It is probably quite rare. But in some places, it is pretty much the only sort of violent crime that happens to law abiding people. certainly that is the case where I live. We are rural, reasonably isolated, and almost everyone that lives here is retired. I suspect that the fact that most of my neighbors are elderly is a factor in the area being targeted. There have also been burglaries of homes where people live here only seasonally. The perpetrators who have been identified have all come from more populated areas, a couple of hours drive away. But I have no idea how much research the criminals do before choosing a house to rob. I am not sure that I want to risk the safety of my children on the ability of some drugged up hoodlum to realize that we are home and pick another house. And I really do not like the odds. Of about fifteen neighbors who I know well and speak to regularly, two have been the target of home invasions, and another two families have been burglarized while they were out of town. One of those has been robbed twice.
So we have this argument, you and I. You claim that home invasions are very unlikely. I agree, but say that I am not willing to risk my family over something being unlikely. Perhaps you feel that the police are only a phone call away. that might work great for you, but I am over an hour of hard driving from the nearest police station, and it is not much. It is prudent to be reasonably prepared to deal with whatever happens by ourselves. Some of the things that can and do happen are best dealt with using a firearm. The last time I had to use a gun was last year when a rabid squirrel was chasing after one of my children. My daughter made it into the house, and the creature kept banging into the back door scratching and making awful screaming noises. Honestly, I would not have predicted that to be a thing to be worried about. But that is the thing about life. Sometimes unexpected and unlikely things do happen. It would be silly to live in fear of such things, as their unpredictability is part of their nature. But it is possible to anticipate and prepare for broad categories of things. So we have some firearms. Also some commercial fire extinguishers, some canned food and a bunch of firewood. You may not need any of those things. I probably will.
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