The Armed Citizen

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Studies indicate that firearms are used more than 2 million times a year for personal protection, and that the presence of a firearm, without a shot being fired, prevents crime in many instances. Shooting usually can be justified only where crime constitutes an immediate, imminent threat to life, limb, or, in some cases, property. Anyone is free to quote or reproduce these accounts.

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Flashing a concealed-carry gun was enough to help a woman escape the nefarious intentions of a stranger who followed her into her car after cutting her with a knife. While a woman was entering her car at a shopping center, the knife-wielding man assaulted her and forced his way into her vehicle. He climbed into the car beside her and ordered her to drive to a rural area in Illinois. During the drive, the woman had to stop at an intersection. It gave her the opportunity to reach for her firearm, for which she had a carry permit. When the bad guy saw the gun, he jumped out of the car and fled on foot. The armed citizen drove herself to a hospital to get the knife wound treated, and gave the police a solid account of the incident. Authorities later arrested a suspect and charged him with aggravated assault, aggravated battery and unlawful use of a gun by a felon. He was being held on bond. (foxnews.com, Chicago, Ill., 10/13/17)

Suspects might be able to run, but they can’t always hide—not when armed citizens are alert and on their guard. A man who was wanted in connection with a homicide in Pittsburgh found that out for himself one day, even though he had run to South Carolina. After fleeing Pennsylvania, the thug tried breaking into a Myrtle Beach, S.C., home where a 78-year-old woman lived. When the homeowner noticed a stranger was messing around with one of her windows she called 911. She told the dispatcher that she had a gun and she wouldn’t hesitate to use it if the trespasser broke in. Myrtle Beach police responded quickly and arrested the prowler before he gained entry. They found out later he was a person of interest in the killing of a University of Pittsburgh student. (wtae.com, Pittsburgh, Pa., 10/13/17)

Quick thinking kept a North Carolina woman safe during an abduction. The woman tricked her attacker into taking her to her home, where her husband—who had access to a gun—was. The victim was working late one night when a man broke into the business establishment. The attacker, holding a sock with a pointed object in it, implied that he had a gun, manhandled the woman and forced her into her car. Keeping her wits about her, the woman told the miscreant that she had cash at her home and said if he drove her there he could have it. As the assailant held the woman in a chokehold and walked her into the house, her husband, who was inside, grabbed a gun and fired, scaring the aggressor off. The predator was later arrested and charged after he was found hiding in a nearby trailer. Authorities said the husband was within his rights to shoot. (wavy.com, Norfolk, Va., 10/18/17)

Police arrested a Texas man after responding to a call about shots being fired. The suspected burglar had been trying to break into a San Benito, Texas, residence but ran up against a prepared homeowner. The armed citizen responded by firing at the wouldbe thief, who then ran away. Someone had called 911 to report gunshots, and the police nabbed the perpetrator. The man who lived in the home was not charged. (San Benito News, San Benito, Texas, 10/13/17)

Criminals might consider the elderly a vulnerable segment of society and easy victims to prey upon, but that wasn’t the case in Florida. When a would-be burglar tried breaking into the home of an 81-year-old, the homeowner turned the tables on him with a gun. The incident started when a stranger rang the doorbell of a New Smyrna Beach, Fla., home. The resident, not recognizing the visitor, declined to answer the door. A few minutes later the citizen noticed the man on the porch was putting on white gloves. At that point the senior citizen grabbed his personal protection handgun. When the outsider proceeded to break the glass of a first-floor window and reached in to unlock it, the older man fired several rounds, possibly grazing the suspect. Police were searching for the bad guy. (The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Daytona Beach, Fla., 10/9/17)

When a stern request to go away didn't dissuade a Texas woman from breaking into a neighbor’s home, the homeowner shot and killed the burglar. Montgomery County law enforcement officials are investigating, but early indications stated that the defensive shooting was justified. “She actually opened the screen door and started coming in the back door,” Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Wayne Mack told a reporter from The Courier. “The homeowner advised her not to come in the house and feared for her life.” The suspect was shot in the abdomen and was pronounced dead upon arrival at an area hospital. The armed citizen was not injured during the incident. (The Courier, Montgomery County, Texas, 10/23/17)