Thanks to jean@riverview.net for scanning this in and sending it to me for placement on the cdn-firearms web site. ************************************************************* THE ARMED CITIZEN January 98 Although ailing, Mark Falletti successfully stopped two armed homeinvaders early one morning in his Boston, Massachusetts, home. The men kicked in the front door of the apartment andran up the stairs towards the Fallettis' bedroom. While his wife called 911, Falleti confronted the intruders with a pistol. When he startled them and knocked one intruder's pistol out of his hand, they fled. When one tried to reenter the home to return for the dropped gun, Falletti shot him in the leg. The two men again fled. A man with a gunshot wound to the leg was later questioned at a local hospital. Falletti suffers from cancer and later said he acted to protect his seven-month-old son who had been asleep in his upstairs bedroom. "I did it because of the kid:' said Falletti. (The Boston Herald, Boston, MA, 7/24/97) Following a ride in a cab, a 17-yearold Newport, Rhode Island, youth tried to rob the driver. The youth first threw a large rock at the driver, hitting him in the head, and then he pulled out a long screwdriver and threatened to kill him. The quick-thinking cabbie stepped on the gas--throwing the Youth against the seat--then stopped and pulled a 9 mm pistol, which he was licensed to carry. He radioed his dispatchers to call police and held the youth until they arrived. The young crook had a history of criminal activity and had been reported missing from a state program forjuvenile offenders. (The Journal-Bulletin, Providence, RI, 7/4/97) After receiving threatening phone calls from a male acquaintance, a Virginia Beach, Virginia, woman feared she might be confronted by the man. One morning he appeared at her door under the pretense of retrieving a hair dryer he had lent the woman and her husband. She asked him to wait while she went to get the dryer and shut the door. While she was in the bedroom, the man broke into the home, went to the kitchen and armed himself with a steak knife. Her tormentor threatened her and confronted her in the bedroom, where she drew her husband's semi-automatic Pistol from a nightstand drawer. After several unheeded warnings, the man lunged at her. She fired and hit him several times. The attacker, a criminal out on bond, died a short time later. The woman will not be charged, police said. (The VirginianPilot, Hampton Roads, VA, 9/11197) When she first heard glass breaking early one morning outside her South Nogles, Arizona, home, Zelda Hunt thought kids were just breaking bottles. As the noise continued, however, she realized it was coming from the front of her house. She grabbed her portable phone and .22 cal. Smith & Wesson revolver and went to investigate. She saw a figure outside on her enclosed porch kneeling next to a shattered window and dialed 91 1. She opened the door and confronted the would-be intruder. The man tried to leave, but she said, "Oh, no' You're not going anywhere. Sit down in that chair and stay there:' She held him until police arrived. (The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, AZ, 914/97) After her Carroll Valley, Pennsylvania, home was burglarized, Linda Steinle bought a .40 cal. pistol and took courses t,learn how to safely use it. She heard a screen being knocked out of a back window one morning and, pistol in hand, went to investigate. She found three teenagers discussing breaking into her home and getting ready to hot-wire the ATV parked under her back deck. Steinle told them to freeze. She said, "Don't do anything stupid ... I know how to use this." She led the three into her home where she dialed 911 and held them for police. The three face charges of criminal conspiracy and attempted burglary. (The Times, Gettysburg, PA, 8/30/97) After her keys and a few other items were stolen from her Orlando. Florida, apartment, Caryn Anderson stayed home from work anticipating the thief would return. Sure enough, the crook used the stolen keys to gain entry and she was waiting for him--armed with a .38 cal. revolver. Anderson dialed 911 and told the dispatcher to send help. She then slammed the door shut on an alleged accomplice and trapped the would-be burglar inside. A struggle ensued and Anderson shot the crook in the arm. Police arrived and took the suspect into custody. The alleged robber was a neighborhood teen: Two others were arrested in connection with the crime and all are suspects in at least five more burglaries. (The Sentinel, Orlando, FL, 9/5/97) When Cindy and Daniel Murphy were awakened by noises in their home, the couple went to investigate. They found two invaders in their kitchen, and Daniel was felled by a shotgun blast. Fearing for the lives of her husband, herself, and their two-year old child, Cindy ran to the bedroom and returned with a .38 cal. revolver. Murphy fired at the suspects, hitting one and forcing them to flee. Daniel Murphy was taken to the hospital and was in critical condition, but was recovering. Cindy Murphy was credited by police as being "heroic" and for "having the p'esence of mind to defend her fallen husband and two-year old daughter." (The Constitution, Lawton, OK, 8/31/97) A Newark, New Jersey, liquor store owner lived above his business to keep watch on the place when closed. One morning, the shopkeeper heard the alarm go off and went downstairs to investigate, armed with his 12-ga. shotgun. He found a man ransacking the store who threatened the owner with a large rock. The owner told the intruder not to move and the would-be thief lunged at him. A struggle ensued and the burglar was shot in the neck. The attacker escaped, but was found by police and arrested a short time later. The store's back window was broken and a hammer and a crowbar were found nearby. The intruder was ~charged with burglary and assault. The owner was not charged. (The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ, 9/2/97) AMERICAN GUARDIAN' January 1998 - _______________________________________________________ Freedom is often won with guns, then lost with ballots. Tyranny more often comes through the ballot box than by a marching army. We become slaves by our own choice...