The American Rifleman, January 1996

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


 Plans to slay everyone in the Muskegon, Michigan, store and
steal enough cash and jewelry to feed their "gnawing hunger for
crack cocaine" fell apart for a band of would-be killers after
one of their victims fought back. Store owner Clare Cooper was
returning behind the counter after showing three of the four
conspirators some jewelry, when one of the group pulled out a gun
and shot him four times in the back. Stumbling for the safety of
his bullet-proof glass-encased counter, Cooper managed to grab
his shotgun and fire as the suspects fled. They were all later
apprehended and the three present during the shooting face life
imprisonment. (The Chronicle, Muskegon, MI, 8/23/95)
 
 It was only 15 minutes after police visited his Wyoming,
Minnesota, home to warn his family of two robbery suspects
believed to be at large in the area, when Mike Stich discovered a
man and woman hiding beneath a blanket in the bed of his pickup
truck. With the police warning in mind, Stich had toted his
wife's .25 cal. handgun with him when he went outside to move his
truck. Noticing movement under a blanket in the truck's bed,
Stich parked the truck, circled to its rear, and ordered the
fugitive couple out of his truck at gunpoint. Stich commanded the
suspects to stand against a tree while his son ran inside and had
Stich's wife call police. (The Times, Forest Lake, MN, 9/21/95)
 
 One assailant had already squirted pepper spray into the eyes of
Daytona Beach, Florida, cab driver Harry C. Heck, Sr., and the
other was threatening to slice him with a Bowie knife, when the
former police officer did the only thing he could--he drew his
.25 cal. Beretta tucked in the center armrest and fired. Heck's
shots wounded one of his attackers as the other fled. The
incident occurred just a week after another area cab driver was
stabbed to death, and this was the second time Heck had used a
handgun to thwart a robbery and protect his life. (The
News-Journal, Daytona Beach, FL, 10/21/95)

 Lisa Woods' ex-boyfriend had already broken into her Anderson,
South Carolina, apartment once that night, hitting her in the
head before police arrived, scaring him away. Four hours later,
the man returned, brazenly forced his way into the home, and
sprayed a friend of Woods' with Mace. When the homebreaker
attempted the same treatment on Woods, she shot him once,
mortally wounding him. The ex-boyfriend had already been put on
trespass notice at the apartment complex where Woods lived
because of prior harassment incidents. (The News, Greenville, SC,
8/25/95)
 
 Joann Harrison decided to buy her first gun for protection after
someone cut her telephone lines and slashed a window screen at
her Anderson, South Carolina, home. Just three weeks later,
Harrison was forced to fire that gun at an intruder who broke
into her home after cutting power to the house. A single shot
from her .22 cal. revolver sent the man fleeing to a nearby yard
where he collapsed from a fatal bullet wound to the chest. (The
Independent / Mail, Anderson, SC, 7/28/95)
 
 Cincinnati, Ohio, grocer Delmas Joe Penley turned from the
counter to make a sandwich for a customer when the man began
savagely beating him on the head with a blunt object. His head
cut and bleeding, Penley fought back, grabbing his .38 and
shooting his attacker twice in the abdomen before stumbling from
the store. When a police SWAT team entered the store three hours
later, they found the suspect dead with a wad of cash from the
register clenched in his fist. (The Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH,
9/30/95)
 
 Charlotte, North Carolina, resident Joel Smith pulled behind his
bank after discovering it was being held up and alerted police to
the situation from his cellular phone. The self-employed
contractor planned to follow the robber once he fled in order to
give police directions. Instead, the armed bandit charged from
the bank firing shots across the shopping center parking lot and
headed right for Smith, demanding his truck. Fearful for his
life, Smith grabbed his .45 from atop his console and fired,
mortally wounding the crook. (The Observer, Charlotte, NC,
9/28/95)
 
 As Hackensack, New Jersey, grocer George Jesus' wife looked on
in horror, a trio of thugs never gave her husband the chance to
respond to their demands for cash before one of them fired a
bullet into his left eye. Despite the blinding injury, Jesus
grabbed his .38 Smith & Wesson from a shelf above the register
and began shooting back, killing one of the bandits and forcing
the others to flee. The surviving suspects were later arrested.
(The Record, Hackensack, NJ, 10/8/95)
 
 Moving furniture for a friend in a U-Haul truck, 50-year-old
John Carder had pulled over and was taking a nap in a Sun Valley,
California, park when he was rudely awakened by an armed thug
threatening to kill him. The highwayman robbed Carder of $140 and
his wristwatch and left, only to return later searching for more
valuables. Having had enough, Carder pulled a .380 semi-automatic
pistol from beneath the seat and let his assailant have a few
rounds. The wounded crook staggered off to his nearby house where
he was later found dead. "Carder was nearly murdered. He probably
would have been if he hadn't defended himself," said Det. Charles
Uribe of the LAPD's North Hollywood Division. (The Daily News,
San Fernando Valley, CA, 10/6/95)
 
 Everything was going as planned for four men who had just
ambushed a Wells Fargo truck as it made a pick-up at a clothing
store. The truck's two guards were under the gun and helpless to
fight back when the owner of the store and a security guard
stormed from the business, firing shots at the bandits. The
counter-assault created a diversion that allowed the Wells Fargo
guards a chance to unholster their arms. In the ensuing gunfight,
the perpetrators dropped the money and fled. No one was injured.
(The Herald, Miami, FL, 9/12/95)