A couple details that were left out of my story.

1. It was in Chicago so I know he didn't have a conceal and carry permit.
2. He was probably ~25-30 years old (not the crazy uncle next door)
3. There is no "next door". The apartment was a three-flat in a small residential area inside a larger industrial area. The buildings around it had been reduced to rubble for some type of development. There isn't even a 7-11 for 5 blocks.
4. It was night time. He was brandishing a gun during the day.
5. I've never been back to this guys house.

I've been fortunate to not repeat a situation like this since. The event happened in 2000 and unfortunately I didn't report it to the police. I guess I didn't think of it. A lot has changed since and to be honest it's taken me years to understand what that situation was all about. I still get shivers thinking about what "could have been".

I guess what I've learned is:

People are desperate even when it's not a shtf type scenario. And sometime survival takes more than cans of food and good shooting skills.

Be good friends.

D