WEST PALM BEACH, FL--Patricia Fallon became a crime victim in September of 2007.
"I knew right then and there, I was robbed. You feel like you're violated, you feel like you've been assaulted. You live in fear after that because you’re afraid they’re gonna comes back."
Fallon's sense of security was also stolen in 2007.
"I didn't know if they found my spare keys, you don't know. I was afraid to come in by myself."
And forget about getting a good night's sleep.
"Every little sound, every little thing that happens you worry."
An alarm helped. She had it installed the day after the burglary but it still wasn't enough to give Patricia peace of mind.
"How long do you wait before you are the victim and it's a final victim situation where they kill you."
Patricia waited an entire year before she was ready to buy a gun.
"It's a Sigsauer P229. It's a semi-automatic. It holds 12 rounds and you can chamber one and have lucky 13."
Patricia took a safety course and practices shooting every month.
"It's a little nerve wracking when you first do it but once you start shooting you get more comfortable."
More and more women are arming themselves. But buying a gun is one thing. The experts say you better know how and be willing to use it.
Firearms and personal safety instructor Dennis Root says, "If you're not willing to use the weapon statistics bear out that the weapon will be taken and used against you. They're looking for the victim. You have to decide you're not going to be the victim."
If you're at home and someone breaks in, Root tells women: get into a safe room.
"You have a safe wall behind you, a solid wall. Ambient light will illuminate them as they enter. It gives you the best opportunity to succeed in taking them out before they have a chance to attack you. Whether it's a firearm or whatever you selected. It should be readily accessible in the safe room. Going to that area without communication or means of defense is putting you in another location the attacker can get to you. With the proper training and experience a woman can be safer with a firearm than without one because it gives them the means of controlling a subject at a distance."
Patricia says she wishes she had bought one sooner.
She says, “I feel safer knowing I can protect myself if I have to. Her new motto is: "Enter to steal and leave with steel."
Guns are certainly not the answer for everyone. Patricia Fallon lives alone and has no children.
Dennis Root says having kids in the house changes which room you designate as a safe room and how and where you lock and store your weapon.
He can't stress enough the importance of safety training for any new gun owner.
