As you know, Newport Beach is a city in Southern California. It’s considered one of the wealthiest cities in the state with an average home price of $4.5 million.
Early one Tuesday morning, a Newport Beach resident was at home with his family in their $5 million home.
As the family slept, the husband was startled awake by a noise inside the home.
Apparently, two intruders had stormed into the residence.
The father immediately opened fire on the two intruders, shooting and severely wounding one, while the other ran from the scene.
But, in a weird twist, the suspect who fled was found in nearby bushes dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police searched the area for additional suspects but didn’t find anyone.
Neighbors told the media that they heard gunshots and screaming coming from the property early in the morning.
The family of four was safely evacuated from the house and uninjured while police looked for additional suspects.
The mayor of Newport Beach said, “I want to assure the Newport Beach community, the residents, that this is a safe community, and the Newport Beach Police Department is doing everything we can to ensure the safety of the community.”
The previous owners of the residence said it was uncommon for burglaries and home invasions to happen in the secure neighborhood.
Unfortunately, home invasions happen everywhere, regardless of how wealthy your neighborhood might be.
Now, this incident happened early in the morning, but the father was still able to quickly react and stop the threat.
He likely didn’t have the time to line up and take a precision shot at the intruder. Instead, he probably grabbed his gun and engaged the threat.
In fact, the resident may have used a flash-sight picture technique to shoot the intruder.
What is a flash-sight picture?:
Flash-sight picture is a term often credited to firearms legend Jeff Cooper.
It’s a term to describe getting on target between a slow textbook target acquisition and rapidly shooting at the target.
The technique helps shooters to fire quickly and accurately.
But using a flash-sight picture is different from shooting from the hip or shooting unsighted completely.
These days, most handguns have larger sights compared to ones on older firearms.
By using these better sights, shooters can use the flash sight technique to quickly engage a target.
Visual impression:
The key to a successful flash-sight picture is to get a quick visual impression of the sights on the gun.
It’s not a perfect alignment or perfect shot.
But the visual alignment gives the shooter enough confidence to fire an accurate shot at the intended target.
And flash sight picture is not just a technique for getting off the first shot.
It can also be done during follow-up shots as you deal with recoil.
Distance:
The flash-sight picture works best at a distance between 3 and 10 yards.
If you are any closer, you likely don’t need to use sights.
Beyond 10 yards you are going to want to take the time to sight in for an accurate shot.
Trigger control:
Acquiring the target with a flash-sight picture only works if you also use good trigger control.
When shooters miss close-quarter shots it’s usually not because they didn’t get on target, rather it’s because of sloppy trigger control.
So, if you are going to use the flash sight picture technique you need to ensure that you pull the trigger straight to the rear.
A solid grip will also help to have a good trigger pull.
Practice:
The flash-sight picture technique can be done in a tenth of a second.
It’s a skill that can save you time and possibly your life.
It’s not a reason to give up on the fundamentals, but it’s a method to improve your speed getting on target.
But becoming good at the flash-sight picture technique takes time and practice.
Next time you are at the range practice using the technique to improve your speed.
Use the technique to fire a few rounds and see how the group looks. They might not be perfect but are good enough to stop the threat.
Obviously, being able to defend your home with a firearm is a vital skill, but preventing an intruder from ever reaching your home to begin with is just as valuable.
