NEVER shoot to wound. Your aim isn't that good, and your reflexes aren't that fast. This isn't Hollywood. When you take classes, you'll be taught to aim for the centre of mass, or, less likely, the heart. Shoot where you've practiced, and shoot as soon as you're aimed. If they're in your home and you live in a state with Castle Doctrine, don't even hesitate to see if they're armed. You don't have that kind of time. A human can close 20 feet in 1.5 seconds. If you can't do that, don't get a gun. Hesitating, thinking, or trying to aim fancy WILL get you killed. 20 feet. Don't take my word for it. Find an instructor you trust, and a police officer, and talk to them. In a completely different vein, you might consider looking at crime maps, in choosing an apartment. A lot of people think low income equals high crime, but it doesn't. Most cities have neighbourhoods which are inexpensive and also low crime. That's what I did when I bought a house. Worth considering, anyway. I have no idea what your income or neighbourhood crime rate is. And to echo steve, that's rough. I hope your day gets better. Have a unicode snowman → ☃determine whether to shoot to wound or shoot to kill.
'eyyyy, that's not even abominable! Thank you, for both the well wishes and the advice. I agree with everything you've said. There will be some days spent at a shooting range with my new firearm in the near future. Most of my high school friends are redneck enough to serve as introductory handgun instructors, but I'll be looking for classes to enroll both myself and my girl. I'm not worried about my reflexes, morseo hers (if you're reading this, sorry babe). Checkin' out that crime map. That's a great resource. Again, many thanks!☃