need it.

[BozemanMT]

I'd call
I'ts not right
Either the guy is a scumbag looking for a breakin
or
he's drunk and bothering people

I'd definately call.

[Art Eatman]

I'd call.  If the response time is halfway decent, the sight of a cruiser in the neighborhood at the least will send a message that other areas might be better places to be.  Helps your own sleep, anyway.

Art

[Standing Wolf]

The police need to know about that creature's "behavior," if it could even be called that.

[K Frame]

Go home to my house. I don't have a doorbell, so I must be in the wrong place.

[SpookyPistolero]

I had a very similar experience when I was younger at my first apartment. Guy came by very late doing similar things. Only difference was he was covering the peep hole with his hand (ding ding!). That was the only way to view who was at your door. I gave him all the standard 'no such name, back off, get lost, etc' to no avail. I grabbed my 870 and diplomatically racked it from behind the door. Heard the footsteps leaving, problem ended. This was not the proper response to the problem, and calling the cops would have been. Live and learn...

[lupinus]

oh yeah I've had it happen.

"GTF off my porch unless you wanna find out what a 30-30 does to your skull" has worked well in various variations, none have wanted to find out.  Racking the 870 slide would work well too but working the lever on a win 94 has quite a nice sound as well.

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

The disticntive sound of a StG58 action cycling is not dissimilar to that of a pump shotgun.

Either one would be heard just inside my front door at 02:45 under those circumstances.

I presume later I'd have to get the garden hose after my front steps to hose off the remnants of the soft plopping sounds immediately heard outside that front door.

Regards,
Rabbit.

[wingnutx]

This is why I have a claymore under my doormat.

[Monkeyleg]

I opened the door at about 3 am many, many years ago.

Two guys, one of whom was looking to make points with a former girlfriend of mine, knocked me on the floor and kicked the daylights out of me.

I was pretty bruised up for a week or so. Still have a small scar across my nose where they hit hard.

Peepholes are cheap. Buy one.

[280plus]

That's pretty suspicious activity at 0245, I would have called. Who's to say he wasn't going to pick one of your neighbor's houses next? I always answer the door with a gun within reach. Regardless of WHAT time of day it is.

[richyoung]

I opened the door at about 3 am many, many years ago.

Two guys, one of whom was looking to make points with a former girlfriend of mine, knocked me on the floor and kicked the daylights out of me.

I was pretty bruised up for a week or so. Still have a small scar across my nose where they hit hard.

Peepholes are cheap. Buy one.

I trust there is a tale of exquisite revenge that follows?

[Nathaniel Firethorn]

I can crack my front door open, and see who's outside the entry door.

You need one of these things. They're a lot better than the old-style teeny peepholes.

- NF

[cordex]

This is why I have a claymore under my doormat.

Yo mamma so tactical her "Welcome" mat says "Front Towards Enemy".

[K Frame]

If anyone knocks on my door late at night I normally have a .357 in my hand when I answer.

The dogs also provide quite the din, which in and of itself is a useful deterrent.

The last time someone pounded on my door at 0'darkthirty was several years ago around 6:15 a.m.

My next door neighbor had locked his house, started up his car, and then locked himself out of it!

Since I had a key to his house...

[USP45usp]

I don't answer the door after the sun sets or until it comes back up.

If it's anyone that I know, and want over at my house, they have my cell number as well as my home number.

People I know call ahead of time.  That is the rules.  They know them.

[crt360]

The last time I answered the door at 2:45am, it was the cops.  "Morning, ociffers."
Cop says, "is that your Toyota over there?"  Yessir.
Other cop says "do these items belong to you?"  Yessir.

I was living in an apartment in S.A.  Apparently, some guys that sat out on their balcony and drank beer 'til the wee hours every night of the week provided a useful, if slightly intoxicated, watchdog service.  They spotted some punkass gangsta kids checking out cars in the parking lot and called the cops.  By the time the kids had broken in to my vehicle and grabbed some stuff the police had arrived and blocked all exits.  Making my way down to the parking lot, I noticed they had one kid in custody, his car hooked up to a wrecker and were chasing the other kid on foot.

I had neighbors at that complex that partied all night, so it was common to have people accidently knock on my door, but when there's no partying and the knock is followed by "Police, anyone home?" it's not too cool.  Which leads to another question.  Is it appropriate to answer the door with a .45 in one hand if it's the police knockin'?

[Car Knocker]

Is it appropriate to answer the door with a .45 in one hand if it's the police knockin'?

Depends on whether you can verify that it is indeed the police on the other side of the door.

[wingnutx]

I have a metal security door which mostly consists of perforated sheet metal with a square-tubing grid over the front. Home depot special.

If it's dark in my house and the porch light is on, then I can see them but they can't see my when I open the wooden inner door. I have no problem answering the door at 0-dark-thirty.

If a bg wanted to point a gun at me and demand that I open the steel door he wouldn't even know where to aim. Step aside and put some well-placed rounds through the sheetmetal.

A bg without a gun just has to stay out in the cold while the po-po is on their way.