911 Operator Tells Burglary Victim to Put Her Gun Down

HOLMES BEACH (FOX 13) 

It was broad daylight, just around 2:30 in the afternoon. NJ Logan was upstairs at her Holmes Beach home off 6th Avenue.She was resting after hip replacement surgery when she heard a noise downstairs."I kept hearing a commotion, like there were people walking around down there," she said.She was alone. Her husband was out playing Bridge."It is a little frightening. You know that you don't have the security that you thought you had," she says.But her fear didn’t stop her."Once I realized it wasn't my husband, you have no idea how fast you can go," she said.In a police report, officers said the suspect used a large rock to smash the bottom glass out of the door. They then cut out the screen.On the other side of the door, NJ was awake and ready."I don't know what was going on in my mind. Honestly all I wanted was my gun," she said.She grabbed it and went downstairs."I was probably running down the stairs with my new hip so to speak," said NJShe yelled out warnings to whoever was downstairs."I didn't want to shoot. I really didn't want to have to shoot anybody," she said.She then called for help."When I called 911 she kept saying put the gun down. Put the gun down and I said I'll put the gun down when I see the police," NJ said.Holmes Beach Police Chief William Tokajer said there have been a few incidents in NJ's neighborhood -- one she may have stopped."I think it's a wake up call to any would-be burglar," Chief Tokajer said.While her mind isn't completely at ease, she sleeps better knowing her protection is just a drawer away."I worry very much about somebody breaking in again."But she has no plans to get rid of her weapon."I believe in guns inside your house, because I don't think anybody has the right to break into your private domain. I'll definitely have the gun up there that is for sure," she said.The Holmes Beach Police Department is still looking for the suspects.