_The Armed Citizen_ The American Rifleman, January/February 1995 Studies indicate that firearms are used over two 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. Send clippings to: "The Armed Citizen," 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030. "You can't even feel safe in your own neighborhood," says Sondra Evelyn Kinnett of Annapolis, Maryland. Kinnett's home was broken into by a man who lives only a few blocks away. Fortunately, her son, Michael Strissel, was there when it happened. Awakened by the burglar's footsteps, Strissel grabbed his shotgun, confronted the criminal as he hid in a bedroom, and held him at gunpoint until police arrived. (The Capital, Annapolis, MD, 10/14/94) JoEllen Hammersley almost became a cop 20 years ago, and maybe she missed her calling. Hammersley was pulling up to a bank in East Chicago, Indiana, when she heard screams and saw a man run off with a woman 's purse. Without hesitation, Hammersley retrieved her .32 from her purse and gave pursuit. With the help of a bystander, she caught the thief and held him at gunpoint for police. Hammersley received a Citizens Award from the mayor for her action. The local police chief remarked: "It's people like Mrs. Hammersley who make my job a lot easier." (The Times, Munster, IN, 9/29/94) One moment it was a routine morning at Gregory Morris's Inglewood, California, furniture store. The next moment it was "like one of them shoot'em-up movies." Morris and an employee fired at least 20 shots defending their lives against an armed robber who threatened to kill them. He fired 13 times. "I'm on the phone with 911 and I'm screaming for help," says Morris. "There's bullets all over the place. It's like pop, pop, pop, pop, pop." The battle ended with the thug prone with a bullet through his cheek. Morris and his employee were unharmed. Police say the criminal had served less than three months of a two-year prison sentence for robbery. (The Daily Breeze, Los Angeles, CA, 8/27/94) Jack Parker's parents have lived in the same Little Rock house for 30 years. But the neighborhood has deteriorated so much that Parker fears for their safety and often stays with them at night. When the family dog began barking at 1 a.m., Parker grabbed a pistol. Finding an intruder behind the house, Parker yelled at him and was answered by a gunshot. He shot back, hitting and killing him. Police say no charges will be filed against Parker. (Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Little Rock, AR, 9/22/94) On his final run of the night, Rochester, New York, pizza deliveryman Michael Vaccaro was set upon by a group of five to seven men. One of them shoved a gun in Vaccaro's face, while another took him in a chokehold. Vaccaro was able to free himself from the stranglehold, pull his gun and shoot the man holding a gun on him. At the sound of shots, the gang fled, stealing Vaccaro's car. The wounded suspect was apprehended and faces multiple charges.(Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY, 10/9/94) When Louis Simoni walked out of a Rialto, California, restaurant and into the parking lot, he had no idea there were two men inside his car. As Simoni approached, one of the thieves gunned the engine and tried to back over him. That's when Simoni pulled his handgun and shot the driver, killing him. Simoni was not charged in the shooting. (The Sun, San Bernardino, CA, 10/3/94) After a man pounded on her door, cut the electric, telephone and alarm system lines to her house and launched several bricks through her windows, 61-year-old Annie Holt decided she'd had enough. With her .22 derringer in hand, the Nashville resident repeatedly warned her harasser to stop trying to force entry or be shot. He didn't stop, so Holt finally shot and killed him. Police did not expect charges to be filed against Holt. (The Tennessean, Nashville, TN, 10/10/94) A wheelchair-bound 71-year-old Henrico County, Virginia, woman proved too tough for the likes of a local burglar. Lillian Allen, who keeps a .32 under her pillow, wheeled herself into the bedroom when she saw a criminal armed with a tire iron enter her home through a window. After she fired on the intruder, he fled out the front door. The doughty grandmother says crime won't run her out of her neighborhood. "As long as I have the gun, I feel secure with that," she said. (Times- Dispatch, Richmond, VA, 10/18/94) Like a scene from the hit movie "Home Alone," a 12-year-old Archer, Florida, boy used his wits, and a gun, to protect himself and his family's proper- ty. While the boy was watching TV, a burglar entered the farm house through an open side door. Seeing the intruder, the youngster retrieved the family's 12-ga. shotgun and fired one shot, sending the perpetrator packing. A newspaper report said the youth is an experienced hunter and has taken a course in gun safety. (The Sun, Gainesville, FL, 10/10/94) When Springfield, Oregon, resident John Shannon heard noises at four in the morning, he figured it was the family cat asking to go out. Shannon didn't find the cat, but he did find an intruder on his hands and knees next to his wife's side of the bed. Quickly, Shannon retrieved his .45 from his closet, trained it on the intruder and cut on the lights. After his wife called 911, NRA member Shannon detained the burglar until police could arrive. (The Register-Guard, Eugene, OR, 10/10/94) Portland, Wisconsin, gun shop owner William Ripley was suspicious about the two youths in his store asking "silly questions ." When one announced a holdup and pulled a gun, Ripley drew his own .22 pistol and fired. "We both fired at the same time," says Ripley. "I dodged, and he missed by about 6". I have powder burns on my face." Ripley's shot went through the robber's cheek and lodged in his neck. Police nabbed the wounded robber and a second suspect and later found the stolen car they were driving. (The Herald, Sparta, WI, 9/19/94) The American Rifleman, March 1995 THE ARMED CITIZEN Studies indicate that firearms are used over two 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. Send clippings to: "The Armed Citizen:" 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030. Even after Korean-born Joseph Choi told the armed robber to take whatever he wanted, the intruder forced the shopkeeper to his hands and knees and threatened to kill him. When the robber locked the door to his Spokane, Washington, watch repair shop, Choi made a decision. "I had to take a chance. I die or he die. I'm not lucky, I die," said Choi, who grabbed the man's wrist, attempting to wrench the gun loose. During the ensuing struggle, Choi reached his own handgun and was able to unleash three shots. Two were on target, fatally wounding the robber, who authorities said had an extensive criminal record. (The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA, 12/16/94) State and local law enforcement officials praised Elva, Kentucky, resident Anthony Sexton, his brother, and two cousins after they captured four men being sought in a manhunt after burglarizing a nearby home. Sexton came upon two of the wanted men on a road and confronted them. His relatives found two more suspects hiding in the woods. When one of the criminals attempted to pull a stolen .357 Mag., it became entangled in the lining of his jacket--a fortunate thing for the criminal. "He doesn't know how close he came to getting killed right there," said Sexton, who had a gun of his own. The criminals were held at gunpoint until police could arrive. (The Sun, Paducah, KY, 11/2/94) Rebecca Griffin awoke to the screams of her daughter, who was being bound and gagged by two kidnappers in her Washington, D.C., home. She confronted the men, one of whom was carrying knife, and brought the attack to a quick halt when she was able to break free and retrieve a .32 cal. revolver from the basement, shooting the knife-wielder four times. The other suspect fled. Griffin and one daughter were slashed during the attack. Some news accounts made no mention that the handgun that saved the Griffins is illegal in the District. (The Times, Washington, D.C., 12/14/94) Rochester, New York, market owner Ali Amireh still carries a bullet lodged next to his heart after being shot in the chest during a 1992 armed robbery. He was not about to take another one. When two criminals walked into his store and opened fire on Amireh, he drew his own legally owned .38 and shot back. The armed robber was struck once, while the other suspect fled. The incident was the third in Rochester that month where citizens defended themselves. Just two weeks earlier, a restaurant owner shot a bandit during an attempted robbery. In another incident, two city employees being held up in a parking lot pulled their legally carried firearms and shot and killed their assailant. No charges were filed against the crime victims in any of those incidents. (Times-Union, Rochester, NY, 12/20/94) Jimmy Kirkpatrick thought it might be friends knocking at the door of his Dallas, Texas, apartment at 2 a.m. Instead, the 26-year-old Army reservist found himself looking down the barrel of a rifle held by one of two strangers. Kirkpatrick, who usually answers the door with a pistol behind his back because his door doesn't have a peephole, stepped quickly to the side as a shot went past him. He then fired a single mortal shot into one man. The surviving intruder told police the two had gone to Kirkpatrick's apartment to rob him. Police said Kirkpatrick was justified for shooting his attacker. (The Morning News, Dallas, TX, 12/19/94) When Lake Los Angeles, California, resident Alfred Abel saw his girlfriend being brutally beaten by her former landlord, he did the only thing he could to stop the attack. Partially paralyzed on his right side, Abel managed to grab his .45 semi- auto pistol. After shouting a warning, Abel fired a single shot at the aggressor, striking him in the abdomen and killing him. Prosecutors refused to file charges against Abel, saying he came to the defense of his girlfriend. (Times, Los Angeles, CA 11/5/94) Two long criminal careers ended in a hail of gunfire in a Richmond, Virginia, jewelry store. The robbers, aged 56 and 71, were masked and armed as they burst into the store, but owner Gary Baker and his five employees already had revolvers and shotguns in hand. More than 30 shots were fired in a firefight that killed both criminals. Other than a shotgun pellet to Baker's hand, the jewelers were unscathed. (Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA 12/6/94) Housebreakers had entered Lillie Mae Ponder's Orlando, Florida, home twice in less then a week, so she grabbed her .38 Spl. when she heard noises from her 77-year-old husband's bedroom. There she found a criminal spraying wheelchair bound Paul Ponder with Mace. Though he turned the irritant on her, too, she was able to fire, killing her attacker. Police said the shooting was justified. (The Sentinel, Orlando, FL 12/8/94) What police called "fatal attraction" cost a 15-year-old boy his life. Obsessed with a neighborhood woman, he allegedly broke into her Broken Bow, Oklahoma, home three times in a week, once raping the mother of two at knife-point. But when he entered the home the final time carrying a stolen handgun, a pair of handcuffs and a ski mask, the youth encountered two armed men guarding the home in the family's absence. Police said the unidentified citizen who killed the alleged rapist "had no choice." (Gazette Texarkana, TX 11/3/94) Suspicious after it seemed a "customer" was casing his isolated Woodson, Arkansas, store, Sherman Waldern, 72 reached behind the meat counter for a .357 Mag. while his wife went to lock the store's door. But before she could secure it, three robbers--one armed with a shotgun--burst in. Waldern shot and killed the shotgun wielder as his fellow criminals fled the scene. Police soon identified two other men as suspects. (Democrat Gazette, Little Rock, AR 12/2/94) The American Rifleman, April 1995 THE ARMED CITIZEN Studies indicate that firearms are used over two 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. Send clippings to: "The Armed Citizen," 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030 When the robbery suspect police were searching for climbed from his hiding spot, he thought the coast was clear. He didn't count on Pineville, Louisiana, resident Bobby Mills. Mills, with pistol in hand, had just checked a storage shed in his backyard after learning of a police manhunt in the neighborhood. Walking around to the front of his home, he discovered the man crawling from beneath his truck. Mills told the man to freeze as nearby police rushed over to arrest the suspect. The police chief praised Mills for his assistance. (Daily Town Talk, Alexandria, LA, 12/5/94) Nilous Banks, Jr., was away the night three months earlier when three masked men broke into his Knightdale, North Carolina, home, tied up his wife and children, and stole more than $2,000 worth of jewelry. But this time, Banks was home. Hearing a crash at his front door. he ran to his bedroom to retrieve a 12-ga. shotgun. Returning to the living room. Banks encountered three men entering his trailer--one of them waving a gun. yelling at him to get on the floor. Instead. Banks emptied his shotgun, killing all three of the intruders. Two guns believed to be the criminals' were found at the scene. (The News & Observer, Raleigh. NC, I 1/18/94) North Carolina resident Patti Davis credited an NRA gun safety and self-defense course with giving her the ability to save herself when an armed robber attempted to shoot her. Davis, her mother-in-law, and another family member were walking from a restaurant while vacationing in Florida when the bandit jumped from the shadows. To protect her 77-year-old mother-in-law, Davis pushed her to the ground. Davis then knocked her attacker's arm skyward just as he fired a shot that took off half her left index finger. But the move gave her time to pull her .38 from her purse and drive off the attacker and an accomplice with a couple of shots. (The Times, Apalachicola, FL, I /5/95) A would-be rapist started the year off on the wrong foot when he attempted to rape an armed West Hartford, Connecticut, woman as she walked home early on New Year's Day. Dragging the woman into the bushes, pinning her to the ground, and forcibly removing part of her clothing, the attacker refused to heed the woman's words when she tried to reason with him to stop. Her licensed derringer did what words failed to. A single gunshot wound to the chest ended the attack as the man staggered into the road and collapsed. He died later in a hospital. The woman was not charged in the incident. (The Courant, Hartford, CT, 1/6/95) The money from the cash register was not enough for three Kansas City teens robbing a convenience store, so the one wielding a pistol demanded a male customer's wallet. Although the customer complied, the bandit shot him in the chest and then turned the gun on the female store clerk. He pulled the trigger, but the gun misfired. Unbeknownst to the bandit, his first victim was saved because the bullet struck a daily planner held in his jacket pocket. The man then pulled his own pistol, shooting the armed assailant, who fled. He held the other two teens until police could arrive. The wounded robber was found later and arrested. (The Star, Kansas City, MO, 12/31/94) Off-duty sheriff's deputy James Charles Strickland was removing presents from the trunk of his car on Christmas Eve when two masked men walked up behind him and began beating him with their pistols. They then broke down the door of Strickland's Fayetteville, North Carolina, home and knocked down his wife, who witnessed the attack. Making his way inside to his gun, Strickland shot and killed one of the attackers, who police later said had an extensive criminal record including drug charges and assaulting a police officer. The accomplice was apprehended the following day. (Observer-Times, Fayetteville, NC, 12/27/94) Fourteen-year-old Nathan Archuleta was home alone with the flu when he came face-to-face with an adult burglar standing in the kitchen of his Pueblo, Colorado, home. Recognizing he had been caught in the act, the thief grabbed a kitchen knife and slashed the terror-struck boy in the arm. Archuleta dashed for his bedroom, hoping to escape the full-grown attacker, who followed closely behind him. With nowhere else to run, the boy grabbed his BB gun from his dresser and shot the criminal, who miraculously fled the house. (The Chieftain, Pueblo, CO, 1/7/95) "It's more than fighting fires. If somebody is in trouble, we're going to show up," said Sipsey Valley volunteer fire-fighter James "Buddy" O'Hanlon. O'Hanlon was one of about 30 armed volunteer firefighters who responded within minutes to an emergency call from their chief, L.A. Marlowe, who had just been robbed and shot at outside of his Buhl, Alabama, store. One suspect was spotted before he made it 100 yds. and was cornered in the woods by the army of firefighters, who apprehended him. Sheriff's deputies quickly arrested another robber who had been identified by the firefighters. A third suspect was later apprehended. (The News, Tuscaloosa, AL, 1/12/95) Just a day after thieves made off with hundreds of dollars worth of parts from his Stanislaus County, California, trucking company's yard, Ben Bonora discovered they had returned, stacking another $1,000 worth of parts near a fence to pick up later. Armed with a 12-ga. shotgun and a .38 handgun, the business owner staked out the location for five hours. When three men pulled up in a van, Bonora let them load their vehicle with the stolen goods and then surprised them with a citizen's arrest. He marched the three to a grain trailer, where he locked them up until sheriff's deputies arrived. (The Bee, Modesto, CA, 1/25/95) =+=+= This information is presented as a service to the Internet community by the NRA/ILA. Some useful URLs: http://WWW.NRA.Org, gopher://GOPHER.NRA.Org, wais://WAIS.NRA.Org, ftp://FTP.NRA.Org, mailto:LISTPROC@NRA.Org (Send the word help as the body of a message) Information can also be obtained by connecting to the NRA-ILA GUN-TALK BBS at (703) 934-2121. NRA.org is maintained by Mainstream.com mailto:info@mainstream.com The American Rifleman, May 1995 THE ARMED CITIZEN Studies indicate that firearms are used over two 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. Send clippings to: "The Armed Citizen," 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030 He would have preferred another way, but Philadelphia minister David A. Venable, 73, had to send a violent intruder to meet his Maker. The robber burst into Venable's kitchen, attacked him with a knife and burned him with hot grease from a frying pan. Pretending to retrieve money, Venable reached for and emptied his five-shot .38, killing the criminal, a repeat offender. "God was definitely with him," said a family friend of the Baptist preacher. (The Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, 2/18/94) Fifty police and a Coast Guard helicopter couldn't find their man, but a Windsor, Connecticut, homeowner with a 9 mm pistol halted a day-long crime spree. The hunted fugitive had knifed and set ablaze an elderly man, then kidnapped and raped his female companion. But when retired engineer Jack O'Keefe discovered the criminal hiding in his car, jail was inevitable. O'Keefe's wife dialed 911 while he held the thug for police. (The Courant, Hartford, CT, 2/2/95) The armed robbers failed to tie Phoenix, Arizona, jeweler Chuy Sosa securely, and it cost one of them his life. Sosa got loose and grabbed a .38 just as the criminals pointed their guns at fleeing customers. In the ensuing firefight, Sosa mortally wounded one of the intruders and forced both of them to flee. (The Republic, Phoenix, AZ, 1/13/95) Even the steel bars 81-year-old Bisbee, Arizona, resident Ben Duree had placed over the mobile home windows did not deter the intruders who hacked a hole through the wall of his 101-year-old mother's bedroom. After three burglaries since 1984, Duree took the only other step he could; he armed himself with his .38. When a burglar tried to enter the home, Duree killed him with a single shot. (Daily Miner, Kingman, AZ, 1/4/95) The locked bedroom door was little deterrent to the housebreaker who had already kicked in the back door of a Vernon Parish, Louisiana, woman's home in the middle of the night. When the man, armed with a large butcher knife, crashed into the room where the woman huddled with her 22-month-old child, the woman mortally wounded the assailant with several shots from her .380 pistol. The woman and her child were not injured. (Daily Leader, Leesville, LA, 1/29/95) Iron gates didn't stop a gang of armed home invaders, but a .357 Mag. proved more effective. At least five burglars, some armed, rampaged through a Las Vegas, Nevada, woman's upscale home. When one kicked down the locked door of the bedroom where she was hiding, she opened fire, wounding him and putting the bandits to flight. The wounded criminal and his four accomplices were later arrested. (Review-Journal, Las Vegas, NV, 2/11/95) Anchorage, Alaska resident Kellie Duff is considered a hero by her neighbors. Arriving home one evening with her three young daughters in tow, Duff surprised three teenaged burglars exiting the front door of her home. They tried to get in their car and leave, but Duff blocked their escape with her truck. She then held them at bay with a .30-'06 as her oldest daughter ran to call police. (Daily News, Anchorage, AK, 1/8/95) When Thedles Cannon, 71, first heard the crash, he thought a car had wrecked outside of his Wichita, Kansas, home. Then he realized an intruder had actually kicked in his front door. As his wife dialed 911, Cannon made his way downstairs with his .357 Mag. and confronted the burglar. When told to "Freeze," the intruder instead lunged at Cannon, who shot and seriously wounded the criminal. (The Eagle, Wichita, KS, 1/11/95) When a muddy man in camouflage clothes wandered up his driveway and asked for a ride, Waterboro, Maine, resident Ray Dion was suspicious, since his house has just been burglarized. His suspicions were confirmed when he spotted one of his tools in the break-in artist's pocket. He held the would-be hitchhiker at gunpoint for state troopers. (Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME, 1/2/95) It was deja vu for employees of a Tacoma, Washington, credit union when a masked bandit armed with a .357 Mag. demanded cash. The incident was the second robbery attempt of the day. But a man waiting outside for his wife saw what was going on and decided to put an end to the crime. He rushed in and opened up with a 9 mm, felling the robber. (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA, 2/4/95) Storming into a Phoenix, Arizona, electronics store with a sawed-off shotgun, a would-be robber was dealt a strong hand of "Arizona justice" after the shopkeeper critically wounded the suspect with a .45. "Shooting robbers makes sense to me. That's the way we ought to deal with all of them around here," said an approving nearby business owner. (The Republic, Phoenix, AZ, 2/14/95) Anthony DeJulius, 61, was working alone in a Bensalem, Pennsylvania, convenience store when one of two bandits sprayed him with Mace and attempted to open the cash register. One wisely fled when DeJulius drew his licensed .38 revolver, but the other rushed him with a crowbar. The manager opened fire, hitting the robber in the chest. Both criminals were later apprehended by police. (The Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, 2/18/94) Dentist Steven Reich proved that marksmanship pays when an armed robber invaded his Brooklyn, New York office. The criminal fired three shots at Reich at point-blank range but missed. Unfazed, Reich drilled the bandit with five of five shots. The unlucky assailant staggered into the street and was beaten by passengers of a vehicle he hoped to carjack. (The Times, New York, NY, 2/14/95) =+=+=+=+ This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA. This and other information on the Second Amendment and the NRA is available at any of the following URL's: http://WWW.NRA.Org, gopher://GOPHER.NRA.Org, wais://WAIS.NRA.Org, ftp://FTP.NRA.Org, mailto:LISTPROC@NRA.Org (Send the word help as the body of a message) Information may also be obtained by connecting directly to the NRA-ILA GUN-TALK Bulletin Board System at (703) 934-2121. The American Rifleman, July 1995 THE ARMED CITIZEN Studies indicate that firearms are used over two 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. Send clippings to: "The Armed Citizen," 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030 Three young hoodlums thought their plan was fail-safe as they smashed through the front door of Leo Wilburd's Little Rock, Arkansas, home identifying themselves as police. Wilburd didn't fall for the ruse, and instead traded shots with one of the masked intruders as his wife and three young sons cowered in a bedroom. As four errant shots struck the walls around the defiant family man, at least one of the shots from his .38 found its mark. The three intruders fled the home and were later arrested after the wounded suspect appeared at a local hospital for treatment and confessed to the crime, identifying his accomplices. (Democrat Gazette, Little Rock, AR, 3/22/95) An 82-year-old East Dallas, Texas, man one-upped an assailant one-fourth his age during an attempted robbery, giving the crook much more than he bargained for. Approached from behind by the bandit while walking up the driveway to his home, Jack Topletz whirled around and fired several shots, fatally wounding the man. (The Morning News, Dallas, TX, 4/5/95) Already wanted by police for an earlier break-in, a Tulsa, Oklahoma, criminal found his way into custody via the hospital after a homeowner's bullet cut another burglary attempt short. Sam Horey was talking to his mother on the phone when the sound of breaking glass alerted him to trouble. Grabbing a 9 mm, Horey confronted the intruder in his living room, wounding him with a single shot. (The World, Tulsa, OK, 3/29/95) Awakened at the sound of breaking glass, Oktaha, Oklahoma, storekeeper John Wyatt grabbed his .22 semi-auto rifle and ran from the back room of his convenience mart. Discovering two intruders, Wyatt exchanged gunfire with the men, striking one of them. Both fled, with the injured crook making it just a short distance from the store before passing out. It was the third time Wyatt has been forced to use a firearm to defend himself at his business. (Daily Phoenix, Muskogee, OK, 3/18/95) Gastonia, North Carolina, resident Randy Watson confronted the teenaged thief breaking into his vehicle and told him to sit down until police arrived. Instead of complying with Watson's request, the indignant juvenile charged Watson, striking him in the head with a car stereo, knocking him to the ground. An injured Watson returned the favor with three slugs from his .380. Gastonia Police Capt. Mike Quilliams said the action probably saved Watson's life. (The Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, NC, 4/12/95) Describing his city as being fed up with crime, a Winston-Salem, North Carolina, assistant district attorney refused to bring charges against 52-year- old James Junior Lucas for defending himself against two thugs. After a "parking tax" was demanded from him as he sat waiting to pick up his wife from work, Lucas saw one of his attackers reach behind his back as if grabbing for a weapon. Concerned for his safety, Lucas fired several shots through the window of his car, killing his assailant. A knife was found near the criminal's body. (The Citizen, Asheville, NC, 4/10/95) It was like a case of deja vu when two Poughkeepsie, New York, senior citizens found themselves being attacked in their home by the same strongarm robber who had mauled them in 1987. Struck in the head and bleeding, John Brennan managed to reach his handgun, the sight of which caused the parolee, armed with a stick, to flee the home. The criminal was later arrested and returned to prison as part of a plea agreement that would keep him there for 10 to 20 years. He had only served 6 1/2 years for the earlier attack before being released. (The Journal, Poughkeepsie, NY, 3/18/95) Buckling his three-year-old daughter into a child restraint seat, Dothan, Alabama, resident William Kenneth Long was approached by three masked thugs demanding money. With the barrel of a .38 jabbed into his back, the young father turned around, and instead of handing over his wallet, delivered a single shot into the head of the armed bandit, killing him. The other punks fled the scene and were later arrested. (The Eagle, Dothan, AL, 4/19/95) Despite being struck in the side by a robber's bullet, Hartford, Connecticut, jewelry store employee Alex Keylin managed to return fire with his .25 cal., protecting a fellow employee and keeping the two bandits before him from taking any jewelry. Keylin fatally wounded one of the criminals, who, with his accomplice, fled in a vehicle that crashed just blocks away. The dead man had a long criminal record dating back to 1982. (The Courant, Hartford, CT, 4/14/95) A Phoenix, Arizona, gang member thought he had the upper hand as he trained a shotgun on his quarry. But the scattergun was snatched from his hands by his intended victim. Despite aid from another gangster, the first gangbanger was beaten senseless and struck by gunshots, both from his own shotgun and from his mark's .44 Mag. The attack cost the criminal both arms. (The Republic, Phoenix, AZ, 4/2/95) Awakened to the sounds of gunfire, Miami, Florida, resident Manuel Lopez grabbed his own gun and ran into his living room to discover four armed men herding family members into the house from the front lawn. One of the intruders made the fatal mistake of pointing a gun in Lopez's face. The householder shot him, killing the robber instantly. The other men fled the scene at the sight of their fallen accomplice. (The Herald, Miami, FL, 4/9/95) =+=+= This information is presented as a service to the Internet community by the NRA/ILA. Some useful URLs: http://WWW.NRA.Org, gopher://GOPHER.NRA.Org, wais://WAIS.NRA.Org, ftp://FTP.NRA.Org, mailto:LISTPROC@NRA.Org (Send the word help as the body of a message) Information can also be obtained by connecting directly to the NRA-ILA GUN-TALK BBS at (703) 934-2121. NRA.org is maintained by Mainstream.net mailto:info@mainstream.com The American Rifleman, August 1995 THE ARMED CITIZEN Studies indicate that firearms are used over two 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. Send clippings to: "The Armed Citizen," 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030 Concord, New Hampshire, resident Stephen Lockawich and his 100-lb. chocolate lab, Mousse, were scouring woods for shed deer antlers when suddenly charged by a rabid skunk. The crazed critter lashed out at the much larger dog, sinking his teeth into Mousse's leg before being knocked loose. The dog and his owner attempted to escape through the woods only to discover the skunk right behind them. Lockawich then drew his .38 and fired four shots, killing the diseased pest. (The Monitor, Concord, NH, 3/27/95) A Canajoharie, New York, car thief's efforts were put in park after a potential victim pressed a shotgun to the criminal's throat. Daniel J. Stetin foiled the crime after awaking for work and discovering his car already running outside. He grabbed a shotgun and went to investigate, while his wife grabbed the telephone and dialed 911. Confronted by an armed and angry Stetin, the crook rested quietly on the ground and waited for police to arrive. (The Sunday Gazette, Schnectady, NY, 5/21/95) A crazed teenager screaming "Satan will get you," chased a Hermitage, Pennsylvania, woman into her home, then tore a sliding glass door from its track. The woman then pulled a .22 cal. gun on the intruder, who fled at the sight of the firearm. The teen, who had been recently prosecuted in another community, was arrested 15 minutes later by police who had to use pepper spray to subdue the suspect. (The Herald, Sharon, PA, 4/3/95) Mobile, Alabama, citizen activist Lillian Jackson was driving by some properties she owns when she noticed two unfamiliar men coming out one of the houses. Jackson grabbed her .38 snub-nose from beside the seat of her car and drew a bead on the pair, who heat a hasty retreat. It was the third incident in which the president of the local March Against Crime organization had been forced to use her gun, dubbed "The Equalizer," to stop or apprehend a burglar. (The Register, Mobile, AL, 4/26/95) William Buchas and his wife were walking across a Plainville, Connecticut, store parking lot with an armful of groceries when Buchas' wife noticed a man inside their camper. While the thief worked at removing a CB radio, Buchas slid in the back door of the RV, grabbed a loaded handgun and forced the crook outside at gunpoint. Police soon arrived and arrested the criminal, who was reportedly so shook up at the sight of Buchas' sidearm that he cried for two hours after being taken into custody. (The Press, Bristol, CT, 5/20/95) A stabbing suspect facing attempted murder charges was holed up in a Simi Valley, California, couple's home when the two returned. Despite the seriousness of the charges facing the bloody intruder, involved in a fight the night before, he offered no resistance to the armed husband, who ordered him to lay on the floor while his wife called police. (The Daily News, Simi Valley, CA, 5/19/95) NRA member Bob Rocchio was behind the counter of his Providence Rhode Island, liquor store when a man entered and pointed a gun at him . Walking around the counter as if to surrender cash, Rocchio instead unleashed a shot at the bandit, who returned fire and fled the store. Neither man was hit. (The Journal Bulletin, Providence, RI, 4/1/95) Winston-Salem, North Carolina, resident Lloyd Bowens and neighbor, Larry Hughes heard somebody in Bowens' home as they talked on the porch and decided to investigate. Once inside, the two encountered a brazen intruder who first throttled Hughes and then charged Bowens with a pair of scissors. The attack was cut short when Bowens drew his .32 revolver and fired two shots, seriously wounding the intruder--an amazing feat considering Bowens has been blind close to 30 years and used his hearing to guide his aim. (The Journal, Winston-Salem NC, 4/30/95) "He's the only reason why they didn't empty the entire store. What he did was outstanding," said one police officer about an unidentified man who single-handedly put an end to looting at an Atlanta, Georgia, shopping mall. When hundreds of young revelers-turned-hoodlums ran wild and began ransacking and looting businesses, the man jumped from his car with a shotgun, firing three shots into the air. The thieves scattered and fled as the citizen knocked stolen merchandise from some of their hands and held one young crook for arriving police officers. (The Journal Constitution, Atlanta, GA, 4/23/95) A Caldwell County, North Carolina, couple was watching television in their home when Denise Kent noticed their back doorknob moving. Her husband Mike quickly grabbed his S&W .357 and pulled the door open to find a man standing at the door trying to get in the house. Kent then knocked the intruder to the ground and held him at gunpoint until sheriff's deputies arrived on the scene. (The News-Topic, Lenoir, NC, 4/28/95) Seymour, Connecticut, race shop owners Vinny Anglace and Scott Ritter stopped by their business to search for a missing transmission when they discovered an unlocked door and a partially disassembled $12,000 racing engine sitting by the entrance. Expecting the criminals to return, Anglace got his 9 mm semi-auto pistol and started to climb into a loft to wait when he looked over and discovered the pair of thieves sitting in a car listening to the radio. Anglace immediately covered the two, while Ritter phoned police. (The Post, Bridgeport, CT, 4/11/95) =+=+=+=+ This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA. This and other information on the Second Amendment and the NRA is available at any of the following URL's: http://WWW.NRA.Org, gopher://GOPHER.NRA.Org, wais://WAIS.NRA.Org, ftp://FTP.NRA.Org, mailto:LISTPROC@NRA.Org (Send the word help as the body of a message) Information may also be obtained by connecting directly to the NRA-ILA GUN-TALK Bulletin Board System at (703) 934-2121. The American Rifleman, September 1995 THE ARMED CITIZEN Studies indicate that firearms are used over two 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. Send clippings to: "The Armed Citizen," 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030 Despite informing 69-year-old Mary Bradford that he didn't want to hurt her, the 6-ft., 300-lb. intruder had forced his way into the terrified woman's Indianapolis, Indiana, home demanding money and was rummaging through her kitchen in search of a knife. Bradford, who was able to retrieve her .38 from the living room, confronted the man, who pointed a butcher knife at her. Bradford fired a single shot, killing him. (The Star, Indianapolis, IN, 5/12/95) The sound of a hunting rifle being loaded was all it took to send a hungry intruder scurrying from a Brownstone, Pennsylvania, home. Despite a well-lit house, somebody jimmied locks, slipped through the garage, and made his way into Benny Pruden's kitchen, while the homeowner worked on a computer upstairs. Pruden heard the refrigerator open, but never had the chance to actually see his unwelcome guest as the criminal or criminals instantly fled at the sound of him loading his .308. A purse and briefcase taken from the home were found in a neighboring yard. (The New Era, Lancaster, PA, 4/6/95) A would-be carjacker picked the wrong Columbia County, Georgia, woman to victimize as she was preparing to go home after a long day at work. Carol Randolph was getting into her car when she noticed a strange man approaching her. She jumped in the vehicle and locked the doors as the bandit drew a semi-automatic pistol. Randolph had her own .38 and fired a single on-target shot through the car's side window at her attacker. The injured stranger fired one wild shot and fled the scene, only to be arrested by police the next day after he attempted to enter a home. (The Chronicle, Augusta, GA, 5/24/95) It took NRA Life Member Earl Tiller. 67, to do what others had been unable to as the Fresno, California, resident" actions led to the arrest of one of California's most-wanted fugitives Suspected of more than 15 home invasions and numerous robberies in which elderly residents suffered severe beatings, the thug dove through an open bedroom window and attacked Tiller and his wife in his typical fashion. Untypical was the ensuing struggle where Tiller shot the fugitive four times before the man fled the home. The criminal later turned up in a hospital where police arrested him in connection to the string of savage attacks. (The Bee, Fresno, CA, 6/14/95) When a teen bandit grabbed Mobile, Alabama, store owner Harold Lambert's gun from beside the cash register and pointed it at his head, the punk thought he had gotten the drop on him. The crook's bravado turned sour, however, when Lambert's wife, Marilyn, pulled her own .25 auto and aimed it at the gun-wielding robber. Backing out of the store, the bandit joined his accomplice standing guard outside, and fled, firing shots through the window. Pursued by Lambert and two other business owners on foot, the delinquents jumped in a car but were apprehended by police just three blocks away. (The Press Register, Mobile, AL, 5/4/95) "It was the easiest arrest I have ever made," said an Indiana state policeman. A teenage runaway had already stolen one four-wheeled ATV and hoped to steal a second from a Greenfield, Indiana, gun club. But when the trooper arrived on the scene, he found the young criminal begging 90-year-old club owner Dennis Kingen to put down his gun. "It was quite a scene. Here is this 90-year-old man with his oxygen tank holding an 18-year-old kid at bay with a handgun." (The Daily Reporter, Greenfield, IN, 6/5/95) Awakened by the sound of her barking dogs, a Clinton, Connecticut, woman inspected her house and found not only a screen missing from a kitchen window, but also a heavyset intruder standing motionless in her living room. The woman returned calmly to her bedroom where she retrieved her handgun. At the sound of her chambering a round into the pistol, the intruder unlocked the front door and fled the property. (The Register, New Haven, CT, 6/3/95) A Norfolk, Virginia, pizza delivery driver was sent to a high-crime neighborhood with another driver as a safety precaution and was still forced to defend himself and his fellow employee in a brazen robbery attempt. Overtaken by three hoodlums, the armed driver fatally shot one of his attackers as the other two scurried away at the sight of the firearm. (The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, VA, 5/20/95) Wilmington, Delaware, shopkeeper Dalton Waterman, 70, was shot during a robbery attempt two years ago and swore next time he would shoot back--he did. When a man stormed into his store and pointed a pistol at Waterman, demanding cash, the senior citizen reactively ducked behind the counter, drew his .38, and cut loose with a shot in the intruder's direction. Waterman missed his target, but it was enough to send the crook bolting from the store. (The News Journal, Wilmington, DE, 5/31/95) The three intruders entered a Chicago, Illinois, home and were stalking down the hall through the darkness when Robert Brown heard one of the housebreakers say, "Somebody's here, let's get him." Frightened but ready, Brown shot one of the thugs dead and was forced to wound another after the criminal attempted to attack the homeowner with a screwdriver. The wounded suspect and his unharmed accomplice then escaped the house. The injured crook was later arrested. (The Sun-Times, Chicago, IL, 5/9/95) The intruders should have heeded 71-year-old Kenneth Struhs' warning to leave after kicking in the door to his Emigration Canyon, Utah, home. Instead, the two men continued toward Struhs, forcing him to shoot one of them in the leg with a .22 cal. rifle. At the sound of the shot, both men tried to flee, but the injured crook collapsed on the porch where he remained until police and paramedics arrived. The arrested criminal had a lengthy criminal record that dated back six years. (The Tribune, Salt Lake City, UT, 5/24/95) =+=+=+=+ This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA. This and other information on the Second Amendment and the NRA is available at any of the following URL's: http://WWW.NRA.Org, gopher://GOPHER.NRA.Org, wais://WAIS.NRA.Org, ftp://FTP.NRA.Org, mailto:LISTPROC@NRA.Org (Send the word help as the body of a message) Information may also be obtained by connecting directly to the NRA-ILA GUN-TALK Bulletin Board System at (703) 934-2121. The American Rifleman, October 1995 THE ARMED CITIZEN Studies indicate that firearms are used over two 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. Send clippings to: "The Armed Citizen," 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030 A man posing as a customer strolled into an Albuquerque, New Mexico, business and, believing nobody would notice grabbed a cash box and sprinted from the store. His run was cut short, however, by store employee Alfredo Urban, who gave chase with a firearm and quickly caught and held the suspect for police. (The Tribune, Albuquerque, NM, 5/23/95) Roughed up, blindfolded, tied to her bed and fearful of being raped by two robbers, a Spanaway, Washington, grandmother managed to work her hands free and retrieve her .22 cal. revolver. When one of the men started to return upstairs, 69-year-old Wilma Roberts shot twice, wounding him in the arm. Roberts then chased the two from the house, firing additional shots as they fled in her van. Police recovered the van just miles away from Roberts' home and arrests were expected. (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA, 6/10/95) "If they hadn't had a gun, there may have been much more injury and the guy probably wouldn't have been apprehended," said Owyhee County, Idaho, Sheriff Tim Nettleton after Wayne and Sharon Paris were rudely awakened in their own bedroom by a crowbar-wielding assailant. After suffering several gashes to the head from the attack, Wayne, with the aid of his wife, drove the housebreaker from the bedroom and managed to grab his .357 Mag., which he used to hold the man for sheriff's deputies. It was believed that the assailant was planning a rape at another house and broke into the Paris' home by mistake. (Idaho Press-Tribune, Nampa, ID, 6/21/95) When three young men in a car began harassing a young woman walking alone outside a Gastonia, North Carolina, shopping mall, she sought help from a nearby friend, 26-year-old Christopher Gore. Enraged after being told to leave the woman alone, one of the men, a thrice-convicted violent offender who had consumed a six-pack of beer on the way to mall, jumped from his vehicle and began firing a .22 cal. pistol at Gore. The armed citizen returned fire with a 9mm pistol, killing the felon on the spot. The Gaston District Attorney ruled that Gore acted in self-defense. (The Gaston Observer, Gaston, NC, 6/10/95) Ypsilanti, Michigan, resident Lois Menna noticed the air conditioner pushed out at her family's hot dog stand, and with .38 in hand, yelled for the prowler to come out, which he did. As a neighbor called police, Menna held the gun on the man, who attempted to unnerve her by threatening to walk away. Menna replied, "I've been waiting a long time for this...if you don't think I'll use it, walk. And you'll find out." The crook, a habitual offender, opted to wait for police. (The Gazette, Kalamazoo, MI, 7/10/95) Sheila Cole's advice to people: "Don't be afraid to protect yourself." That's exactly what she did after a purse snatcher grabbed her bag containing more than $1,000 in receipts from her Detroit, Michigan, hair salon. Cole drew her .38 cal. revolver, shooting the man in the buttocks and leg. As he tried to escape in a stolen car, the robber was beaten and kicked by residents and business owners in the crack-infested neighborhood. (The Free Press, Detroit, Ml, 6/15/95) A would-be robber armed with a Swiss Army knife had the fight taken out of him after Charles "Chuck" Brafford, the cashier of a Des Moines, Iowa, cafe shot him in the arm. The wounded bandit initially fled the Y Not Grill, only to approach a pursuing patron minutes later requesting to be taken to jail. (The Register, Des Moines, IA, 7/1/95) A violent criminal with a history of carjackings made a fatal mistake when he forced Coral Springs, Florida, resident Paul Brite into the trunk of his own car--the same place Brite stored his two handguns. After a brief drive with his accomplice following in another car, the carjacker pulled over to see if Brite was attempting to summon help on a cellular phone. When the trunk was opened, Brite scrambled out--revolver in one hand, semi-auto in the other--and ordered the assailant to the ground. Instead, the man moved as if reaching for a weapon, drawing fatal gunfire from Brite. When the robber's accomplice tried to run him down, Brite fired at him as well. The accomplice was later apprehended by police. (The Sun-Sentinel, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 7/25/95) A Bangor, Maine, criminal was held for police by armed homeowners Scott Simcock and Frank Page after the crook attempted to steal at least three trucks in their neighborhood, extensively damaging two of them in the process. Dome lights were also on in several other vehicles along the secluded roadway, leading police to believe the would-be crook had attempted to break into or steal at least four other vehicles before being captured. (The Daily News, Bangor, ME, 6/13/95) A severe beating and a broken arm were more than enough motivation for Theresa Jenkins to leave her live-in boyfriend, get her own apartment and--for protection from future assaults--purchase a handgun. Just two weeks later, the abuser burst through the door of her Gloucester, Virginia, apartment and slashed her arm with a knife. Jenkins was able to turn the tide of the attack with three shots from her .380, which sent the wounded man running from the apartment. (The Daily Press, Newport News, VA, 7/3/95) Emerging from the darkness of a Dallas, Texas, night, the carjacker laid the 7" butcher knife against the neck of Marcellina Williams, seated in the driver's seat of a 1992 Lexus. As he grabbed the young woman's wrist with his free hand and jerked her from the driver's seat, the passenger, Runette Sanders, retrieved her .38 from a bag in the back seat and scrambled from the car. When the man lunged at her with the knife, Sanders loosed a single blast, wounding him in the head and ending the carjacking. (The Morning News, Dallas, TX, 6/11/95) =+=+=+=+ This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA. This and other information on the Second Amendment and the NRA is available at any of the following URL's: http://WWW.NRA.Org, gopher://GOPHER.NRA.Org, wais://WAIS.NRA.Org, ftp://FTP.NRA.Org, mailto:LISTPROC@NRA.Org (Send the word help as the body of a message) Information may also be obtained by connecting directly to the NRA-ILA GUN-TALK Bulletin Board System at (703) 934-2121. The American Rifleman, November 1995 THE ARMED CITIZEN Studies indicate that firearms are used over two 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. Send clippings to: "The Armed Citizen," 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030 When a trio of young bandits strode directly into a Tujunga, California, jewelry store drawing weapons, the store owner responded with the same directness, opening fire on the three. One of the thieves was wounded and the other two ran from the store without getting their hands on a single valuable. (The Daily News, San Fernando Valley, CA, 8/18/95) "God, his eyes, he looked like the devil, I felt my life was absolutely, positively in danger," said Ron Oatman of Thousand Oaks, California, describing the black-bearded, bare-chested man armed with a 4-foot bamboo pole who broke into his home claiming to be the Pied Piper. Confronted by an armed Oatman and houseguest Steven Schmidt, the increasingly agitated intruder refused to leave until a gunshot to his thigh sent him dashing from the home. Following a brief skirmish with Schmidt in the street with sticks, the "Pied Piper" smashed through a neighbor's front window. Oatman pursued and held the man at bay for police. (The Times, Los Angeles, CA, 8/2/95) Despite being wanted by police for two separate violent episodes at his mother-in-law's house in the previous week, and a restraining order barring him from the home, the unemployed ex-convict decided to pay a third visit to confront his estranged wife. Cutting the phone line and kicking in the front door of the Little Rock, Arkansas, home, the ex-con got more than he bargained for. Inside the house, he found his estranged wife armed with a 9 mm and standing next to her mother, who was armed with a shotgun. Frightened for their safety, both women fired, killing the man, who was struck twice by the shotgun. (The Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock, AR, 7/25/95) A victim of burglary four times in the past eight months, Wayne Jacobs of Phoenix, Arizona, was alerted to the sound of two men prying open his back door. He yelled at the housebreakers to leave and when at failed to deter them, he grabbed his gun, shut himself in a back bedroom, and continued yelling warnings that he was armed and calling police. The criminals ignored his warnings and entered the home, making their way to Jacobs' room where the homeowner shot and killed one of them. The other fled the house. In a second incident that same evening, Raymond Sheedy, also of Phoenix, armed himself and confronted a man burglarizing his shed. When the thief aggressively grabbed for Sheedy's gun, the homeowner was forced to shoot, killing the attacker. (The Republic, Phoenix, AZ, 7/19/95) After a police dog failed to find a suspect hiding inside a burglarized Charlottesville, Virginia, auto parts store, owner Thomas Hathaway began cleaning the ransacked area. Walking into the storeroom, a startled Hathaway discovered the burglar still inside and pulled a gun on the intruder, ordering him to lie face down on the floor. Hathaway held him for police, who quickly returned to the scene. (The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, 5/21/95) Upon encountering the intruder in his Hillsboro, Oregon, home, 61-year-old retiree Donald Scarratt ordered the criminal to drop his knife and lie down while he called police. At first the burglar complied. But as police approached the home, the crook--a convicted killer already wanted for violating parole--grew panicked and lunged at the homeowner. Two quick shots put the felon back on the floor where he remained until being taken away in an ambulance. (The Argus, Hillsboro, OR, 6/13/95) Auburndale, Florida, homeowner Rodger Bilbrey cut a boyfriend/girlfriend burglary team's date short after the couple broke into Bilbrey's home unaware that the man was right next door in his nursery. Bilbrey, armed with a .357 Mag., confronted the two as they fled the house. When the male bandit spun around as if handling a weapon, Bilbrey fired once, striking the him in the thigh. The crooked couple briefly escaped in their early 1980s Chevy Nova, only to be arrested minutes later. It was the seventh time in 12 years Bilbrey had been victimized by burglars. (The Tribune, Tampa, FL, 7/25/95) Searching for love or food, a black bear found neither after entering a Clarington, Ohio, home--not once, but twice. The first time the tagged bear entered Margaret Speece's house, she and a friend, Jerry Allen, were able to push the large bruin outside using an ottoman in her living room. When the beast later returned, aggressively tearing a screen from a kitchen window, Allen used a .45 auto to dispatch the animal. (The Intelligencer, Wheeling, WV, 6/13/95) Doyle Hawk grabbed a gun and locked himself in a room where he hoped he would be safe after being awakened by the sound of three burglars bursting through the front door of his Huntsville, Alabama, apartment. When the crooks began banging on the door of the room where Hawks was hiding, the frightened man fired several shots through the door, injuring one. The three men were later arrested at a local hospital. (The Times, Huntsville, AL, 8/1/95) A Parks, Pennsylvania, man, suspected of at least 43 break-ins at elderly residents' homes, was finally arrested after one of his intended victims, a 59-year-old woman who had chased the man from her home with a 20-ga. shotgun, picked him out of a police line-up. The woman had purchased her shotgun following a previous break-in last year. When this intruder came calling, she confronted the crook in her kitchen. The man ran from the woman's home when he saw her armed with the big-bore gun. The face-to-face confrontation offered her a clear view of the suspect. (The Valley News Dispatch, New Kensington, PA, 8/3/95) The young thug became angry after discovering the wallet he had just stolen from a handicapped Bensalem, Pennsylvania, man was empty. Cursing his victim, the robber charged the crutches-bound man and grabbed him. The victim then drew a .25 and fired a shot that "whizzed through the attacker's buttocks." The suspect fled and was later arrested after seeking treatment at a hospital. (Courier Times, Bucks County, PA, 7/12/95) The American Rifleman, December 1995 THE ARMED CITIZEN Studies indicate that firearms are used over two 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. Send clippings to: "The Armed Citizen," 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030 Police believe the man who abducted a Shasta County, California, woman at knife point and forced her to drive her vehicle to a remote location may have been intending to sexually assault her. Instead, when the scruffy would-be rapist stepped from the car for a moment, the woman retrieved a pistol and shot at the man, who fled into the darkness. (The Record Searchlight, Redding, CA, 7/28/95) With police already on the lookout, Scott Fitzgerald decided to join in the search for a would-be housebreaker who had attempted to break into his East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, home where his wife and seven-week-old daughter had been. Fitzgerald spotted the thug in a church yard, gathering his loot from a previous burglary, and confronted him with his 9 mm semi-auto. Despite being told to "Freeze," the criminal dashed into some nearby woods. Fitzgerald alerted the police, who arrested the crook after he was sniffed out by a police dog. (The Herald, Boston, MA, 9/14/95) One crook had already charged out of the Broomfield, Colorado, liquor store with a case of beer tucked under his arm, when a second tried to follow, toting a bottle of rum and a canister of pepper spray. The clerk put a quick end to the second thief's plans of escape, however, by drawing down on the young crook with a .45 cal. semi-automatic pistol and holding him for police. (The Enterprise, Broomfield, CO, 8/17/95) Ninety-two-year-old Conrad Schwarzkopf had been sleeping in his Long Island, New York, home when a punk four times his junior barged into his bedroom and began beating him up. Schwarzkopf tried to fight back, but was just no match for the younger man, and wound up being tossed into a closet. There, as the man ransacked the house searching for money, Schwarzkopf found the semi-automatic pistol he kept in the closet and emerged from its darkness firing, striking his assailant in the hand and chest. The injured criminal immediately ran to a nearby pay phone where he called police and confessed to robbing a house and being shot by the homeowner. (The Times, New York, NY, 9/7195) A Hamden, Connecticut, man tried every way possible to force a pit bull to release his Pekinese puppy from its jaws, including biting the huge, aggressive dog in the head himself. Finally, after a 10-minute struggle, John Phillips drew his pistol and shot the pit bull, killing it. (The Courant, Hartford, CT, 8/30/95) Carla McCoy, a 19-year-old college student, was at her parents' Covington, Georgia, home when she was alerted to a strange man attempting to enter the house through a window. McCoy grabbed a .38, called 911, and then went downstairs to investigate. Reaching the living room, she encountered the intruder, who, at the sight of the gun, begged her not to shoot him and immediately exited the residence from the same window he had entered. McCoy never even had to point the gun at the frightened invader. "I'm extremely thankful that nothing happened here," said the student's father. "The fact that she was armed had something to do with that." (The News, Covington, GA, 8/24/95) When Maria Fernandez hesitated in opening the cash register for the armed robber before her, he reached across the counter to open it himself. The momentary diversion gave Fernandez's husband, Santiago, 76, the chance he needed to stride from the rear of the small Elizabeth, New Jersey, grocery store and shoot the man with his .38. Injured, the crook dropped his gun and ran from the store. He was later arrested at a hospital. (The Star-Ledger, Elizabeth, NJ, 7/6/95) The life of a gang member suspected of participating in as many as seven armed robberies in Fort Wayne, Indiana, came to its inevitable end after an employee of a pawn shop he was holding up fatally shot him. His two accomplices quickly fled the scene. Said Det. Al Glock about the store employee: "That man knows what his rights are and he's willing to go to the utmost degree to protect his rights. I respect him greatly for standing up for what he knows is right. I think that (the shooting) not only is totally justifiable, but it sends a good, clear, strong message that if you're going to play the game, you're going to pay the price." (The News Sentinel, Fort Wayne, IN, 8/17/95) At the sound of screams, 15-year-old Derek Lohman looked out the window of his Washoe Valley, Nevada, home and saw his elderly neighbor being viciously mauled by the man's own dog. Lohman instantly grabbed the pellet gun he had received as a birthday present and charged to the rescue, shooting the dog more than 10 times before the wounded animal gave up its relentless attack. Lohman then lifted his seriously wounded neighbor over a fence and carried him to safety. (The Gazette-Journal, Reno, NV, 9/20/95) An attack in a Big Coppit Key, Florida, apartment turned into a free-for-all after the assailant's hammer broke as he struck a sleeping man in the head. The victim and his girlfriend awoke and began struggling with the intruder, who then retreated to a bathroom where he locked the door. A houseguest, who had been sleeping on the couch, was awakened by the commotion, grabbed his host's firearm and kicked in the bathroom door. He held the suspect for the police. (The Lower Keys Barometer, Big Pine Key, FL, 7/13/95) Knocked to the floor of his Corinth, Mississippi, home by a knife-wielding attacker and told that he was about to be killed, the 80-year-old man offered his money and car keys to the thug in hopes of appeasing him. It was to no avail, however, as the assailant forced the man to a bedroom and again informed him he was about to die. When his tormentor momentarily left the room, the elderly man took his only chance for survival. Grabbing his .38, he charged into the hall and loosed two rounds at his attacker, who immediately fled the home. (The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo, MS, 9/26/95) =+=+=+=+ This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA. This and other information on the Second Amendment and the NRA is available at any of the following URL's: http://WWW.NRA.Org, gopher://GOPHER.NRA.Org, wais://WAIS.NRA.Org, ftp://FTP.NRA.Org, mailto:LISTPROC@NRA.Org (Send the word help as the body of a message) Information may also be obtained by connecting directly to the NRA-ILA GUN-TALK Bulletin Board System at (703) 934-2121.