I protected my home and family tonight

I'm still really upset as I write this, but I'm also grateful that my family and I are safe. I want to preface that I do not take joy in having to hurt another person. I cannot imagine how awful it must feel to lose a child. <br><br>At 2:30 am I got a call from my ring camera alerting me of motion. I'm generally a light sleeper but for some reason I slept through this, very unusual. I walked out of my bedroom to get a drink and immediately my gut told me something was wrong. I looked out my window and saw a person on my porch. It was raining and I couldn't see much of them, but they seemed to be rummaging through something. I immediately went back to my room to get my gun and I've been standing here ever since. This man eventually got into my garage (I don't have a door for the inside of my house, I know it's dumb and I should have one now) so he was 10 feet from my daughter's room.<br><br>He stood there for over an hour, making weird noises, and was finally making his way towards my front door. I was shaking so bad and I didn't know what to do. I called the cops and told them my situation but they didn't seem to care and said they would be there when they get there. I was preparing for the worst. This guy was huge, I could see his shadow on my wall and it was tall. I have no idea what he had on him but he was fumbling with something. I was so scared, my heart was racing and my hands were shaking. If he had come through that door, I was going to shoot him. There was no doubt in my mind. I had to protect my daughter and I was so close to doing that. I don't know how I felt so calm, but I did. I was ready to lay it all on the line for my family.<br><br>He eventually opened my front door, and saw me standing there, gun drawn and pointed directly at him. I yelled at him to get down and to not move or I would shoot him. I didn't care. I didn't care if I injured him, I didn't care if I killed him. It didn't matter to me, All I cared about was my daughter's safety. He stood there for a while, frozen in fear, and then he said he was sorry and backed away and ran off my porch and into his car. I stayed on the cops for over an hour until they finally showed up. All they did was take my statement and said they would do a welfare check on him and that they told me to up my security on my cameras. <br><br>I'm still so so shaken. I feel like I'm in shock. I keep replaying everything in my head. I could have been hurt, I could have been killed, but most importantly my daughter could have been hurt. I keep thinking about all the worst case scenarios and what could happen if he had come through that door. <br><br>I know I did everything right. I know that I prepared for the situation and I was able to keep my family safe, but I still can't help but feel awful. I don't feel any satisfaction, I don't feel protected, I just feel scared.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>EDIT: <br><br>Holy shit this blew up. I'm trying to respond to as many as I can but there are a lot. Thank you all for so much support and I feel so much better now. Thank you for all the advice, I definitely have some work to do to get my home more secure. Please don't attack each other, I just want this to be a positive conversation. I appreciate all the awards, they all mean a lot to me.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>UPDATE: I didn't think this would get so much traction so I'm going to update here instead of making a new post. The police finally showed up again and they said they found the guy and his mother stated that he was acting erratically and out of control and they were looking for him. He did not have guns or knives on him, but he did test positive for drugs. I filed a restraining order and the police told me they would increase patrols in my area. I'm still a little shaken up but I'm working on it. I'm also going to be getting more training and I'm going to get my concealed carry permit so I can protect myself outside of my home. Thank you all for the support and advice.