It’s a nightmare scenario. Four men, armed with handguns, kick in your door just before midnight. Their intentions aren’t good, and one of your loved ones is in the home with you.
That’s where 24-year-old Austin Orwig found himself last week at his mobile home in the Country Living Estates community in Bowling Green, Kentucky. But he wasn’t about to let the intruders have their way without a fight, so he grabbed his handgun and opened fire.
“There was an exchange of gunfire,” Warren County Sheriff Brett Hightower said, according to local media.
Security camera video posted on Facebook by the Warren County Sheriff’s Office shows one man kick in the door, sending pieces of the frame flying. Wearing a red hoodie and holding a handgun, the man immediately walks into the home and toward the hallway leading to the bedrooms.
SEE ALSO: Homeowner Uses AK-47 to Shoot 5 Intruders, Killing 3
Three additional men follow behind, two of whom are clearly carrying handguns as well.
They appear to be looking for something specific. All four suspects follow the first man’s lead into the hallway, not stopping to examine the electronics near the front door.
Orwig begins firing the moment the first man enters the hallway. Shots can be heard, a muzzle blast appears, and all four men scramble past each other out the door and down the porch steps.
One shot, either from Orwig or the intruders, appears to hit the wall on the left-hand side of the frame as dust from the wall billows up towards the ceiling.
Moments after the men leave, at least two people can be heard screaming from one of the inner bedrooms.
One of them was likely Orwig, who sustained a gunshot wound to the hand. He was taken to a local hospital, transferred to a Louisville hospital, and later released.
SEE ALSO: California City Councilman Uses Gun to Repel Home Intruder
Since none of the intruders appear to fire during their retreat, it’s possible they fired into the mobile home from outside. Orwig also may have shot himself, but authorities have not indicated one way or the other.
As for the suspects, “there is no evidence to tell that any suspect was shot,” Hightower said.
This most recent defensive gun use illustrates many of the ideas Blannelberry covers in his article, “Here’s How Many Rounds You Actually Need In Your Carry Gun.”
Orwig’s attackers are clearly the “weak-kneed” runners Blannelberry mentions, and the 24-year-old likely didn’t need more than three or four rounds to send them packing.
But there are four of them. If even two had hunkered down to return fire, Orwig would have needed more than three or four rounds. And given his apparent hit rate, even a full-sized handgun capacity likely wouldn’t have been enough to save his life.
All four suspects are still at large.
Yes, he needs practice. All of us do. A new unfamiliar home, family in the house, not 10 seconds elapse and he still has the ability to shoot. I say he gets a C+. Most of you have been in your homes for many years, your plan of action is filled with familiarity. 90% of you could not do what this guy did in 10 seconds, pulling off your sleep apnea mask, snoring with a brain full of Ambien, and defend successfully.Successful means nobody is dead. Hopefully he called 911 after he reloaded, and stayed covering his family until LE arrives. As somebody pointed out, had they stayed and returned fire 4 against 1 are not good odds. I believe his timing was excellent, waited till perp showed his head and fired. I’ll bet they all shit their pants too. Seems like there is more to the story, these guys knew where they were going.Anyhow, defensive shooting or any shooting practice can all be improved upon for all or us. I say he gets a passing grade out here in the real world.
I apologize, had had six seconds. That’s excellent. Door kicks in, you are clear headed in three at best, now I call bs that you are firing in three. I’m upgrading to a B.
Yes, he needs practice. All of us do. A new unfamiliar home, family in the house, not 10 seconds elapse and he still has the ability to shoot. I say he gets a C+. Most of you have been in your homes for many years, your plan of action is filled with familiarity. 90% of you could not do what this guy did in 10 seconds, pulling off your sleep apnea mask, snoring with a brain full of Ambien, and defend successfully.
Successful means nobody is dead. Hopefully he called 911 after he reloaded, and stayed covering his family until LE arrives. As somebody pointed out, had they stayed and returned fire 4 against 1 are not good odds. I believe his timing was excellent, waited till perp showed his head and fired. I’ll bet they all shit their pants too. Seems like there is more to the story, these guys knew where they were going.
Anyhow, defensive shooting or any shooting practice can all be improved upon for all or us. I say he gets a passing grade out here in the real world.
He could have missed because he was also afraid of the dumbass liberal laws that would try and convict him of murder. We all know its in the back of our minds of wanting to kill the perp but then know will will have to explain and prove why we did it no matter how clear cut it is. A whole bunch of sh!t to go through. Maybe a part of him wanted to kill him but another part didn’t want the hassle of court and having his face across national news. He was conflicted.
Deputy Dog, I agree 100%. It seems we should be including how to avoid a lawsuit when a bad guy kicks your door in. I do not live in a free state so we can’t shoot criminals. We had a similar incident recently and several witnesses in the home. The door was violently kicked in. Two criminals got shot. The police arrested the home owner at the scene, in cuffs. It was a nice neighborhood too.
He has not been cleared yet despite the witnesses. I believe his gun is gone for good. Of course, the bad guys have filed charges, both felons, both with guns.
Unfortunately non of the low life useless scumbag POS menaces to society perps were killed. Sad.
Excitement from an adrenaline rush and possibly lack of routine training may have played into his missed shot placement. Owning a firearm isn’t cheap and requires periodic trips to the range to practice and regular outlays of cash $$$ for targets and ammunition. For my home, I installed LED night lights in all of the rooms and walk areas to allow clear lines of sight during the night. To control an adrenaline dump at two in the morning, I put a red laser on my nightstand gun to improve shot placement should I be suddenly awakened to a home invasion. Two extra magazines are kept with the gun, and my cellphone is close by. Having a pet helps to sound an alert. I hope and pray that a home invasion never happens, but I still have to be prepared.
No news here, just part of the 13% culture”
‘And given his apparent hit rate, even a full-sized handgun capacity likely wouldn’t have been enough to save his life.’
This is the takeaway. You can’t miss fast enough to win. Good hits are the only thing you can depend on to stop bad guys. This man is lucky they weren’t motivated to stay and fight. F’n pathetic.
Easy to criticize the young man who was going to be murdered from the comfort of your keyboards.
Ditto Winston!
Well said Winston. These are the same clowns that chastise cops for not shooting the bad guy’s knee, or shoot the gun out of his hand. Until you’ve been shot at in anger, you’ve really no idea what you’re saying.
I live in a mobile home and I have 2 kinds of weapons but what I do to give myself a little more time to prepare from a sleeping mode. What I do is I close my bedroom door plus I block it with items that will at the least slow intruders so I can be prepared to defend myself and my domain. I have a 20 gauge with 3 buck and a 380 loaded to the hilt(16 shot) with extra clips
These crooks are after drugs, or, most likely, firearms. That’s why they would break into Orwig’s home. Well, they found those firearms!
It certainly looked as if they knew where to go.
I know crooks are stupid, but unless you know somebody has a cache of drugs, or money in a TRAILER, why if you are going to perform armed robbery, wouldn’t you go to a place where presumably an owner is more affluent?
Stupid crooks seem to prey on the poor, when they don’t have anything. Dumb. but then again, I guess that is why they are crooks.
Mr. Orwig could not hit the side of a barn of he were inside of it. Mr. Red Hoodie should be in the morgue.
Agree with you. The crook couldn’t of been more than 10 to 12 feet away.
you two clowns have no idea what his heart rate was either.
If he was asleep his reaction time was pretty good ,mobile homes aren’t very long
Lay down in the dark,find gun,put gun in hand,aim and survive in under 7 seconds😊😊😊😊 try it out yourself
Orwig needs practice badly. The first intruder should have been DOA.