Thanks to  jean@riverview.net  for scanning this in and sending
it to me for placement on the cdn-firearms web site.

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THE ARMED CITIZEN     October   97

 A history of alleged physical abuse by her ex-boyfriend, William
 Barbour, convinced Christine Pittman of Guilford Township,
 Pennsylvania, tobuy a.25-cal. pistol. When he broke through a
 deadbolted door into her home early one morning, she dialed 911 and
 then gave her pistol over to her boyfriend, Patrick Atkinson. When
 Barbour rushed Atkinson, the new boyfriend loosed five shots into his
 attacker. The shooting was ruled a justifiable homicide by the
 District Attorney as Atkinson "reasonably feared for his own safety
 and that of Christine Pittman." Barbour had a history of abuse and a
 criminal record. 
(The Herald Mail, Hagerstown, MD, 3/15/97)

 A San Francisco, California, art dealer was awakened at 2 a.m. by the
 sound of breaking glass in his home. Fearing for the safety of his
 daughters, who were asleep downstairs, Alien Leung dialed 911 for
 help and grabbed his .38-cal. handgun. The intruder made his way into
 Leung's bedroom, demanded money and threatened him. Leung shot the
 man in the chest. The burglar had a criminal record. Leung was not
 expected to be charged because he acted in self-defense, police said.
 (The Chronicle, San Francisco, CA, 4/4/97)

 Cayetana Martinet of Eloise, Florida, is 82. His age may have been
 what prompted two miscreants to view him as an easy target and break
 down his door and enter his home. Little did they know that he was
 armed with a 9 mm handgun and knew how to use it. Martinet killed one
 suspect and sent the other fleeing. The elderly gentleman was not
 injured. 
(The Herald, Bradenton, FL, 6/7/97)

 Kenton Larson, 61, lives in a quiet, remote canyon. He is far from
 his neighbors in Yucaipa, California, and he has a Winchester
 Defender 12-ga. shotgun for home defense. He was pushed into using it
 one night when he awakened to find an intruder in his home. "I cocked
 the shotgun, chambering a shell, as I was about to enter the room he
 was in. He about went through the ceiling. I scared him to death:'
 Larson recalled. He walked the frightened burglar to his phone,
 called 911 and then held him until police arrived. The suspect is
 thought to have been responsible for other crimes in a nearby
 community. 
(The Sun, San Bernardino, CA, 3/28/97)

 After cutting the phone lines, a pair of burglars broke into Mary
 Scherer's home in Decatur, Indiana. Scherer had seen the intruders
 outside before they entered and alerted her stepson Ryan, who grabbed
 a 20-ga. shotgun. When the intruders began to beat Mary with a fire
 extinguisher, Ryan shot one of them in the chest. The second burglar
 fled to a waiting car. The wounded intruder stumbled into the garage,
 where he died. Police caught the other suspect and believe the two
 were responsible for a rash of burglaries in the area. 
(The News Sentinel, Ft. Wayne, IN, 3/20/97)

 Twelve-year-old Waiter Sheehan of Odessa, Texas, awoke to the sound
 of noises coming from his parents' bedroom. With both his mother and
 father away at work, Sheehan became suspicious and decided to
 investigate. He confronted a stranger who had taken some jewelry and
 begun heading toward the living room. The boy pulled his father's
 pistol from a dresser drawer and pointed it at the intruder, who,
 along with an accomplice, hastily fled. Waiter promptly called 911
 and waited for the police. "I'm glad he did what he did. Waiter's my
 hero:' his mother said. (The American, Odessa, TX, 3/29/97)

 When two intruders, one armed, entered a 77-year-old man's Baton
 Rouge, Louisiana, home, they got more than they bargained for.
 Finding the elderly homeowner in bed, the thugs ordered him into the
 living room, where they forced him to lie on the couch. The pair then
 left him unattended while they ransacked his home. The man went to
 his bedroom and armed himself with a .357 Magnum handgun. He
 announced this fact, but one of the crooks opened the bedroom door,
 where upon the elderly man shot him in the chest. The second suspect
 fled. 
(The Advocate, Baton Rouge, LA, 3/31/97)

 A quick-thinking Spokane, Washington, gas station clerk sent two
 thugs packing empty-handed. The would-be robbers, one of them
 claiming to be armed and holding his hand under his shirt, demanded
 money upon entering the store. As the clerk emptied cash from the
 drawer, he purposely dropped some so he could bend over far enough to
 retrieve his handgun. He then pointed it at the bandits, who ran from
 the building. Two suspects were later arrested on suspicion of
 burglary. (The Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA, 6/6/97)

  A1Abel was watching television in his Buda, Texas, home when he
  heard the sound of breaking glass. He grabbed his shotgun and, upon
  opening his front door, found four teens standing on his porch. He
  ordered them to the ground, but they began running instead. As they
  fled, the group drew pistols and fired at Abel, who fearlessly
  pursued them. Abel was struck in the hip, but returned fire, killing
  one of the thugs. The other suspects were arrested and charged with
  attempted murder, among other crimes. A Navy veteran, Abel said, "I
  didn't mean to hurt anybody. I was just hoping to run them off." His
  home had been burglarized five times in the past eight years. 
(The American Statesman, Austin, TX, 5/9/97)

 Animal control must sometimes be performed with a firearm. Bill Call
 of Ogden, Utah, was walking his miniature schnauzer when it was
 attacked by a pit bull. Call tried to intervene, but received
bites from the ferocious dog for his trouble. After a passing
letter-carrier tried to subdue the large dog with pepper spray, Call
drew his .22 deninger and shot the vicious canine in the head, killing
it instantly. Police said Call had no other option to save the
schnauzer as well as protect himself. (The Tribune, Salt Lake City,
UT, 4/7/97)


AMERICAN GUARDIAN.October 1997