Mike Brewer

I feel like people, especially those in countries where firearms are outlawed, have terribly skewed perceptions of what real firearm owners - legal citizens who are legally armed - end up doing when they are forced to respond to lethal actions. Here's a link to the American Rifleman magazine's "Armed Citizen" column. You can do a search for all of the stories they've published, but for a basic overview, just enter something generic like "pistol" in the keyword field. Enjoy the reading:

http://www.nraila.org/ArmedCitizen/Default.aspx

Here's a primer on the kind of stories you'll find:

Quote:

Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, FL, 11/07/07 State: FL American Rifleman Issue: 2/1/2008 Juan Amezage and Stephen Soto were enjoying the fall weather outside Soto's apartment. The mood was shattered when two strangers walked by two or three times as If casing the neighborhood. Then the strangers approached. 'What time is it?' one asked. Soto looked down at his watch. but as he raised his head the stranger said, 'Hey, run them,' and drew a gun. But Amezaga and Soto are concealed-carry permit holden. Soto pulled a 9 mm pistol just as the stranger shot. The bullet grazed Soto's shin, breaking the skin. Police say Soto fired two or three times, and the robbers fled. One robber stopped and again began shooting. Soto and Amezaga both returned fire and the robber fled. "It could have been real bad last night If it wasn't for the quick thinking and our concealed-weapons permits" Soto said. "We might not even be here" The Greenville News, Greenville, SC, 9/12/07 State: SC American Rifleman Issue: 12/1/2007 A woman from retired preacher Bill Willis's church invited him to take a concealed-carry class with her. Though Willis had never been particularly interested in firearms, he agreed, obtaining his permit, purchasing a .22-caliber pistol and practicing with it regularly. Not long after, Willis' wife, Judith, woke him in the middle of the night and announced there was an intruder. Willis spotted the man darting into the bathroom and quickly retrieved his Walther P22. Police say he warned the suspect three times, "Come out with your hands up. I have a gun and I will shoot." The man exited the bathroom and approached Willis, pretending to surrender, then pulled out a knife and viciously stabbed Willis'arm. Willis shot and killed the assailant. Deputies have temporarily seized Willis' pistol as evidence, but he purchased another. "It would be foolish not to be prepared," he said. Daily Herald, Provo, UT, 9/18/07 State: UT American Rifleman Issue: 12/1/2007 College student John Erickson parked his scooter and was walking toward his house when a pit bull charged him in an unprovoked attack. "All of a sudden the dog grabbed my leg from behind," he recalls. He swung his helmet at the dog, temporarily halting the assault but the dog recommenced the onslaught. Erickson, a concealed-carry permit holder, was forced to draw his 9 mm pistol and shoot the delinquent animal. His mother, Lyn, used to oppose her son's firearm ownership, but after the incident she noted, "Now I'm saying,'I'm just so thankful he had a gun,' I'm just so thankful because what would you do?" St. Tammany News, Covington, LA, 8/29/07 State: LA American Rifleman Issue: 12/1/2007 Alana Holbrook awoke to a Astartling discovery: A man was standing just outside her master bedroom doorway. Police say that when the suspect saw her stir, he bolted out of sight. Holbrook woke her husband, David, who quickly armed himself with a .45-caliber pistol. David searched the residence, finding no sign of the burglar but noting several missing items. When he stepped onto his front porch, he found the prowler hiding in the bushes and held him at gunpoint for police. The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, La., 8/23/07 State: LA American Rifleman Issue: 11/1/2007 Nathaniel Evans was leaving for work when two men confronted him with a gun and ordered him back inside. The men threatened Evans and another occupant, Evans' girlfriend. "[The suspects] kept yelling `Where is it?'" said Sheriff Greg Champagne. "When they couldn't find what they were looking for, they shot [Evans]." That's when Evans' girlfriend, who'd been ordered into a bedroom and forced to the floor with her 5-year-old child, came out firing a .40-cal. pistol. One suspect died at the scene. The other was found nearby and will be charged after his release from the hospital. Evans is expected to recover. The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas, 7/5/07 State: TX American Rifleman Issue: 10/1/2007 A man was sitting in his vehicle while his wife shopped for groceries. To his horror, three men burst into the store with a gun, appeared to fire and began robbing customers. The man called 9-1-1, then received a call from his wife. "I just heard her saying, `There is nothing in my purse,'" he recollects. "And there was a `pow.' The phone went dead." The man, a concealed-handgun license holder, sprang from his vehicle and entered the store with his .45-caliber pistol. He hoped to avoid confronting the bandits, but police say that was not to be. One of the robbers pointed a gun at the man, and he responded by firing two shots at the suspect, injuring him as his accomplices fled. Neither the man's wife nor any others were harmed. "I was just worried about my wife," the man said, noting he took no satisfaction in shooting the suspect. "I just wanted to get her out of there." El Dorado News-Times, El Dorado, Ark, 7/28/07 State: AR American Rifleman Issue: 10/1/2007 WILLIE LEE HILL says he returned home and "butted into" a robbery in progress. Police say the suspect struck Hill several times with an unopened soda can, rendering him unconscious. He awoke minutes later. Bleeding profusely and half-blind without his glasses, he managed to reach a pistol in his bedroom as the robber returned. "He lunged toward me," Hill said. "There was only the bed between us, and I shot him and he fell face first on the bed. He didn't move." Hill says the gun saved his life. "I can handle a pistol; he said. "I know that he was going to kill me if I hadn't got him first' When police arrived, the suspect told them, "I cant feel my legs and I got what I deserved." The Times-Union, Jacksonville, Fla., 7/12/07 State: FL American Rifleman Issue: 10/1/2007 JOHNNY JOHNSON AWOKE to the sound of a gunshot and his front door being kicked in. A security system alerted the sheriff's office while Johnson phoned his mother. She told him to avoid heroics and "stay lob" but Johnson had other plans. He snuck down the hallway with a 9 mm pistol, surprising one of the intruders and shooting him multiple times. Police nabbed the alleged burglars and their getaway driver at a hospital. "I'm in the right, because it's either me or them," Johnson said. Police agreed. News Channel 5 WTVF, Nashville, TN, 6/18/07 State: TN American Rifleman Issue: 9/1/2007 According to police, a teenager asked a 16-year-old acquaintance if he could stay the night, claiming he was experiencing problems at home. The acquaintance agreed, presumably under the impression the teen was a friend, but this was no friendly visit. Once invited inside by the 16-year-old and his mother, the teen left the front door unlocked. During the night, two youths used the unlocked door to rush inside with a shot-gun and pistol. While they demanded money, the mother snuck into a back bedroom to phone police and a neighbor for help. The neighbor, armed with a firearm, showed up first and held the would-be robbers at gunpoint until police arrived. As police handcuffed the boys, they discovered that the teen who had been invited to stay the night also had a gun. Detroit Free Press, Detroit, MI, 5/19/07 State: MI American Rifleman Issue: 8/1/2007 Five people on a crime spree with an unloaded pistol and a baseball bat had robbed a 16-year-old of his cell phone, silver chain and wallet, and had also attempted to carjack a couple in their driveway. Later, according to police, they attempted to carjack a man at a car wash.The would-be victim, however, had a concealed-carry permit and a 9 mm handgun, which he used to shoot one of his assailants. The injured suspect's accomplices took him to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The surviving suspects face armed robbery charges.

Mike Brewer

As you read those entries and the literally thousands of others to be found in the column archives, please take note (especially you, Bodhi) as to the repetitive theme of police agreeing with legal gun owners. Take note as to how often charges are dropped or never filed against legal gun owners who are legitimately defending themselves.

Yet another fear-mongering myth busted.

Carry legally, train regularly and realistically, and only use your weapon in legitimate defense of yourself or others, and your legtal worries are no greater than with any other weapon or empty hand method.

eXcessiveForce

My aunt lived alone, one night two men kicked in the door of her home. She heard the noise and grabbed her revolver, she went down to the front door and too large men were standing there, she told them to get out of her house, as they took a step forward into the home she began to fire.

the guys fled falling over a railing and hitting the concrete below and ran off. When the police arrived they looked at the scene and found a whole in the wall near the door. The police officers told her if she would have aimed a bit lower and to the left she would have gotten one of them (in the groin).

she was safe because she had a gun in the house.

__________________
eXcessiveFORCE.

If you must use force, make it excessive.

Liberty

Hear, hear! Then again, I once made a comment to someone they did not care for. The guy then attempted to slug me. I beat him to it. When he got up and stormed over to his car, I got the hell out of there. Next thing I knew, bullets were wizzing by! Turned out he had a permit for the darned thing. So, that aspect, given the nature of people's idiosyncracies from day to day - "he was a quite guy" is probably unresolvable. It's a tough issue either way.

warrior_artist

If I recall properly there is somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.5 million lawful uses of firearms in self-defense in the U.S. Cases where the possession, knowledge, and use of a firearm saved a life. In many instances no blood was shed. The mere presence of a gun detered the criminal.

There's a statistic out there. A study of inmates doing time for violent crime was conducted. They asked what deters them most. 60% responded with one answer. It was not harsher sentencing. It was not the police. 60% responded that if they knew their potential victim was armed they would not attack. They would seek the easier target. That's something to think about. 40% would not attack if they even thought their target was armed.

It is my experience criminals are lazy. Meaning they want the easiest route. They don't want to have to fight for it. It's easier to rob a convenience store than to go to school and join the rat race. They look for easy targets. If you look like you're not going to go easily odds are you won't be targeted.

There's a fantastic site called http://gunfacts.info. Chock full of stats, even the one I listed above about the 2.5 million. Check it out, page: 50. with full footnotes and citations. It basically debunks every single gun control myth out there.

WA

Mike Brewer

I believe the statistic you're talking about is 90%, warrior.

I did a paper some time back, but I can't remember where I found the statistic. Roughly 90% of all instances where a firearm is produced by an intended victim end without bloodshed and in deterrent. In other words, merely possessing in the face of a mugging or violent attack can be 90% effective.

If there's anyone out there that can show me that kind of effectiveness in an empty-hand technique, feel free.

warrior_artist

Oh I agree. I was simply referring to a study conducted of violent inmates where 60% stated what they feared most was an armed (gun carrying) citizen. Not harsher sentencing or a police response.

I believe you when you say 90%. Criminals don't want a fight. They want to intimidate and take easily. Bring a gun into the equation and now it's "I'm not letting you decide what happens now that you've entered my life. I decide what happens from this point on." You want my wallet? You want my safety? You want my life? MOLON LABE!

Mike Brewer

Waynesville Daily Guide, Waynesville, MO,11/17/07
State: MO
American Rifleman Issue: 2/1/2008
A crime spree was in progress. Two people were already in the hospital with serious head injuries. Police say the suspects in that crime, a 30-year-old man and a 16-yearold boy, chose a disabled man and his wife as their next victims. The suspects broke into the home with a pellet gun and baseball bat Despite the homeowner's spinal affliction, he proved no easy victim. He drew a handgun, causing the older intruder to flee. The younger intruder waited for authorities. "I'm a Life member of the National Rifle Association and I personally love homeowners being able to defend themselves and their families," said Pulaski County, MO, Sheriff J.B. King.


Yakima Herold-Republic, Yakima, WA, 11/21/07
State: WA
American Rifleman Issue: 2/1/2008
Jason Moore returned home to find a strange car outside. A concealed-carry license holder, he grabbed a .45-caliber handgun from his truck and inspected the home, finding the back door kicked in. Once inside, he spied a man in the bedrodm. He approached cautiously and spotted another suspect. The second man was holding Moore's own shotgun. "I fired one round and he went down," Moore said. "I Immediately dialed 9-1-1 and told them not to move ... I told them that a lot." The injured suspect complied, but the other claimed to be a gang member who would have Moore killed. When police arrived, they informed Moore that the injured suspect was wanted by U.S. Marshals on drug charges and his accomplice was a suspect in a homicide. "It's just scary to know that there were two people that bad in my house and in my bedroom," said Moore.


The Record, West Paterson, NJ, 09/26/07
State: TX
American Rifleman Issue: 1/1/2008
Returning home to find a man rooting around in her living room, a 22-year-old woman quickly fled to the bedroom. She locked the door behind her and obtained her husband's handgun and ammunition. According to authorities, the young woman fled to an adjacent bathroom and turned the door's lock while the intruder forcefully entered the bedroom. She quickly loaded her husband's gun and, when the intruder began pounding on the bathroom door, she fired a single shot. Upon realizing his intended victim was armed, the once-brazen thug fled the home.


The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, MS, 10/15/07
State: MS
American Rifleman Issue: 1/1/2008
A 5:30 a.m. knock on the door tends to arouse suspicions, and as a 21-year-old home-owner discovered, sometimes they're justified. He opened the door in the early morning hours to find a man pointing a gun at him. "The occupant of the home obtained a handgun and fired shots at the assailant," Jackson, Miss., Police Department Sgt. Eric Smith said. "During the course of the invasion, multiple shots were fired by both occupant and alleged armed robber." The intruder was shot multiple times and will be charged after his release from the hospital. It was the third time in just more than two weeks that an armed citizen in Jackson fired upon a would-be burglar.


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta, GA, 12/7/07
State: GA
American Rifleman Issue: 12/12/2007
When Ronald Johnson of DeKalb County, Georgia drove home last Thursday night with his wife and two young children, he was surprised to find two men waiting for him near the bottom of his driveway. When the two men attempted to rob him at gunpoint, Johnson reacted quickly to defend his family, using his own handgun to shoot one suspect fatally and drive away the other.


Statesman Journal, Salem, OR, 9/20/07
State: OR
American Rifleman Issue: 12/1/2007
Yev Gerasimenko was taking his turn caring for his 4-day-old daughter while his wife rested. He was interrupted by loud knocks at the door and answered it to find two large men. One asked for someone Gerasimenko didn't know."I said, 'There's no-body here by that name, and I shut the door as soon as I could," he explained. That's when police say the biggest man took a running start and slammed into the door. Gerasimenko called for his wife to take their baby, lock herself in the bathroom and phone police. He loaded his 9 mm handgun and yelled for the man to leave, but he continued trying to breach the door."I'm shouting, 'I have a gun! Why are you trying to break into my house? I'll shoot you if you don't go away,' Gerasimenko recalled. But the suspect didn't heed the warning. Gerasimenko fired two shots, wounding the suspect and holding him for police." ... A gun in a good responsible citizen's hand is a blessing," Gerasimenko said.


The Associated Press (NM), 8/10/07
State: NM
American Rifleman Issue: 11/1/2007
Having had his home burglarized three times in a week, 85-year-old Alton Tillman was tired of being victimized. So, the next morning he left home at his normal time, but quietly returned. Once inside, he found signs of a burglary in progress. Even more disturbing, according to police, two feet were sticking out from below his bed. Tillman ordered the intruder to come out and called 9-1-1. He kept a handgun trained on the burglar until police arrived. Several of Tillman's missing items were found at the suspect's home a block away.


The Macomb Daily, Mount Clemens, Mich., 8/21/07
State: MI
American Rifleman Issue: 11/1/2007
A CONCEALED-CARRY permit holder left a restaurant and stopped for a red light. According to police, that's when an attempted carjacker stuck a knife through the window and demanded the car. "The victim pulled out his handgun and he last saw the suspect running;" said Warren police detective Sgt. Michael Torey.


The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas, 7/5/07
State: TX
American Rifleman Issue: 10/1/2007
A man was sitting in his vehicle while his wife shopped for groceries. To his horror, three men burst into the store with a gun, appeared to fire and began robbing customers. The man called 9-1-1, then received a call from his wife. "I just heard her saying, `There is nothing in my purse,'" he recollects. "And there was a `pow.' The phone went dead." The man, a concealed-handgun license holder, sprang from his vehicle and entered the store with his .45-caliber pistol. He hoped to avoid confronting the bandits, but police say that was not to be. One of the robbers pointed a gun at the man, and he responded by firing two shots at the suspect, injuring him as his accomplices fled. Neither the man's wife nor any others were harmed. "I was just worried about my wife," the man said, noting he took no satisfaction in shooting the suspect. "I just wanted to get her out of there."


The Record Herald, Waynesboro, Pa., 7/02/07
State: PA
American Rifleman Issue: 10/1/2007
RESPONDING TO A knock at the door, 22-year-old Carri Humphrey thought she saw another resident of the apartment building through the peephole. Police say that when she opened the door, however, two strangers forced their way in, one of them toting a .22-caliber rifle. Humphrey's roommate, 24-year-old Michelle Reeder, heard Humphrey's screams and ran to the bedroom where she retrieved a handgun. Reeder returned to the front room, where she found Humphrey being held at gunpoint. The intruder then trained the rifle on Reeder and threatened to kill her. In response, she fired several shots, striking her assailant once. The other suspect fled, but the injured intruder continued to struggle, forcing Reeder to stab him. He succumbed to his wounds at the scene as the young women fled to safety

Mike Brewer

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Mo., 8/25/04
State: MO
American Rifleman Issue: 9/1/2004
A St. Louis, Mo., homeowner retrieved a handgun before answering an early morning knock on his back door. A man standing outside first asked for gasoline, then forced his way in, shocking the resident with an electric stun gun. The homeowner fired one shot, fatally wounding the assailant. Police said the shooting was apparently justified.


The Times, Munster, Ind., 7/29/04
State: IN
American Rifleman Issue: 9/1/2004
When an unmasked gunman entered Shema's Outdoor Sports in Merrillville, Ind., store owner James Shema intially complied with the robber's instructions. However, he quickly retrieved his .40-caliber handgun, and fired two shots at the suspect, wounding him. The suspect fled, but was later apprehended by police.


The Blade, Toledo, OH, 05/18/04
State: OH
American Rifleman Issue: 8/1/2004
During the entire robbery, Habib Howard focused on the gun pointed at him. The intruder had entered Howard's Carryout just moments before, walked to the back, picked up a 12-pack of beer, and brought it to the cash register where Howard had just relieved a female employee. Before Howard could ask for an ID required to purchase the beer, the man drew a handgun, pointed it at Howard, and demanded money. Howard complied, opening the cash register and trying to back away. The robber demanded Howard place the money on the counter. Again he complied and then stepped back. As he took the money and began backing out of the store, the robber raised his gun. Howard responded by drawing his own gun and shooting the gunman, who fled the store. The gunman and an accomplice, identified as Jose Custodia-Mota and Alberto Martinez, respectively, were apprehended and charged with aggravated robbery.


Roanoke Daily Herald, Roanoke Rapids, N.C., 7/15/04
State: NC
American Rifleman Issue: 8/1/2004
When two men tried to pull Dexter Hedgepeth from his car at a pool hall near Hollister, N.C., Hedgepeth fought back. After being cut twice, he retrieved a .380-cal. handgun and fired killing one assailant and wounding the other. A grand jury declined to issue an indictment in the case, which police said appeared to be self-defense.


Gainesville Daily Record, Gainesville, Tex., 7/26/04
State: TX
American Rifleman Issue: 8/1/2004
When Jack Anthony Smith returned to his home in southern Cooke County, Tex., he was surprised to see that the door had been kicked in. Confronting a burglar, Smith retrieved his .45-caliber handgun and fired one shot, hitting the criminal in the leg. Police were investigating, but Sheriff Mike Compton said, "This is a case of a homeowner defending his home."


Bismarck Tribune, Bismarck, N.D., 7/27/04
State: ND
American Rifleman Issue: 8/1/2004
Iraq veteran Chris Seil reacted immediately when he heard shattering glass followed by a woman's scream outside his Bismarck, N.D., home. Retrieving a handgun, he went outside and confronted a 19-year old, who then fled. Seil chased him down and held him at gunpoint until police arrived. The suspect was later charged with several offenses, including burglary and terrorizing.


The Paris News, Paris, Tex., 7/27/04
State: TX
American Rifleman Issue: 8/1/2004
When three men seeking winnings from a day at a casino carried out a home invasion in Paris, Tex., a victim used his wits to get what he needed to protect himself. Convincing the robbers the money was at his mother's house, he was taken to that location where he retrieved a handgun. When a burglar alarm was activated, the bandits began firing. Their would-be victim returned fire, hitting one of the men in the hand. The trio fled, and a wounded suspect later turned himself in to authorities.


Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Tex., 7/30/04
State: TX
American Rifleman Issue: 8/1/2004
Awakened at 4 AM by the sounds of banging on the door of his Dallas, Tex., home, Karl Julius decided to check it out. While his wife called 911, Julius retrieved a handgun. When Julius opened the front door, an intruder rushed at him. Julius fired one shot, killing the assailant. Police said the shooting "apparently was justified."


Modesto Bee, Modesto, Calif., 8/7/04
State: CA
American Rifleman Issue: 8/1/2004
After being released on probation as a result of a spousal abuse conviction, John Russell was not supposed to come within 100 yds. of his ex-girlfriend. However, he broke into the Modesto, Calif., home of 31-year-old Candy Mitchell. Mitchell retrieved a handgun, and fired several shots, fatally wounding Russell. Police said the shooting appeared to be justifiable homicide.


Houston Chronicle, Houston, Tex., 8/12/04
State: TX
American Rifleman Issue: 8/1/2004
When a man heard a pickup truck crash into a store near his Montgomery County, Tex., home, he thought it was an accident. After a second crash, he realized something was wrong, and he retrieved his handgun and went to investigate. Instead of finding an accident, he stumbled onto a burglary and confronted two thieves. When a struggle ensued, shots were fired, and the burgalrs fled the scene.

Mike Brewer

Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, 12/31/04
State: PA
American Rifleman Issue: 1/1/2005
A robber who entered an East Camden, N.J., store armed with a knife found out that the store was not as soft a target as it appeared. When he grabbed the owner of a store and threatened her with a knife, the owner's husband retrieved his registered handgun. When the robber refused to release the woman, her fired a shot that killed the assailant.


Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas, NV, 12/24/04
State: NV
American Rifleman Issue: 1/1/2005
A restraining order did not prevent a woman's ex-boyfriend from kicking down the front door of her Sparks, Nev., apartment at 2:40 a.m. The man proceeded to attack a co-worker of the woman with a metal lamp, injuring him. The assailant then turned his attention to the woman, but the co-worker retrieved a handgun and fatally wounded the intruder.


Visalia Daily Times, Visalia, VA, 12/18/04
State: VA
American Rifleman Issue: 1/1/2005
A passer-by noticed that a robber had pulled a large knife on a clerk at an Ivanhoe, Va., gas station. He entered the station as the would-be robber demanded cash, and drew a handgun. The would-be robber fled the scene empty-handed.


The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, 08/04/04
State: MO
American Rifleman Issue: 12/1/2004
Early one morning, a Sunset Hills, Missouri, man heard a knock at his back door. Deciding to err on the side of caution, he retrieved his handgun and carefully opened his door to a stranger who asked for gasoline. Before the homeowner could respond, the stranger forced his way into the house, where a struggle ensued. When the intruder shocked the homeowner with an electric stun gun, the homeowner responded by firing one shot at the intruder, who ran out of the house and made it about 200 yards before falling dead. At press time, police were trying to identify the man who appeared to be in his 20s, but who had no ID. In addition, no car was found in the area. The homeowner, whose name was not released, was not seriously hurt in the incident.


The Arab Tribune, Arab, AL, 08/04/04
State: AL
American Rifleman Issue: 12/1/2004
Cody Light of Arab, Alabama, claimed that all he wanted was some cigarettes, but he got more than he bargained for when he broke into his neighbor's car. The owner, hearing strange noises, stepped outside her house to investigate. Upon seeing a man rummaging through her car, the woman ran back into her house and retrieved a handgun, which she brought outside. Light ran away, but was apprehended shortly thereafter, following a brief struggle with police. The man was charged with burglary and resisting arrest.


The Sentinel, Houston, TX, 07/22/04
State: TX
American Rifleman Issue: 12/1/2004
Robert Cole, a former sheriff's deputy and current NRA member, knew that senior citizens are a prime target for theft, so he was always prepared for the worst. He and his wife, Pamela, had just pulled into a parking spot at the local grocery store one day when an unknown man approached them. As Cole walked to the passenger side of the truck to open the door for his wife, the man came closer and demanded his wallet. "It looked like he had a sawed-off shotgun underneath a towel," said Cole. "I reached in my back pocket to make it seem like I was getting my wallet, but I pulled out a handgun and threatened to shoot him." At that point, said Cole, the suspect pulled the towel off, revealing not a sawed-off shotgun, but two locking pliers positioned to look like a shotgun. The suspect then claimed he was a police officer, but he and his driver eventually fled the scene. Cole said that this was not the first time he and his wife were almost robbed and that they 'wanted to warn senior citizens' of what can happen.


Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Pittsburgh, PA, 12/19/04
State: PA
American Rifleman Issue: 12/1/2004
An argument at his Fayette County, Pa., home had led Jerome Zuzak to call police. The person who had started the argument left, but returned, kicked in the front door, and began beating Zuzak. That was when a 17-year-old retrieved a handgun and shot the attacker, fatally wounding him.


Charlotte News and Observer, Charlotte, N.C., 12/3/04
State: NC
American Rifleman Issue: 12/1/2004
After five assaults in six months by her ex-husband, Joy Burgess got a protective order. However, the order did not help when her ex-husband knocked down her back door with a shovel one evening. Burgess retrieved a handgun a relative had given her, and fired at her assailant, killing him. The sheriff's office and the district attorney will not charge Burgess in the shooting. "There's such strong evidence of self-defense," said Anson County Sheriff Tommy Allen.


Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, N.Y., 12/6/04
State: NY
American Rifleman Issue: 12/1/2004
Returning to his Webster, N.Y., home, Donald Krahling was attacked by a neighbor. The 5-foot-7 Krahling, who walks with a limp due to an injury suffered during military service, drew his registered .25-caliber handgun and fired a shot, fatally wounding his 220-lb. assailant who was punching him in the head and face. Police said the shooting was apparently justified.


Bowling Green Daily News, Bowling Green, Ken., 12/9/04
State: KY
American Rifleman Issue: 12/1/2004
After being notified that the burglar alarm in his Bowling Green, Ken., pharmacy had activated, Carroll Bevarly went to check it out, bringing along a shotgun and a handgun. He quickly found that burglars had removed a ventilator from the roof to gain entry and confronted them. After a brief struggle, the two would-be thiefs fled. Two suspects were later arrested, and police believe they may have been involved in a string of burglaries.

Mike Brewer

Antelope Valley Press, Palmdale, CA, 07/22/06
State: ca
American Rifleman Issue: 1/11/2006
Police say a burglar was terrified to find that his intended victim was armed. "The suspect rang the victim's doorbell several times, and when he received no answer, he kicked in the front door and went inside," said Sgt. Greg Minster of the Lancaster, Calif., Sheriff's Station. The resident, armed with a handgun, took aim at the suspect and ordered him to leave. The intruder dashed from the house, screaming for his accomplice who was waiting in a car. "[The suspect] appeared to be worried that he was being pursued," said Minster. Police blocked off streets and apprehended both men.


Independence Daily Reporter, Independence, KS, 07/12/06
State: ks
American Rifleman Issue: 1/10/2006
Police say a man may have broken into a residence in conjunction with a plan to rob a local bank. When the homeowner confronted the suspect he was ordered to wake his wife and get the keys to the bank where she is employed. The homeowner went to the bedroom, leading the intruder to believe he was waking his wife. But instead he told his wife to call 9-1-1 and grabbed a handgun from the nightstand. He told the burglar to raise his hands and drop any weapons he had. Reportedly, he dropped a 12-inch butcher knife to the floor before sheriff's deputies arrived on the scene.


Daily Press, Newport News, VA, 07/15/06
State: va
American Rifleman Issue: 1/10/2006
Morris Brown had just dropped off a friend at an apartment when two men stopped him and asked for drugs, said police. When Brown replied that he had no drugs, the men announced they were robbing him. A third man approached from behind and grabbed Brown while the other two started beating him. The men stole Brown's keys, cell phone and wallet and started to walk away. Brown probably would have let them have his property in exchange for his life, but then the man who had approached Brown from behind pointed a handgun at him. Brown, who has a concealed-carry permit, drew his pistol and shot two of his assailants. One man died at the hospital. The man who pointed a gun at Brown fled the scene when the shooting started. It was unclear if he was injured.


The Detroit News, Detroit, MI, 07/05/06
State: mi
American Rifleman Issue: 1/10/2006
According to police, a 61-year-old man arrived home to find a masked gunman waiting in his garage and a violent struggle ensued. After attempting to wrest the firearm from the intruder, the homeowner drew his own handgun and shot him. A second suspect ran to the aid of the wounded gunman and the criminal duo fled. The victim was treated and released for chest pains and a cut hand, but was otherwise uninjured.


Detroit Free Press, Detroit, MI, 09/13/05
State: mi
American Rifleman Issue: 12/1/2005
What sounded like an explosion outside a Michigan mans home set off a bizarre chain of events. According to police, when the homeowner looked out his window around 2 a.m., he saw that a Jeep had crashed into his garage. Armed with a handgun, he went outside and found a man trying to dislodge the vehicle. A yelling match ensued and the man drove off, but returned with his lights off. The homeowner, fearful diat the driver was trying to hit him or run him over, hid ; behind a car, and the suspect accelerated and smashed into it twice. The homeowner then fired four shots at the Jeep, but his gun jammed, so he ran inside to retrieve another firearm while his wife and neighbors phoned police. When the homeowner returned, the driver of the Jeep accelerated toward him so he fired two more shots at the vehicle. The driver, whose vehicle was riddled with bullet holes, then left the subdivision and was apprehended by police.


The Columbian, Vancouver, WA, 09/07/05
State: wa
American Rifleman Issue: 12/1/2005
Ice-cream vendor Christopher Sanders, who has a concealed carry permit, told police he was selling in his usual territory when a man flagged him down and asked for a ride. When Sanders told him "no," the man allegedly tried to open the vans sliding door, which was locked, and then tried to reach in an open window on the passenger side. Sanders grabbed a handgun from behind a seat, pointed it at the alleged perpetrator and told him to get his hands out of the vehicle. The man uttered an expletive and left while Sanders phoned police. As Sanders waited for an officer to arrive, the man returned and walked toward him with his hands in his pockets. Police say Sanders yelled at the man to show his hands, and two witnesses saw the suspect throw a knife on the ground. The alleged criminal was found by police, arrested on suspicion of robbery and booked for a previously issued misdemeanor warrant.


Associated Press, 09/17/05
State: id
American Rifleman Issue: 12/1/2005
After an Idaho woman went outside her home to investigate a strange noise, she found a former co-worker hiding in the bushes. He told her his pickup truck had broken down and he needed a lift home. She reluctantly agreed and took a .380-caliber handgun with her. Police say that when they reached the co-worker's driveway, he began to assault her. "He grabbed her and physically attacked her and told her she was coming with him," said Sheriffs Capt. John Valdez. The woman drew her gun and shot the man in the abdomen, killing him. An autopsy of the assailant, who was a registered sex offender, showed he had a blood-alcohol content of .26 percent. Investigators say his truck was later found near the woman's home, and it appeared that its engine was intentionally disabled.


The Commerical Dispatch, Columbus, MS, 07/18/05
State: ms
American Rifleman Issue: 11/1/2005
Billy Franks awoke from a deep sleep to find two armed men demanding cash and threatening to beat his 67-year-old wife, Sherry, with a baseball bat. The intruders then made good on their threat, bruising Sherry's arm and breaking Billy's arm in two places. That's when Sherry remembered the .22-cal. revolver her 70-year-old husband kept tucked under his pillow. "When she picked up the gun and pointed it [at the would-be robbers], they panicked and started running," Billy said. Sheriff's Department Captain Joe Young lauded the couple's handling of the situation. "People try to prey on senior citizens because they think they're easier to mess with, but this couple showed that's not always true," he said, adding, "I think it's a good idea for people to keep a handgun in their homes, just in case something like this happens."


The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, MO, 08/02/05
State: mo
American Rifleman Issue: 11/1/2005
A 66-year-old contract carrier for a Kansas City newspaper still doesn't know what his attackers wanted, but he does know that he's lucky to have been armed. His shift was just beginning at about 3 a.m., when four assailants sprinted toward him, forcing him back to the safety of his van. But before the carrier could get away, the biggest attacker, along with his three accomplices, began pummeling the man through the driver-side window. During the ordeal, the van drifted forward and slammed into a store, at which point the carrier retrieved a .380-cal. handgun and fired three shots out his window, causing the attackers to flee. Authorities were unsure if any of the thugs were wounded. The carrier was left bruised and bleeding, but he considered himself fortunate to be alive. "I thought these guys just weren't going to let up," he said. "He intended to knock me out, maybe leave me for dead. At that time, he'd get whatever he wanted."


The Olympian, Olympia, WA, 08/10/05
State: wa
American Rifleman Issue: 11/1/2005
It was about 4 a.m., and Chuck Estes was on his way to work when he noticed that someone had stolen his wife's car stereo and speakers. As he headed down the street, he saw two suspicious males climbing into a car loaded with electronics. While he investigated, one suspect bolted from the scene. Estes pointed a flashlight and a .44 Magnum handgun at the second suspect, who was seated in the front passenger seat, and ordered him to put his hands on the dashboard. "I made it very clear [to him] to stay in the car," said Estes, who has a concealed-carry permit. He called 9-1-1 and bolstered his firearm after determining that the suspect didn't pose a threat. "Hopefully that's the last time I'll have to pull [my gun] out of the holster," Estes said. "I want to be very clear that I choose to carry a pistol for personal protection and not to go out and stop thugs and not to be a vigilante." Authorities tracked a driver's license found on the scene to the suspect who fled, and both alleged thieves have been arrested. "In all honesty, if [Estes] hadn't taken some action, we'd probably be sitting here today with several thousands of dollars in stolen property," Chief Criminal Deputy Dan Kimball said.

Tant01

Northwestern University School of Law, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, vol. 86, issue 1, 1995




Crime victims used to be ignored by criminologists. Then, beginning slowly in the 1940s and more rapidly in the 1970s, interest in the victim's role in crime grew. Yet a tendency to treat the victim as either a passive target of another person's wrongdoing or as a virtual accomplice of the criminal limited this interest. The concept of the victim-precipitated homicide highlighted the possibility that victims were not always blameless and passive targets, but that they sometimes initiated or contributed to the escalation of a violent interaction through their own actions, which they often claimed were defensive.
Perhaps due to an unduly narrow focus on lower-class male-on-male violence, scholars. have shown little openness to the possibility that a good deal of "defensive" violence by persons claiming the moral status of a victim may be just that. Thus, many scholars routinely assumed that a large share of violent inter-actions are "mutual combat" involving two blameworthy parties who each may be regarded as both offender and victim. The notion that much violence is one-sided and that many victims of violence are largely blameless is dismissed as naive.
A few criminologists have rejected the simplistic mutual combat model of violence, though they sometimes limit its rejection to a few special subtypes of violence, especially family violence, rape, and, more generally, violence of men against women and of adults against children. However, the more one looks, the more exceptions become evident, such as felony killings linked with robberies, burglaries, or sexual assaults, contract killings, mass killings, serial murders, and homicides where the violence is one-sided. Indeed, it may be more accurate to see the mutual combat common among lower-class males to be the exception rather than the rule. If this is so, then forceful actions taken by victims are easier to see as genuinely and largely defensive.
Once one turns to defensive actions taken by the victims of property crimes, it is even easier to take this view. There are few robberies, burglaries, larcenies, or auto thefts where it is hard to distinguish offender from victim or to identify one of the parties as the clear initiator of a criminal action and another party as a relatively legitimate responder to those initiatives. The traditional conceptualization of victims as either passive targets or active collaborators overlooks another possible victim role, that of the active resister who does not initiate or accelerate any illegitimate activity, but uses various means of resistance for legitimate purposes, such as avoiding injury or property loss.
Victim resistance can be passive or verbal, but much of it is active and forceful. Potentially, the most consequential form of forceful resistance is armed resistance, especially resistance with a gun. This form of resistance is worthy of special attention for many reasons, both policy-related and scientific. The policy-related reasons are obvious: if self-protection with a gun is commonplace, it means that any form of gun control that disarms large numbers of prospective victims, either altogether, or only in certain times and places where victimization might occur, will carry significant social costs in terms of lost opportunities for self-protection.
On the other hand, the scientific reasons are likely to be familiar only to the relatively small community of scholars who study the consequences of victim self-protection: the defensive actions of crime victims have significant effects on the outcomes of crimes, and the effects of armed resistance differ from those of unarmed resistance. Previous research has consistently indicated that victims who resist with a gun or other weapon are less likely than other victims to lose their property in robberies and in burglaries. Consistently, research also has indicated that victims who resist by using guns or other weapons are less likely to be injured compared to victims who do not resist or to those who resist without weapons. This is true whether the research relied on victim surveys or on police records, and whether the data analysis consisted of simple cross-tabulations or more complex multivariate analyses. These findings have been obtained with respect to robberies and to assaults. Cook offers his unsupported personal opinion concerning robbery victims that resisting with a gun is only prudent if the robber does not have a gun. The primary data source on which Cook relies flatly contradicts this opinion. National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data indicate that even in the very disadvantageous situation where the robber has a gun, victims who resist with guns are still substantially less likely to be injured than those who resist in other ways, and even slightly less likely to be hurt than those who do not resist at all.
With regard to studies of rape, although samples typically include too few cases of self-defense with a gun for separate analysis, McDermott, Quinsey and Upfold, Lizotte, and Kleck and Sayles all found that victims who resisted with some kind of weapon were less likely to have the rape attempt completed against them. Findings concerning the impact of armed resistance on whether rape victims suffer additional injuries beyond the rape itself are less clear, due to a lack of information on whether acts of resistance preceded or followed the rapist's attack. The only two rape studies with the necessary sequence information found that forceful resistance by rape victims usually follows, rather than precedes, rapist attacks inflicting additional injury, undercutting the proposition that victim resistance increases the likelihood that the victim will be hurt. This is consistent with findings on robbery and assault.

Full article with sources here> http://www.guncite.com/gcdgklec.html

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"In all countries where personal freedom is valued, however much each individual may rely on legal redress, the right of each to carry arms - and these the best and the sharpest - for his own protection in case of extremity, is a right of nature indelible and irrepressible, and the more it is sought to be repressed the more it will recur."

James Paterson