Humm, well I can see that would make you hesitate.
Shot guns are not the way for women to start shooting, that's not an unusual story. It's often hard for female police officers to qualify on shotgun. I hope you get the chance to shoot something a little smaller and a little easier to handle, you never know.
We have horrible crime here, Florida has been specializing in home break ins, where someone breaks down the front door by smashing it in, and then murders the homeowner, and steals their property. These are called 'home invasions' and they are way too common here. One of my customers had it happen to a neighbor, and they went and found the husband dead, and the wife needing to go to the hospital.
It's awful, very scary for everyone.
Julie