America's Armed Citizens

Family Fued Ends in Gunfire

2008-09-03T09:30:00.000-04:00

A long-running feud between two Nevada families came to a head when a participant in the feud entered a bar and grill and began shooting into a crowd of 300 patrons. Police say the gunman killed two brothers and wounded two other people. When he stopped to reload, a patron with a concealed carry permit saw a chance to intervene. The patron drew his pistol and fired, killing the gunman and preventing further bloodshed. Reno Gazette-Journal - Reno, NV

.357 Stops Two Suspected Burglars

2008-08-20T22:52:00.001-04:00

Something caught Willie Shows' eye when he drove past his father's auction house. Police say he pulled behind the building and saw two suspects loading a pickup with tools and scrap metal. "We've had $30,000 worth of stuff stolen from us over the last two years and I'm tired of it," Shows said. He grabbed his .357 revolver and confronted the thieves, whose initial actions made Shows very nervous. "They started trying to talk and they wouldn't come out from behind the truck. I said, ‘If you don't get down, I'm going to shoot you'," he remembers. Wisely, the suspects did as they were told and police arrested them shortly thereafter. Less than a year ago, Shows' father held suspects at gunpoint for police at the same location. The Review of Jones County - Laurel, MS

Man Defends Against Rifle-Wielding Carjacker

2008-08-13T09:03:00.001-04:00

Police say a man pulled into a gas station in a stolen car, then tried to add a second vehicle to his collection. He should have chosen an easier mark; his intended victim, Charles Todd, is a concealed-carry permit holder. Security video showed the carjacker carrying a rifle as he confronted Todd at the gas pumps. Todd took cover behind the pumps, drew his handgun and fired two shots. The carjacker dodged the shots, and ran out of the frame as he fled the scene. The Commercial Appeal - Memphis, TN

Armed Burglar Forces Couple to Disrobe

2008-08-06T09:46:00.000-04:00

Angela and Jeffery Patterson were watching TV when a man wearing a bandana and carrying a pistol burst into their apartment. Police say he demanded money and the TV, then ordered the couple to disrobe. He watched Angela more closely. "He didn't pay attention to me so I charged at him," Jeffery explained. As her husband struggled with the intruder, Angela ran to the bedroom and grabbed her pistol. "I refuse to be a victim," Angela said. "He put a gun in my face. If you're bold enough to do that, you're bold enough to shoot us." Angela stepped back into the living room and fired, killing the intruder. Houston Chronicle - Houston, TX

On the Second Amendment, Don't Believe Obama

2008-08-01T11:16:00.001-04:00

The presidential primary season is finally over, and it is now time for gun owners to take a careful look at just where apparent nominee Barack Obama stands on issues related to the Second Amendment. During the primaries, Obama tried to hide behind vague statements of support for “sportsmen” or unfounded claims of general support for the right to keep and bear arms.

[full story]

Man Shoots Gun-Toting Burglar

2008-07-30T11:54:00.000-04:00

According to police, the teenage suspects in a burglary knew the homeowner was hospitalized, but they didn't know he had a house sitter. One suspect waited in the car while his three accomplices broke into the house. The house sitter heard glass breaking, got a handgun and hid in a bedroom while the suspects stole guns, money and jewelry. When he thought the intruders had left, he stepped into the hallway -- only to find himself face to face with a gun-toting burglar. The house sitter quickly fired two shots, killing the suspect. The other suspects fled, but were later arrested. Telegraph - Dixon, IL

Gun Seizure Lawsuit

2008-07-23T11:59:00.003-04:00

An outspoken Long Island gun owner's home was raided by Nassau County detectives, who seized two dozen weapons he lawfully owns just one day after Rep. Carolyn McCarthy's office made a 911 call about him.

Freeport resident Gabriel Razzano claims he was targeted in the spring raid for his "unpopular" political beliefs. He's now filed a $5 million ... [more]

Thanks to Bob McCarty Writes for the tip.

Intruder Dies Attacking 81-Year-Old Man

2008-07-23T08:47:00.001-04:00

When an intruder broke down Robert Jenkins' door, he seemed to doubt Jenkins' marksmanship. "When he saw me, he said, ‘Give me that gun,'" the 81-year-old Jenkins said. "Then he lunged at me, so I shot him." But police say the incident didn't end there. While Jenkins' wife called 9-1-1, the intruder again dove at Jenkins, striking him in the head and chest. Jenkins fired his .38-caliber pistol a second time, killing the intruder. "If it happened again, I'd do the same thing, but I hope I don't have to," Jenkins said. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Atlanta, GA

Man Confronts Hooded Stranger

2008-07-17T10:43:00.000-04:00

"Was that you?" Les Daniel asked his 10-year-old grandson, who was sleeping in another bedroom. "No," the boy said. That was all Daniel needed to hear. Police say he quickly armed himself with two handguns and went to investigate the sounds he'd heard. Fish tank lights in the unlit dining room shone against a hooded stranger. "Who is it?" Daniel asked. "KCP," the man said, apparently meaning Kansas City police. Daniel detected two more prowlers. "Whatever you think I got, you're wrong!" Daniel called out. "There ain't anything in here! You're about ready to die over eight dollars!" Daniel let them know he meant it by racking the slide on his .357-caliber Glock. All three men promptly fled. The Kansas City Star - Kansas City, MO

Wife Yells to Husband "Duck and I'll Shoot!"

2008-07-08T10:00:00.002-04:00

A Texas homeowner went outside to close his property's gate when two masked men pulled into the driveway. Armed with guns, they demanded drugs and money. According to police, the homeowner said he didn't have anything and told them to leave. Instead, they tried to enter the home and a struggle ensued. The homeowner's wife, who'd been watching the incident unfold from a window, quickly loaded a shotgun and ran outside. "I [told my husband], 'Duck and I'll shoot! Duck and I'll shoot!," she recalls. "And he said, 'No, don't! Don't!' And I was debating whether to shoot or not." In the end, she found a compromise, firing a warning shot into the distance. The frightened suspects fled. "We should feel at home in our own home," the woman said. "We shouldn't feel frightened or afraid of anybody. This is our home." KRGV-TV - Weslaco, TX

Pizza Hut Fires Deliveryman After Armed Altercation

2008-07-07T08:13:00.002-04:00

Pizza Hut deliveryman James Spiers thought he was making a routine delivery, but he was walking into an ambush. As Spiers approached, an armed man sprang at him with a gun, but Spiers, a concealed-carry permit holder, was no easy target. Police say Spiers struggled hard with the assailant until he was able to produce his handgun. “It was a long ordeal ... my life was, without a doubt, in danger,” Spiers recalls. Spiers shot the suspect three times. The suspect fled and was arrested at the hospital. Pizza Hut summarily fired Spiers, a 10-year employee, citing a corporate policy forbidding employees from carrying firearms. To voice your displeasure, call Pizza Hut Corporate Offices at 800-948-8488 or visit pizzahut.com. The Des Moines Register - Des Moines, IA

80-Year-Old Stabbed, Then Shoots Attackers

2008-06-10T16:50:00.001-04:00

Elwood Pickett just wanted to be a good neighbor, so when two young men asked to use the phone, he handed it out the door. Then he grew suspicious. “They used the phone and left, but when they came back the second time, I was ready for them in case there was trouble,” the 80-year-old Pickett explained. He handed the phone out a second time, but he says one of the men “pushed through like an elephant and pounded me with a knife. He... stabbed me half to death, and I thought it was time.” But it wasn’t. Police say Pickett, a World War II vet and lifelong hunter, drew his .38 caliber pistol and fired three shots, striking one of the men and causing both to flee. One suspect went to the hospital; the other to jail. Pickett was badly injured but is recuperating. Hood County News - Granbury, TX

Man Rescues Girlfriend From Intruder

2008-06-09T11:34:00.001-04:00

After a man was killed at his apartment complex, Phillip Reinhardt bought a 9mm handgun and kept it nearby while he slept. Months later he was glad he had it. Police say an 18-year-old intruder kicked in Reinhardt’s dead-bolted door just before dawn. The commotion woke Reinhardt’s girlfriend, whom the intruder grabbed and began to touch inappropriately. Reinhardt came to her rescue, freeing her and firing one shot at the intruder. In hasty retreat, the wounded intruder broke a window and jumped through it. Police found him running down a street. The Salt Lake Tribune - Salt Lake City, UT

Thug Jumps Fence and Gets Shot

2008-06-02T13:35:00.001-04:00

Loud noises interrupted Julius Billy’s discussion with his wife. According to police, a man tried to kick open the back door and continued lurking outside. Billy says he was forced into action because the man was on the side of the house where his 5-year-old slept. He grabbed his 9mm handgun and repeatedly ordered the man to the ground, but he wouldn’t comply. “ ... He kept coming toward me,” Billy recalled. “He even jumped a little fence towards me and said, ‘Go ahead. Shoot me.’” Billy did just that, and the man fell. Billy ran inside to ensure his wife was calling 9-1-1, then returned to the back yard. “ ... This time he told me not to shoot,” Billy said. Police arrested the man minutes later. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Fort Worth, TX

Man Confronts Purse Snatcher

2008-05-27T11:03:00.000-04:00

Brad Correia was tucking his young children into bed when he heard a knock at the front door. He holstered his .45, then opened the door to find an 18-year-old man claiming his car had broken down. According to police, Correia let him in. “His clothes were soaked, he was bleeding and he’d lost one sneaker in the mud. I thought that if he were my son, I’d want someone to help him ... ,” Correia explained. But the teen’s story kept changing, so Correia secretly phoned police and discovered that his guest was a suspected purse-snatcher. When the suspect realized who was on the other line, he leapt from the chair. “That’s when I pulled my gun,” Correia said. The suspect quickly changed his tune and police apprehended him within minutes. The Standard-Times - New Bedford, MA

Armed Citizen Teaches Thug Valuable Lesson

2008-05-08T09:41:00.001-04:00

When Eric MacFarlane saw three teenagers kick in his neighbor’s door, he got his pistol and told a neighbor to call police. Fearing his neighbor’s small children were endangered, he ran to the scene. Police say two of the teens immediately fled, but MacFarlane found one in the doorway. “I told him to step back and lay down if he wanted to live,” MacFarlane recalls. “Then I talked to him about what direction his life was going in.” The teen said he broke in for money. MacFarlane told him he’s lucky the decision didn’t get him shot. “I just hope this young man has learned a lesson,” MacFarlane explained, adding that he doesn’t believe in violence. “[MacFarlane] did a really great job,” said Midwest City, Okla., police Capt. Sid Porter. “We’re probably going to issue him a commendation.” The Oklahoman - Oklahoma City, OK

Passing Motorist Rescues Good Samaritan

2008-05-05T13:23:00.001-04:00

Upon witnessing a man yelling at a woman and pushing her into a van, a passerby tried to be a Good Samaritan. Police say he asked the woman if she was okay and told her she didn’t have to get into the man’s vehicle. While stopped at a traffic light moments later, the van’s driver confronted the man. Both men exited their vehicles, and the van’s driver knocked the Good Samaritan to the ground. Two women, including the woman the victim tried to help, exited the van and began stomping on him. A passing motorist witnessed the scene and quickly stopped. He drew a firearm and ordered the three suspects to halt the beating. Police received reports of a man holding people at gunpoint, but quickly determined he had a concealed carry permit and arrested the three suspects. Ann Arbor News - Ann Arbor, MI

Intruder Returns After Police Leave

2008-05-01T11:21:00.002-04:00

It was a terrifying night that refused to end. Edith and William Stevens, both in their 80s, had already scared away an intruder. According to the sheriff's department, deputies completed an investigation and left, but two hours later the couple heard gunshots outside their home and glass breaking. William got his handgun and investigated. Finding an intruder in the hallway, he opened fire and the intruder returned it. "Had Mr. Stevens not had that handgun, I don't know what could have happened," said Maury County, Tenn., Chief Deputy Ashley Brown. The couple locked themselves in the bedroom and tried to phone police, but the lines were cut. The intruder, who police believe was after money for drugs, fired once more through a window. After discovering the intruder had fled, the couple phone police from a neighbor's house. The Daily Herald - Columbia, TN

Man Sees Hand Reaching Through Broken Window

2008-04-24T13:19:00.002-04:00

Suddenly awakened by the sound of someone rapping on a window, Matthew Kovschak called 9-1-1 and grabbed his .357 caliber handgun. According to police, Kovschak warned the prowler that he had a gun and police were on the way. The noise stopped, but only momentarily. Kovschak heard a commotion and then he saw a hand reaching through a broken window pane trying to unlock the back door. After one more warning, Kovschak fired four shots, twice striking the female intruder. Police believe a second suspect fled the scene. The Ledger - Lakeland, FL

Woman Hides In Closet From Stalker

2008-04-21T09:44:00.002-04:00

When a 51-year-old woman informed a man she didn't want to be his girlfriend, he committed a series of disturbing acts. Several police reports chronicle the incidents, which include break-ins, vandalism and even assaults at the woman's workplace. One day she found her home broken into, a clock-radio destroyed and undergarments missing. Two days later, she heard breaking glass and called 9-1-1. The entire chilling incident was recorded on 9-1-1 audio. "I'm so scared," she told the operator, who advised her to lock herself in a bedroom. She hid in a closet with a 9mm pistol loaned to her by a friend. Police say the alleged stalker began kicking in the bedroom door. "What are you doing?" the woman screamed. "Stop it! Please stop it! Just stop it!" The man burst into the bedroom and began choking her. Gunshots rang out. The woman escaped while her assailant lay mortally wounded. The Times - Munster, IN

Students Want Concealed Carry on Campus

2008-04-16T09:52:00.002-04:00

By Bob McCarty at BobMcCarty.com

On April 7, less than a year after it was formed, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus passed the 25,000-members mark and made note of the fact that approximately one out of every 755 college students in the United States is now a member of the organization.

SCCC reached this milestone only days ahead of the one-year anniversary of the tragic day on which a 23-year-old gunman Cho Heung-Sui killed 33 people, including himself, on the campus of Virginia Tech University.

Undoubtedly, some in the liberal news media and in the anti-Second Amendment lobby will try to find fault with those behind SCCC, a nonprofit group fighting to legalize concealed carry on college campuses. But they'll encounter some blowback if the figures on the SCCC web site are accurate (i.e., approximately one out of every 755 college students in the United States is now a member of the organization).

Anyone who thinks SCCC is trying — or will try — to capitalize on the tragedy at Blacksburg in order to boost membership rolls needs to read the "Announcement to SCCC Members and the Press" below which I found on the group's web site today:

"Students for Concealed Carry on Campus we will neither host nor endorse any protests during the week of April 13-19. April 16 is to be a day of remembrance for the students, faculty, and families affected by the Virginia Tech shooting. SCCC wishes to avoid any action that might distract or detract from the memory of the individuals lost on April 16, 2007."

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Masked Man Claims To Be Police Officer

2008-04-14T09:12:00.001-04:00

"I just didn't hesitate," Cody Buckler explained while recalling an armed invasion of his home. He awoke to the sound of strange voices in the living room. Peering down the hall, he saw two masked men toting handguns. His girlfriend's younger daughter confronted one of the men, who claimed to be a police officer. Buckler quickly returned to the bedroom for his 12-gauge shotgun. Police say he proceeded to the living room, spotted one of the suspects holding his television, and promptly shot him. That suspect fled, but his accomplice charged up the stairs. Buckler shot him, too, causing him to retreat to the basement and exit via a window. The suspects were found seeking treatment for gunshot wounds at the hospital. The Gazette - Colorado Springs, CO

80 Year Old Defends Dog From Mountain Lion

2008-04-07T10:41:00.003-04:00

Eighty-year-old Martha Smith says there was no time for fear when her border collie confronted a mountain lion near her home. "I could see the tail twitching, and he was snarling and spitting," she recalls. Smith shot at the cat with her .22-caliber rifle, but missed, and inside to dial 9-1-1. Informed help was a long way off, Smith decided she'd have to deal with the agitated cat herself. "I shot him in the light spot under his leg where I knew his heart would be," she explained. "You do what you have to do -- you don't have time to be afraid." Smith has been versed in riflecraft since adolescence, when she herded sheep on the family ranch. "My sister and I were put on horseback with the lunch, the water canteen and a gun," she recalls. Argus Leader - Sioux Falls, SD

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2008-04-04T17:09:00.000-04:00

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Man Confronts Fleeing Armed Robbery Suspect

2008-03-31T13:36:00.002-04:00

Police were pursuing a suspect in an armed robbery. Meanwhile, George Richard heard a commotion outside and quickly armed himself with a firearm to investigate. Just outside the door, police say Richard found the robbery suspect hunched up and hiding. "Man, you need to get up and get out of here," Richard told him. "Somebody's trying to kill me," the suspect said. "Well, you still need to leave," RIchard replied. The suspect then tried to enter the home. "Man, don't come in. I'm gonna have to shoot you," Richard advised. With the gun in his right hand, Richard pushed the suspect with his left arm to prevent his entry. But the suspect forced a foot inside the door, and Richard was forced to shoot him. The homeowner phoned police, who found the wounded suspect nearby. The Daily Advertiser - Lafayette, LA