JULY 2018 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN

Looking at circumstances and tasks involved in the Monthly Armed Citizen® column of the NRA Official Journals provides us with some food for thought about personal protection. The incidents are summarized in the column for copyright reasons. I have provided links to the original stories for further study.

We can look at the incidents from two perspectives; circumstances and the tasks involved for the defender. This post will categorize the circumstances for each incident. Tomorrow will analyze the tasks involved.

Circumstances Analyses

Women have been buying an increasing number of firearms in recent years, and that trend is starting to make itself felt against those who try to commit criminal acts. In Arizona, for example, a shopper was getting ready to get into her car and drive home. While she was attempting to close the door of her vehicle, a man armed with a hatchet approached her vehicle, demanded that she hand over her keys and get out of the car. The woman drew a sidearm and told the man to back off. Instead, the assailant raised the hatchet. The shopper proceeded to shoot him, holding him at gunpoint until the police and medics arrived. The suspect was hospitalized, and charges were to be filed later. (Tucson News, Tucson, Ariz., 4/14/18)

https://tucson.com/woman-shoots-would-be-carjacker-who-threatened-her-with-a/article_5c66400a-00a7-53c3-b74e-302af4b264e1.html

Location of Incident

• In or around Vehicle

Citizen action

• Challenge criminal
• Shot(s) fired
• Held at gunpoint

Result to Criminal

• Criminal wounded
• Captured

Gun Type

• Handgun

Firearm Location

• In Vehicle

Number of Shots fired

• 1

Number of adversaries

• 1 adversary

In another example of how a gun empowers women, a South Carolina woman used a 9 mm handgun to protect her boyfriend from a deadly threat by an attacker armed with a shotgun and a garrotte. The thug was one of two people who forced their way into the home. The incident started when loud knocking caused the male homeowner to crack the door open to peek outside. The door was pushed in, shoving the resident against the wall hard enough that the drywall cracked, according to a video news report. The intruders threatened the people inside the home, and during an ensuing struggle, the homeowner’s girlfriend fired two shots, killing one of the bad guys and causing the other to flee. (foxcarolina.com, Gaffney, S.C., 4/6/18)

http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/37896075/coroner-woman-shoots-kills-intruder-armed-with-shotgun-after-home-invasion

https://www.wspa.com/news/gaffney-man-killed-in-alleged-home-invasion/1104343277

Location of Incident

• Home

Citizen action

• Shot(s) fired

Result to Criminal

• Fled
• Criminal killed

Gun Type

• Handgun

Firearm Location

• Storage site – shelf, drawer, safe, etc.

Number of Shots fired

• 2 (at least one head shot)

Number of adversaries

• 2 adversaries

Caliber of defender’s firearm

• 9mm

Criminal Home Entry circumstances

• Defender opened the door

Dogs are supposed to bark, but a North Carolina pet owner knew it was unusual for his dog to do that. So when he was awakened one morning by the noise, he decided to check on his dog. Arriving downstairs, he noticed a stranger in his outdoor sunroom. The resident grabbed his smallbore bolt-action rifle and went outside. As he approached, he noticed that the other man was fussing with the doorknob, trying to enter the home. “When I saw that, I instantly put my rifle up at him,” the pet owner told local reporters. With that, he ordered the would-be intruder to back away from the house and lie on the ground, where the armed citizen held the man at gunpoint until the authorities arrived. The suspect faces multiple charges, including one count of breaking and entering. (Statesville Record & Landmark, Statesville, N.C., 4/11/18)

https://www.statesville.com/news/i-would-have-taken-the-shot-iredell-man-holds-would/article_9bb99316-3db6-11e8-b1c7-ebc49b8ebfa6.html

Location of Incident

• Home

Citizen action

• Challenge criminal
• Held at gunpoint

Result to Criminal

• Captured

Gun Type

• Long Gun

Firearm Location

• Storage site – shelf, drawer, safe, etc.

Number of Shots fired

• None

Number of adversaries

• 1 adversary

Caliber of defender’s firearm

• .22 rifle

Returning to the scene of the crime was not a good idea for a couple of suspected burglars in Nashville, Tenn. The two men allegedly broke into a home and attacked the woman who was inside. Shortly thereafter, the man of the house returned home. When the homeowner entered, one of the intruders struck him in the head with a blunt object, dazing him. The resident was then restrained and shoved into another room, where they told him to open his gun safe so they could steal the firearms. The stunned homeowner complied, and the intruders apparently took off with three long guns and a pistol in hand. The male victim then armed himself and started to try to find his wife. Instead, he found the intruders, one of whom he shot fatally. The dead man was identified as someone with a rap sheet for auto burglary, felony theft and other misdeeds. He was also a suspect in a break-in at the same home a month or two earlier. (The Tennessean, Nashville, Tenn., 3/29/18)

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/03/29/nashville-police-hermitage-homeowner-shoots-kills-home-invasion-suspect/468672002/

http://www.wsmv.com/story/37835813/police-hermitage-homeowner-shot-killed-burglary-suspect#

Location of Incident

• Home

Citizen action

• Shot(s) fired

Result to Criminal

• Fled
• Criminal killed

Gun Type

• Handgun

Firearm Location

• Storage site – shelf, drawer, safe, etc.

Number of Shots fired

• Unknown

Number of adversaries

• 2 adversaries

Criminal Home Entry circumstances

• Violent entry

Some people are so intent on wreaking havoc they don’t even heed verbal warnings about the prospect of being shot. Such was the case in Hesperia, Calif., where a man was trying to force his way into a home of a Vietnam veteran. The military man heard someone trying to break into his home through a window. The homeowner grabbed his gun and told the burglary suspect to leave, but the intruder continued what he was doing, eventually forcibly gaining entry, police said. The armed citizen fired, critically injuring the trespasser. When the police arrived, officers found the wounded suspect on the ground in the front yard. (The Sun, San Bernardino, Calif., 3/30/18)

https://www.sbsun.com/2018/03/30/hesperia-homeowner-shoots-man-trying-to-break-into-home/

Interesting comments by readers

http://www.vvng.com/hesperia-homeowner-shoots-alleged-intruder/

Location of Incident

• Home

Citizen action

• Challenge criminal
• Shot(s) fired

Result to Criminal

• Criminal wounded

Gun Type

• Unknown

Firearm Location

• Storage site – shelf, drawer, safe, etc.

Number of Shots fired

• 1

Number of adversaries

• 1 adversary

Criminal Home Entry circumstances

• Violent entry

A New Mexico burglary suspect will have plenty of time to sit and think about his actions, but it might not be very comfortable. After the bad guy broke into what was then an unoccupied house, someone came home. The resident noticed things were amiss and drew his gun before going inside, where he caught the thief in the act. The intruder pulled out a box cutter and lunged at the armed citizen, who fired once, hitting the stranger in the backside. Charges are pending. (Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque, N.M., 4/3/18)

https://www.abqjournal.com/1154002/apd-burglary-suspect-shot-in-northeast-albuquerque.html

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/northeast-albuquerque-home-burglar-shot/4851067/

Location of Incident

• Home

Citizen action

• Held at gunpoint
• Warning shot
• Shot(s) fired

Result to Criminal

• Captured
• Criminal wounded

Gun Type

• Handgun

Firearm Location

• In Vehicle

Number of Shots fired

• 1

Number of adversaries

• 1 adversary

Criminal Home Entry circumstances

• Violent entry

 

Anyone is free to quote or reproduce these accounts. Send clippings via e-mail to armedcitizen@nrahq.org, or by mail to “The Armed Citizen,” 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030- 9400. For bonus features, visit “The Armed Citizen Blog” at americanrifleman.org.

Tomorrow’s post will analyze the tasks involved for each incident.