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The Armed Citizen, June 1992


Vincent McCarthy wasn't afraid to lend a hand when he noticed a
police officer struggling with a couple at the side of the road.
He tried to help subdue the man, who was kicking the officer in
the face. Despite McCarthy's warnings, when the man pressed his
assault, the tour boat captain shot him  once in the leg with a
.25 automatic he is  licensed to carry  and stopped the attack.
Neither the officer nor McCarthy  were seriously injured in the
fracas. (<I>The Daily Commercial<D>, Leesburg, Fla., 4/10/92)

T.J. Namen credits his insomnia with  helping him nab two teens
who were breaking into cars in the parking lot of the Anchorage,
Alaska, apartment building he manages. Getting a .22 and sneaking
outside after  noticing the  two, Namen  waited until  he heard
breaking glass, then jumped up, announced that he was armed and
held the  pair for  police.  (<I>The Daily  News<D>, Anchorage,
Alaska, 3/31/92)

Jack Arnold, 81, thought he had escaped the gang violence of his
North Richmond, Calif., home, when he moved into his motor home
and parked it outside of the city. He was apparently the target
of random violence, however, when a  man carrying a knife burst
through the door one evening. After being threatened, struck and
shoved around, Arnold grabbed a  12-ga. and killed the intruder
with a  single  blast. (<I>The  Daily  Ledger/Post Dispatch<D>,
Pittsburg, Calif., 3/5/92)


Peter DelFranco,  owner  of a  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  pizza shop,
ordered a man out of the store after he tried to get change for a
roll of "dimes" actually containing pennies. Instead of leaving,
the man stepped  behind the counter,  feigned having  a gun and
started taking money from the  cash register. DelFranco fired a
single shot from his pistol, putting the man to flight. A wounded
suspect was found  nearby. (<I>The  Post<D>, Bridgeport, Conn.,
1/15/92)


A would-be armed robber found it never pays to bring a knife to a
gunfight when he vaulted a counter of Walter Krasowski's Chicago
coin shop  and slashed  him with  a butcher's  knife. Krasowski
pulled a .45 revolver, fired and wounded his assailant twice. The
man fled, with Krasowski in pursuit. Police found the man lying
in the street, with Krasowski  holding him at gunpoint. (<I>The
Daily Southtown Economist<D>, Chicago, Ill., 3/20/92)


Mike Court was finishing his day's work by making a bank run for
the Tampa, Fla., store where he works. As he prepared to make the
deposit, a robber stepped  up and demanded  the money. Instead,
Court pulled his own .380 and, after a short discussion, the two
began to shoot it out. The exchange ended when Court wounded the
criminal. "If I'd given him the money, who's to say he wouldn't
have shot  me anyway,"  Court  pondered. (<I>The  Times<D>, St.
Petersburg, Fla., 2/20/92)


Apparently intent on burglary, two hoods cut the phone lines to
Floris Gold's Cape Ferrelo, Oreg., home. They were busy forcing
their  way   into   the  basement   when   confronted   by  the
72-year-old-homeowner, fleeing when they noticed she was carrying
a  shotgun.  One  fired  a  shot  as  he  was  running--missing
Gold--which earned him a charge of attempted murder when police
caught up with him and his accomplice a short time later. (<I>The
Curry Costal Pilot<D>, Brookings, Oreg., 2/12/92)

Increased crime prompted Angelo Accurso to get a permit to keep a
gun in his Buffalo, N.Y., market. He  put it to good use when a
man walked in one morning and began to beat him with a piece of
pipe. Although seriously  injured, Accurso managed  to pull his
pistol and  loosed several  shots. Severely  wounded, Accurso's
attacker staggered from the store  and collapsed on the street.
(<I>The News<D>, Buffalo, N.Y., 4/3/92)


After entering through an unlocked back door of an Alcolu, S.C.,
woman's home, the man put an  extension cord around the woman's
neck and told her not to scream. Thinking quickly, the woman fell
to the floor and grabbed a rifle kept under the couch, prompting
her attacker to flee. (<I>The Item<D>, Sumter, S.C., 2/8/92)


Even though  Pizza Hut  has a  policy against  drivers carrying
firearms, a Pensacola, Fla., delivery man decided his own safety
was more important than company policy and took his pistol with
him. He needed it one evening when three criminals tried to rob
him. Making the delivery, the man decided he didn't like what he
saw. Telling the trio he was getting their drinks, he instead got
his 9 mm. When one of the group yelled "Die!" and fired a shot,
the delivery man ducked behind his car and returned fire, driving
them away. A company official later said the man would keep his
job. (<I>The News Journal<D>, Pensacola, Fla., 1/29/92)

James Summey of Lincolnton, N.C., got the drop on two men who had
broken into his son's home and was holding them at gunpoint while
his wife phoned police. He almost made a fatal mistake, however,
when he agreed to let one of the housebreakers get a cigarette.
Instead of tobacco, the man  came up with a  .25 auto and fired
several shots at Summey; all  missed. Summey returned fire with
his .44 Mag., prompting the gunman to cease hostilities and wait
quietly for police. His accomplice fled, but turned himself into
soon after. "If Mr. Summey  had wanted to harm  one of them, he
could have  really done  it," a  detective later  said. (<I>The
Lincoln Times-News<I>, Lincolnton, N.C., 2/19/92)


Armed Citizen, July 1992


David Shanley was content to let the two men who taken money from
the register of his liquor store flee until one pulled a gun and
threatened to kill him. When that happened, Shanley, a former New
York City police  officer, drew  his own  gun and  opened fire,
wounding both robbers. Both fled but were apprehended by police
while seeking medical treatment for their wounds. (<I>Newsday<D>,
Long Island, N.Y., 4/10/92)

When his stepfather began beating a 16-year-old Kalispell, Mont.,
youth's mother, the boy ordered him  to stop. When the man--who
had  a   history   of  alcohol-induced   attacks   against  the
family--continued his attack, the teen got a rifle and shot the
man once, killing him. "The boy clearly was justifiably concerned
about the welfare of his mother  and younger brother and sister
when he shot,"  said the  county attorney.  "I am  convinced he
prevented serious injury or  deaths with what  he did." (<I>The
Daily Inter Lake<D>, Kalispell, Mont., 2/21/92)

Six burglaries in  one week were  enough for  Todd Bridges, the
manager of several Wichita, Kans., muffler shops. Armed with his
AR-15, he found his late-night stakeout rewarded when a man broke
into the shop early one morning. Bridges ordered the man to halt,
but when the burglar began running towards some storage racks at
the back of the  shop, fired three shots,  hitting him once. "I
didn't want him to get back there and start taking shots at me,"
said Bridges. (<I>The Eagle<D>, Wichita, Kans., 3/27/92)

Wearing a mask and armed with a sawed-off shotgun, a man bent on
robbery entered Reid's Mart in Hubert, N.C., just as owner Steve
Reid was closing for the night. Reid  at first thought it was a
joke, but when it became evident that the gunman meant business,
Reid pulled his 9  mm from his  back pocket and  fired a single
shot, striking the crook in the chest, killing him. (<I>The Daily
News<D>, Jacksonville, N.C., 3/25/92)

Answering a knock at the door early one morning, Leon Peterson of
Cottonwood Heights, Utah, found no one there. When the knocking
continued on another door to the home, Peterson got his pistol.
When he  opened the  door,  several teenagers  crashed  in, one
swinging a baseball bat. After issuing several warnings, Peterson
unleashed several  shots,  killing  the  bat-wielding intruder.
Police said Peterson was justified in shooting the intruder and
arrested several suspects, including Peterson's estranged wife,
alleging she hired the youths to burglarize the home and retrieve
the couple's daughter. (<I>The Deseret News<D>, Salt Lake City,
Utah, 4/15/92)

Napping in her rural Mission, Tex., home with her two children,
Vanessa Cooper heard a car pull up, and, looking out the window,
saw an unfamiliar car in the driveway. Fearing for the safety of
her children, Cooper picked up a pistol and went to investigate.
She found a  man in  the living room,  and when  he ignored her
questions on why he was there  and lunged at her, Cooper fired,
killing the intruder. (<I>The Valley Morning Star<D>, Harlingen,
Tex., 3/13/92)

Faced with a semi-auto held by a man demanding money, the clerk
of a Terrytown, La., convenience store handed over the money from
the cash register, but then pulled a .357 Mag. revolver and fired
three times, killing the would-be robber. Police anticipated no
charges against the clerk, saying "(he) was definitely in fear of
his life." (<I>The Times-Picayune<D>, New Orleans, La., 2/6/92)

Covering the rioting in Atlanta,  Ga., that followed the Rodney
King jury verdict in Los Angeles, a TV-news team found themselves
the targets of the mob. They were rescued, however, when Garnett
Sumpter, the husband of one of their coworkers, happened onto the
scene. Drawing his licensed pistol, Sumpter convinced the mob to
go elsewhere.  (<I>The  Journal-Constitution<D>,  Atlanta, Ga.,
5/5/92)

Out jogging one morning, a Silver Spring, Md., woman was grabbed
from behind  and wrestled  to a  secluded  spot. Once  there, a
teenager tried to rape the woman, but she fought back and managed
to escape when her assailant slipped and fell. The woman flagged
a ride home and told her husband,  who grabbed a gun and jumped
into his  car. The  man  spotted the  would-be-rapist  near the
assault scene  and  held  him  for  police.  (<I>The Montgomery
Journal<D>, Rockville, Md., 5/13/92)

Odell Smith, Jr., a Birmingham, Ala., cabbie, picked up two men
who turned out to be armed robbers. When the man in the back seat
held a gun to his head and demanded money, Smith instead grabbed
his .38, spun in  the driver's seat and  fired three shots. All
three connected, killing the gunman. Smith then shot and wounded
the gunman's accomplice. "What I did was in self-defense," Smith
said. (<I>The News<D>, Birmingham, Ala., 4/10/92)

Ron Simpson carries a gun on the job as a midnight-shift service
station attendant in  Aurora, Ill.  He needed  it recently--the
third time in 18 months--when a man walked in, pretended to have
a gun and  demanded money  from the  register. When  the robber
dropped his guard, however, Simpson pulled  his 9 mm pistol and
held him for police. "The gun's not there to protect the store;
it's purely to  protect me,"  Simpson said.  (<I>The Beacon<D>,
Aurora, Ill., 4/23/92)

Wallace Miller's wife roused him early one morning when she heard
someone talking inside their Cross Lanes, W. Va., home. Getting a
pistol and investigating, Miller found an armed man standing in
the kitchen. Miller  first fired a  warning shot,  but when the
intruder fired a blast from the shotgun he was carrying, Miller
shot the man and drove him from the home. A wounded suspect later
checked into a local hospital. (<I>The Daily Mail<D>, Charleston,
W. Va., 2/25/92)


The Armed Citizen, August 1992



Witnessing two women being  repeatedly stabbed in  front of his
bicycle shop in Baltimore, Md., Sandy Mandel grabbed his licensed
.45 and went to intervene. He chased the knife-wielding assailant
for a block, but when the attacker turned and raised his knife,
Mandel fired  a  single  shot,  wounding  him.  (<I>The Sun<D>,
Baltimore, Md., 5/15/92)

After finding money missing from  her Kennewick, Wash., tavern,
Carol Mae Hodgins decided  to start spending  the nights in the
business. Alerted when the phone began to ring early one morning,
Hodgins and a friend--both armed  with .357s--were ready when a
former employee drove up and used a key to open the door. When he
took money  from several  games in  the bar,  Hodgins--a former
security guard--used her  gun and a  drop kick to  hold him for
police. (<I>The Tri-Cities Herald<D>, Kennewick, Wash., 4/11/92)

His wife awakened by the sound  of breaking glass outside their
Arlington, Tex., apartment,  NRA member Jim  Newton grabbed his
AR-15. Outside he found two men trying to steal his wife's car.
Newton returned fire when one man shot at him, killing the gunman
and putting his accomplice  to flight. "It  appears that he was
definitely  in  fear  of   his  life  and   that  he  fired  in
self-defense," a police detective said. A handgun found near the
dead  man   had  been   fired   twice,  police   said.  (<I>The
Star-Telegram<D>, Ft. Worth, Tex., 5/14/92)

Stalking his former girlfriend was a fatal mistake for a Memphis,
Tenn., man after he kicked  his way into her  home for a second
time in eight  months. Not  finding the  woman at home,  the he
stabbed her mother and Donzale Shelby,  a family friend, with a
kitchen knife. Although wounded, Shelby  grabbed a gun and shot
his attacker once in the  chest, mortally wounding him. (<I>The
Commercial Appeal<D>, Memphis, Tenn., 5/30/92)

A convicted felon with a long police record pushed his luck too
far when he attempted to rob the Charleston, S.C., area nightclub
managed by Paul Thomas. Thomas and a female employee were locking
up for the night when the armed robber grabbed the woman, held a
gun to her head and forced  them back inside. Playing for time,
Thomas feigned a breathing problem, and when the gunman lowered
his gun, Thomas whipped  out a pistol  and fired several shots,
killing the man. (<I>The Post and Courier<D>, Charleston, S.C.,
4/14/92)

Delivering pizzas in  Syracuse, N.Y.,  early one  morning, John
MacDonald was accosted by two men  who tried to steal the pies.
MacDonald tried to keep hold of the  pizza bag, but when one of
the pair attacked him with a broomhandle, MacDonald let go of the
bag and  drew his  pistol. One  man fled  with the  pizzas, but
MacDonald gave the  other a ride  to the police  station in his
delivery car.  He is  licensed to  carry, police  said. (<I>The
Herald American<D>, Syracuse, N.Y., 4/19/92)

Araina Thompson, beaten repeatedly by her former boyfriend, knew
a court order would not keep her safe when he was released from
jail, so she  took the precaution  of buying a  pistol. When he
showed up at her Bensalem,  Pa., apartment--violating the court
order for the third time--and began to beat her, Thompson got her
pistol and  fired,  killing  the  man.  (<I>The  Trentonian<D>,
Trenton, N.J., 4/25/92)

Victimized by two previous burglaries at his Newport News, Va.,
home, Jonas Norris evened the score when the man returned for a
third try. After entering the home  via a window, the burglar's
movements woke Norris, who fired several  shots at him. The man
fled, but a wounded suspect was apprehended while seeking medical
treatment. (<I>The Daily Press<D>, Newport News, Va., 4/23/92)

Hearing screams near their Maple Rapids, Mich., home, Louis and
Cindy Ward  investigated and  found  a large  dog  attacking an
11-year-old neighbor. As Cindy calmed the girl and distracted the
dog into ceasing its attack, Louis grabbed a shotgun. Hoping to
draw the animal away, Louis picked up a stick and threw it, but
when the dog  came after him,  Ward shot and  killed it. Police
credited Ward's actions  with saving  the girl's  life. (<I>The
State Journal<D>, Lansing, Mich., 4/19/92)

Driving to work, Macon, Ga., resident Joe Moody saw a couple who
manage a local grocery being robbed by three armed, masked men.
He paused nearby to tell a security guard to call police, then,
with his .44 Mag., returned to the store. Gun in hand, he hopped
out of his truck and  ordered the trio of  thugs to scram. They
took the hint and fled. Police later arrested several suspects,
all convicted felons. (<I>The Telegraph<D>, Macon, Ga., 4/21/92)

Mark Rigas was in his Waldoboro,  Maine, pizza shop one evening
when a man  walked in, waved  a gun around  and demanded money.
Instead of complying, Rigas pulled his own gun--which he keeps in
the shop  for just  such  an occasion--and  called  police. The
would-be robber fled while Rigas was on the phone, but a suspect
was soon arrested. "I work took hard for my money to let some guy
rob me," said Rigas. (<I>The Courier-Gazette<D>, Rockland, Maine,
4/23/92)

Believing the burglars who took more  than $20,000 in tools and
motorcycles from  his motorcycle  shop in  Jeffersonville, Ky.,
would return, Jim Beatty armed himself with a shotgun and waited.
When two men  broke in, Beatty  forced them from  the shop with
several blasts. "They're greedy," said Beatty. "That's the worst
kind of criminal." (<I>The Courier-Journal<D>, Louisville, Ky.,
3/17/92)


The Armed Citizen, September 1992


David Plasters, a city councilman  in Greeley, Colo., picked up
his 9 mm and went to investigate when he heard noises at the rear
of his home at  2:30 a.m. In  the kitchen Plasters  found a man
entering through a window. Plasters  ordered him to freeze, but
the intruder ran through  the house and  out another window and
escaped. (<I>The Rocky Mountain News<D>, Denver, Colo., 6/17/92)

Two burglars casing a Wichita, Kans., residential area made the
wrong choice when they broke into a home occupied by a woman and
her great-grandmother. The  two fled  the house  and went  to a
neighbor's home. The neighbor grabbed his .357, interrupted the
burglary and ordered the pair to surrender. They instead jumped
in their car and fled as the  neighbor fired six shots at them.
Responding police soon arrested one suspect and recovered a large
cache of  stolen  property. (<I>The  Eagle<D>,  Wichita, Kans.,
5/14/92)

Kouman Lee was behind the counter of his Fontana, Calif., store
when an armed robber came in and demanded money. As the man took
money from the  register, Lee,  the victim  of several previous
robberies, was able to reach a  gun kept behind the counter and
fired, hitting the robber.  The wounded criminal  fled, but was
found  at  a  local  hospital.   (<I>The  Inland  Valley  Daily
Bulletin<D>, Ontario, Calif., 5/27/92)

Noticing his  girlfriend's garage  in disarray,  Lithonia, Ga.,
resident Orlando Sheppard got a pistol out of his truck. When he
walked inside the house, he found two men there, one armed with a
handgun. Both Sheppard and the intruder fired; the gunman--owner
of several  felony  raps--was mortally  wounded,  Sheppard, his
girlfriend and her son escaped uninjured. The accomplice escaped.
(<I>The Atlanta Journal-Constitution<D>, 6/10/92)

Hearing glass breaking in  his 75-year-old neighbor's backyard,
Leonard Carralero,  Jr.,  of  Miami,  Fla.,  got  his  shotgun,
investigated and found an intruder attempting to break into the
woman's house. The stranger sprinted away, but Carralero caught
up with him on the front  yard. Carralero, thinking the man was
reaching for what appeared to be a gun under his clothes, fired a
single blast and mortally wounded  the would-be burglar. Police
said the dead  man had  a police  record and history  of mental
illness. (<I>The Herald<D>, Miami, Fla., 4/18/92)

Answering the phone  at 3 a.m.,  Bill Gross  of Phoenix, Ariz.,
heard his next-door neighbor on the line, telling him someone was
breaking  into  her  apartment.  Gross  armed  himself  with  a
semi-auto, went  outside and  found a  man  trying to  open the
woman's front window. Gross ordered him to stop, but when the man
turned and charged, he fired a shot which wounded the intruder.
Police said wounded man  would be charged  after being released
from the hospital. (<I>The Arizona Republic<D>, Phoenix, Ariz.,
4/30/92)

Stopped for a  red light,  Laura Huntington  of Woodstock, Ga.,
suddenly found herself with an extra passenger in the car--a man
holding a  razor  to  her  throat.  Following  his  directions,
Huntington stopped the car on  command, and seizing the moment,
pulled her revolver. Her assailant wisely decided to flee. "I had
already made up my mind I was going to use it," she said. (<I>The
Daily Journal<D>, Marietta, Ga., 6/4/92)

Pensacola, Fla., area resident Jack Taylor was helping a friend
fix his car when the pair was attacked by a man wielding a tree
limb. Struck from behind, Taylor, a former deputy sheriff, pulled
a pistol from his back pocket and shot at his attacker. The man
and an accomplice fled, but a wounded suspect and a juvenile were
later caught. (<I>The News Journal<D>, Pensacola, Fla., 6/12/92)

Walking through the woods in a  state park in Wenatchee, Wash.,
Michael Vanney  was horrified  to see  a  cougar pounce  on his
five-year-old daughter Jessica. Armed only with a hunting knife,
Vanney yelled for his wife to bring a handgun, then jumped on the
cat, knocking it off  the girl. When his  wife arrived with the
gun, Vanney fired two  shots, treeing the  cat, which was later
captured and held  in quarantine.  Jessica suffered  only minor
scrapes in the attack, according to an Associated Press report.
(<I>The Tribune<D>, Salt Lake City, Utah, 6/24/92)

A vow of vengeance led  only to a gunshot  wound for a Houston,
Tex., man after  he stalked  a female  former coworker  for six
months. The woman, who had filed several complaints with police,
was in a grocery store parking lot when the stalker jumped into
her car and tried to abduct her. When he did, the woman pulled a
gun and fired,  wounding him  twice. (<I>The  Post<D>, Houston,
Tex., 6/3/92)

Gary Edge of Woodruff, S.C., tucked a pistol in the waistband of
his pants when a smalltime criminal fleeing from police started
pounding on the door  to his home, demanding  to use the phone.
When Edge opened the door slightly to hand out a portable phone,
the man forced his way inside and began to threaten Edge with a
metal bar. Knocked off balance, Edge managed to pull his gun and
fire, mortally wounding his assailant. (<I>The Herald-Journal<D>,
Spartanburg, S.C., 5/11/92)

Beth Smith  of Hartselle,  Ala.,  grabbed her  pistol  when her
grandmother burst into the house, saying two men had invaded her
home next door. In  pursuit of the fleeing  pair, Smith fired a
warning shot, prompting one to drop to the gound. Smith held him
for police. (The News Journal, Pensacola, Fla., 6/11/92)


The Armed Citizen, October 1992


Asleep in the  apartment above  his Brooklyn,  N.Y., auto shop,
Ezekial Witherspoon grabbed his licensed 9 mm when he heard the
sounds of forced entry in the business. In the confrontation that
followed, Witherspoon shot and mortally wounded an intruder who
had gained entry to the shop by smashing a window. Police didn't
charge Witherspoon,  saying  the  shooting  appeared justified.
(<I>Newsday<D>, New York, N.Y., 7/15/92)

John Gibbs,  a  Jacksonville,  Fla.,  volunteer  reserve police
officer, was using a car wash early one morning when a car with
three men in it  drove up and  stopped nearby. When  one of the
occupants jumped out and pulled a gun, Gibbs countered with his
own gun. In the short fight that ensued, Gibbs escaped harm while
mortally wounding his  assailant. The  accomplices fled. Police
said Gibbs apparently acted properly in shooting the man. (<I>The
Florida Times-Union<D>, Jacksonville, Fla., 7/20/92)

James Eldridge heard glass shattering  and looked out his house
window to see two men in his carry-out store lot. When one got a
pillow case out of a  car and the pair  started for the store's
front door, Eldridge got  his shotgun and  confronted them. One
would-be burglar fled, but the store owner held the other until
police came. (<I>The News-Sun<D>, Springfield, Ohio, 7/13/92)

Timothy Riley, a resident of Green,  Ohio, is very popular with
his neighbor.  Hearing glass  breaking  next door,  Riley armed
himself with a shotgun and confronted two housebreakers. The pair
ran back inside, but  surrendered when Riley  ordered them out.
Riley held them at gunpoint for police. "When those burglars saw
the barrel of my shotgun, they laid  down on the ground and got
real peaceful." (<I>The Beacon Journal<D>, Akron, Ohio, 6/9/92)


An armed robber had successfully  hit Kep Van Dang's Pensacola,
Fla., twice in a week, but pressed his luck too far when he tried
a third time.  Dang got a  pistol after the  second robbery, in
which the  criminal threatened  to come  back. When  the robber
returned and pointed a gun at Dang and a clerk, the storekeeper
pulled his new .38 and fired several shots, halting the robbery
and driving the  man from  the store.  Police, found  a wounded
suspect several blocks  away, said  Dang would  not be charged.
"We're going to keep that gun,  it's our protection," said Dang
through an interpreter. (<I>The News-Journal<D>, Pensacola, Fla.,
7/5/92)

Shoved aside by a  strongarm thief who  vaulted the counter and
began looting the till, the clerk of a Bristol, Pa., convenience
store simply pulled  his licensed  revolver and  fired a single
shot. The blast had the desired effect, driving the man from the
store. (<I>The Times<D>, Trenton, N.J., 7/28/92)

Watching a  house  for  a friend,  Arthur  and  Annie  Brown of
Greenville, S.C., were ready when they found a trio of teenagers
while checking the home. Noticing items  out of place when they
entered, the Browns had their pistols ready when they confronted
the intruders, Mrs. Brown, 73, fired a warning shot from her gun,
and together with her husband held the three for police. "We both
got our pistols because of previous break-ins," she told police.
(<I>The Piedomont<D>, Greenville, S.C., 6/11/92)

Feeling uneasy about her only customer, a lone Palmdale, Calif.,
store clerk put herself with easy reach of the revolver she keeps
in the store for  protection. When the  man exposed himself and
threatened to rape her. The clerk  responded by firing a single
shot from her  .357 Mag.,  prompting the  criminal to  flee the
store. (<I>The  Antelope  Valley  Press<D>,  Palmdale,  Calif.,
7/10/92)

The owner of a lunch truck gave  the burglar a chance to leave,
but when the thief  wouldn't comply, the  Elizabeth, N.J. truck
owner retrieved a shotgun, only to be confronted by the intruder
carrying machete. After a warning shot had no effect, the truck
owner fired a blast that put the man to flight. Police arrested a
wounded suspect two blocks away. (<I>The Star-Ledger<D>, Newark,
N.J., 6/5/92)

A would-be robber paid with his life when he tried the ultimate
in stupid stunts--robbing  a gun  store at  knife point. Edward
Sarhan was working in  the Miami, Fla., area  shop when the man
entered and demanded money. As employee Tony Milan wrestled with
the knife-wielding assailant, Sarhan drew  his .38 revolver and
shot the man three times, killing him. (<I>The Herald<D>, Miami,
Fla., 6/9/92)

Two self-described "feisty"  senior citizens  were more  than a
match for an  armed intruder  who entered  their Ambridge, Pa.,
home, apparently  intent on  burglary. As  the crook  pointed a
pistol at her, Jean Hankinson screamed for husband Melvin to get
the shotgun. As Melvin grabbed for his scattergun, the thief ran
downstairs and dove through a window. Police said he apparently
took a set  of car keys  and the next  night tried  to take the
Hankinson's car, but was again driven off. (<I>The Beaver County
Times<D>, Beaver, Pa., 7/13/92)

When his dogs interrupted his morning shave, Tom Fletcher looked
outside to see a man hiding behind a peach tree in his Juliette,
Ga. yard. Fearing the man was  a wanted fugitive, Fletcher, 76,
picked up his pistol, went outside and captured the stranger. It
turned out the man was wanted for the throat-slashing murder of a
woman during a burglary and the stabbing of a motorist. (<I>The
Telegraph<D>, Macon, Ga., 7/5/92)


The Armed Citizen, November 1992

A pair of Las Vegas, Nev., carjackers learned that it's hard to
practice your profession when the chosen victims are also armed.
The pair approached a car parked outside a pizza shop, drew guns
and announced the robbery, but the car's two occupants drew their
own guns and opened fire. The  two would-be robbers fled, but a
wounded suspect and an accomplice were apprehended shortly after.
(<I>The Review-Journal<D>, Las Vegas, Nev., 8/18/92)

Hearing suspicious noises outside his home early one morning, a
West Goshen, Pa., homeowner--already on alert after his car had
been stolen two months  earlier--picked up his  9 mm pistol and
investigated. Outside he found two men loading his gas grill into
their car. He ordered them to stop and held them at gunpoint for
police. (<I>The Daily Local News<D>, West Chester, Pa., 9/1/92)

Working outside his father-in-law's restaurant, a Tacoma, Wash.,
man was informed by his  wife that a group  of armed and unruly
teens was causing a  disturbance in the  eatery. When the group
moved outside  and one  member  threatened the  Tacoman  with a
bottle, he fired  a single shot  from his  pistol, wounding his
attacker and  halting the  disturbance.  The wounded  man faces
several charges, police said.  (<I>The Morning News Tribune<D>,
Tacoma, Wash., 7/29/92)

Feeling sympathy for an acquaintance with a hard-luck story, Gary
Melton loaned the man $50. The man returned to Melton's store the
next day, but not to repay the loan. Threatening Melton--who is
confined to a wheelchair--with a letter opener, the man demanded
more money. Instead of complying,  Melton pulled his pistol and
shot the man to  death. Police said  the slaying was justified.
(<I>The Times Dispatch<D>, Richmond, Va., 8/28/92)

William Stubbs was  in his  Hallsboro, N.C.,  store when  a man
walked in and started  to beat him with  a club. Stubbs feigned
unconsciousness until his wife, hearing the commotion, walked in
and was attacked. Stubbs--who suffered several broken bones and
cuts in the attack--grabbed a pistol from a drawer and shot the
man several  times, killing  him. Stubbs'  wife was  also badly
beaten in the attack.  (<I>The Sunday Star-News<D>, Wilmington,
N.C., 6/28/92)

After successfully fighting off a would-be rapist while walking
her dog,  a Murray,  Utah,  woman, enraged  over  the incident,
retrieved a pistol from her home  and went hunting for the man.
Finding him attempting to hitch a ride, she held him at gunpoint
until a passing motorist called police. (<I>The Tribune<D>, Salt
Lake City, Utah, 8/6/92)

Stopped at a highway  rest stop, Ray Cage  of Justin, Tex., was
returning to his truck when he  was approached by two men. When
one flashed a gun and ordered him out of the truck, Cage instead
came up  with his  own gun  and exchanged  shots with  the duo.
Although wounded in the hip, Cage  drove his attackers off. Two
suspects were  later apprehended.  (<I>The  Citizen<D>, Keller,
Tex., 8/4/92)

Charleston, S.C., resident  Theodore Palmer  returned home from
work early one morning only to  find a stranger in his bedroom.
Queried as to what he wanted, the man instead advanced on Palmer,
who retreated to the hallway and grabbed a rifle he keeps there.
In a brief  struggle for  control of  the gun, Palmer  shot the
intruder several times. He fled, but a wounded suspect was later
apprehended. A police officer said burglars should consider being
shot . . . "an occupational hazard." (<I>The Post & Courier<D>,
Charleston, S.C., 8/27/92)

A Eufaula, Okla., store clerk stocking a cooler was confronted by
one of two men  who entering the  store and turned  to find the
second man, his pants down, behind her. The clerk threw a case of
beer at the second man and  ran behind the store's counter with
both men in  pursuit. She  got to  a pistol  kept in  a drawer,
however, and drove the  men from the  premises without firing a
shot. (<I>The  News-Capital  &  Democrat<D>,  McAlester, Okla.,
7/27/92)

Talking with several  friends outside a  York, Pa., restaurant,
Barb Wallace  was  shocked to  see  one of  her  party randomly
attacked. The two men sparred, but Wallace's friend was knocked
to the  ground  and  kicked, his  cheekbone  crushed.  When the
attacker turned his  attention to  Wallace--a prison guard--she
pulled her revolver. The man fled. (<I>The Daily Record<D>, York,
Pa., 8/10/92)

Robbed at gun  point, Dayton, Ohio,  pizza-delivery man William
Armour decided he should carry a gun on the job. After delivering
a pizza, Armour was sitting in his car when a man approached and
put a pistol to his head.  Reacting quickly, Armour grabbed his
own pistol  and  fired  a single  shot,  mortally  wounding the
would-be robber. Domino's Pizza, citing company policy forbidding
drivers to  carry guns,  fired  Armour. (<I>The  Daily News<D>,
Dayton, Ohio, 7/28/92)

A history of domestic violence by a Mississippi man against his
wife ended when he was  shot to death by his  son. When the man
came home drunk and started to beat his wife with a baseball bat,
Chris Cayson of Plantersville, Miss., grabbed a rifle and fired
four times,  killing his  father. Police,  citing a  history of
abuse, said Cayson's actions saved his mother from serious injury
or death. (<I>The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal<D>, Tupelo,
Miss., 6/10/92)


The Armed Citizen, December 1992


"I suppose it was silly, but I was worried about my cats," said
Corydon, Ind., resident Mary Setzer after she foiled a burglary
at her home. Alerted to the break-in by a friend, Setzer arrived
home to find  the basement  door forced  open. Stopping  in her
bedroom to retrieve her revolver, Setzer found two teenagers in
her basement  and  held  them  for  police.  Setzer immediately
purchased a shotgun, saying "A pump  gun makes a noise when you
load the chamber. Most people, when they hear that, they're not
going to hang around."  (<I>The Courier Journal<D>, Louisville,
Ky., 6/2/92)

World War II veteran William Marisak's best war story comes from
the war against crime. While he was tending bar at his Brooklyn
tavern, four armed robbers burst in  and shot him twice Marisak
responded with his licensed .380, wounding one of the gunmen and
putting the others to flight. "If I didn't have a gun, all of us
would have been dead," he said. (<I>Newsday<D>, New York, N.Y.,
9/13/92)

Panagiotis "Pete" Ioannidis thought he had left violence behind
him when he moved from his native Greece--where he fought Nazis
and Communists--to Providence, R.I. He was forced to take up arms
again, however, when a man walked  into his store and pressed a
knife to his wife's throat and demanded money. Hearing her yell,
Ioannidis emerged from a back room, pulled his pistol and fired
three   shots,   mortally   wounding    the   robber.   (<I>The
Journal-Bulletin<D>, Providence, R.I., 9/29/92)

A trio of strongarm robbers demanded money from James Tibbs and
his son. When the  Pueblo, Colo. residents  refused, the crooks
started throwing punches. The elder  Tibbs pulled a pistol from
his pocket and fired a warning shot, then fired for effect, when
the criminals  persisted, wounding  two.  (<I>The Chieftain<D>,
Pueblo, Colo., 8/2/92)

Benny Taylor of Anniston, Ala., and his wife had been terrorized
for years by a  thug who regularly  stole their Social Security
money. When the criminal's attacks became increasingly violent,
Taylor finally accepted the loan of a .38 from a friend. When the
man showed up at  the house again and  kicked through the door,
Taylor fired twice, killing him. "I didn't know what else to do,"
Taylor said. "This is my home." (<I>The Star<D>, Anniston, Ala.,
9/9/92)

Clint Reynolds' uncle was trying to  fend off a 600-lb. grizzly
with a rifle butt as it tried  to climb through a window of the
family's Central, Alaska,  home. Reynolds, 14,  loaded his .357
Mag. revolver and rushed to the  rescue, firing 15 shots at the
bear. Seven struck home, mortally wounding the marauding bruin.
(<I>The Daily News-Miner<D>, Fairbanks, Alaska, 7/22/92)

A former boxer writing a crime novel did some first-hand research
when he stopped a burglary in a crowded North Hollywood, Calif.,
coffee shop. A regular at the shop, Randy Shields was working on
the story when  two armed  robbers burst  in and  fired several
shots. Slightly wounded as he crawled behind a table, he came up
firing when he heard the bandits threaten to kill customers and
employees. In the ensuing battle, Shields chased the men from the
store. Two  wounded  suspects were  later  apprehended. (<I>The
Mercury News<D>, San Jose, Calif., 9/21/92)

Steve Cartier thought he'd subdued a deranged intruder with his 9
mm pistol, but when his wife phoned Battle Ground, Oreg., police,
the housebreaker lunged at her. After scuffling with the man, who
ignored two  warning shots,  Cartier shot  and killed  him. The
county prosecutor said he expected no charges to be filed against
the homeowner. (<I>The Oregonian<D>, Portland, Oreg., 8/14/92)

After losing nearly everything to Hurricane Andrew, Dade County,
Fla., resident Bart Sanfillipo was serious when he put a sign in
his front yard warning looters  he would shoot. Sanfillipo, his
wife and an insurance adjuster were tallying the damage when an
armed bandit leaped from  a van and fired  a shotgun blast over
their heads.  Sanfillipo responded  with  his .44,  hitting the
criminal in the head at 30 ft. "Score one for the good guys," a
police detective said of the incident. (<I>The Sun-Sentinel<D>,
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., 9/14/92)

A Yonkers, N.Y., woman demurred when a strongarm robber demanded
her purse as she was making a call at a public phone. She instead
reached in the  purse and  came up  with her licensed  .38. The
criminal fled empty-handed. (<I>The Herald Statesman<D>, Yonkers,
N.Y., 8/6/92)

A semi-automatic  pistol  provided  the  protection  the police
couldn't for a New Orleans, La., area woman. After calling police
to report a prowler outside her home, the woman got a pistol, and
when the intruder crept through the front door, she shot him once
in the  neck,  putting him  to  flight. A  wounded  suspect was
apprehended  minutes  later.   (<I>The  Times-Picayune<D>,  New
Orleans, La., 7/22/92)

An Upper Marlboro,  Md., homeowner  warned the  intruder he was
armed. But the housebreaker ignored  the warning and charged up
the stairs. The householder opened up with a .38 and killed him.
(<I>The Times<D>, Washington, D.C., 9/2/92)

Two would-be burglars made a big  blunder when they woke up the
owner of  a  Mechanicsville,  Md.,  home.  When  one  shined  a
flashlight into the  face of  the sleeping  71-year-old man, he
grabbed his shotgun and chased the duo from the home with several
blasts. (<I>The Enterprise<D>, Lexington Park, Md., 8/21/92)


The Armed Citizen, January 1993


"I'm not the guy to shoot someone, but when a guy comes after you
with an  18"  pizza  knife, you  have  to  do  something," said
Brockton, Mass., restauranteur George Mouraditis. The pizza maker
grabbed his licensed pistol and went to investigate when he heard
breaking glass, and opened  fire when the  burglar brandished a
knife. Police said the incident was a clear case of self defense
and  mounted  a  search  for   the  wounded  criminal.  (<I>The
Enterprise<I>, Brockton, Mass., 9/18/92)

When a criminal quartet  drew weapons and  announced a robbery,
Dorchester, Mass.  storekeeper Paul  Doung pulled  two licensed
semi-autos and, in a furious exchange, wounded one thug and drove
all four from the store. After reviewing surveillance videotape,
police ruled Doung legally  defended himself and  would face no
charges.  (<I>The Globe<D>, Boston, Mass., 8/18/92)

Working on his truck on a Sunday evening, Sammy Creech of Ruston,
La., was looking across the street when he saw two male teenagers
grab  and  elderly  woman's  purse.   The  duo  jumped  into  a
car--occupied by two female youths--and took off, with Creech in
hot pursuit. The driver of the  car eventually lost control and
crashed into a parked car. Creech walked up to the car, but when
he saw a gun on the floorboards,  retreated to his truck, got a
.38 and ordered the foursome, all runaways from New York, to wait
for police. (<I>The Daily Leader<D>, Ruston, La., 10/5/92)

Answering a knock to the door of his Harrisburg, Pa., apartment,
Tony Thompson was greeted by a man brandishing a gun. During the
ensuing struggle between  the homeowner and  the masked gunman,
Thompson was shot in the arm but managed to get his own gun and
fire, killing his attacker. (<I>The Evening News<D>, Harrisburg,
Pa., 10/27/92)

Supposedly looking  for his  keys, a  man convinced  Gary Harr,
manager of a Mapleton, Ill., tavern to let him into the business
after closing. Once inside, the man  shot Harr in the back four
times. Critically wounded,  Harr managed to  stumble behind the
counter, grab a  revolver and  kill his  assailant with several
shots. "He thought he could get something for nothing, but he got
what he deserved," said John Pusser, owner of the bar and brother
of late-Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser. (<I>The Journal Star<D>,
Peoria, Ill., 9/19/92)

Up and about  early one  morning, a  Salem, Wis.,  woman became
suspicious when her  dog began  growling at  something outside.
Getting her revolver, she told her  daughter to call police and
then went outside  to look  around. Outside  she found  two men
trying to take her  Corvette from the  garage and fired several
shots to scare the men off. As  they were running to their van,
one returned fire  but missed. (<I>The  News<D>, Kenosha, Wis.,
11/7/92)

Alerted by noises from outside at 4 a.m., Mesa, Ariz., resident
Thomas Winfield got his pistol, went to investigate and found a
man trying  to jimmy  his  car's ignition  with  a screwdriver.
Winfield ordered the man  from the car and  was holding him for
police, but when the man lunged, Winfield shot him once, mortally
wounding him.  (<I>The  Arizona  Republic<D>,  Phoenix,  Ariz.,
11/6/92)

The target of a recent burglary, Willeen Lansberry was suspicious
when she got several hang-up phone  calls in one day. Hiding in
her Niagara Falls, N.Y., apartment with her .38, her stakeout was
rewarded when two teenagers forced open the door. Emerging from
her hiding place, Lansberry  held the pair  for police. (<I>The
News<D>, Buffalo, N.Y., 10/6/92)

The would-be  burglar who  kicked in  the  front door  of Sonya
Poole's Lakeland, Fla., home, saw something he'll never forget;
Poole aiming a .44 right between  his eyes. Instead of shooting
the intruder, Poole fired a  several warning shots, chasing him
and an accomplice from the residence. While Poole called police,
a lawn-care worker saw one of the fleeing men, followed him and
called police on a portable phone when  the man hid in a nearby
store. (<I>The Ledger<D>, Lakeland, Fla., 8/14/92)

Two men were discussing gold bracelets in a New Rochelle, N.Y.,
jewelry store when they suddenly decided that armed robbery was
better than a lay-away  plan. Before they  could complete their
scheme, however, they found themselves the targets of a withering
hail of fire laid down by store owner Joseph Soares. Soares used
three firearms, all registered, to halt the robbery and kill one
of the pistol-wielding thugs. A local district attorney said it
appeared that Soares acted justifiably in self-defense. (<I>The
Standard-Star<D>, New Rochelle, N.Y., 8/27/92)

A Lancaster, Calif., woman was waiting alongside her disabled car
when three men in a car drove past. Nervous because they had been
staring at her, the woman got a pistol out of the car and loaded
it. Her precautions proved warranted  when the car returned and
the men got out and  demanded her money. Aiming  the gun at the
trio, the woman  demanded they  leave, which  they did. (<I>The
Antelope Valley Press<D>, Lancaster, Calif., 11/6/92)

The Armed Citizen, February 1993


Sue Atkins had vowed not to be the victim of a robbery again, and
made good on her promise when  a robber walked into the Durham,
N.C., Western Union office where she works, said he had a gun and
demanded money. What he got was an arm wound from Atkins' pistol.
He ran a little way before police  caught him. "The threat of a
weapon is the same  thing as armed  robbery in North Carolina,"
said a police officer. (<I>The News & Observer<D>, Raleigh, N.C.,
11/3/92)

A coordinated  armed  robbery attempt  of  a  Barrington, R.I.,
jewelry store--including a  bogus call designed  to lure police
away--backfired when  the robber  met  an armed  citizen. Owner
George Gray  was  on  the phone  when  the  pistol-wielding man
entered. When Gray  yelled into the  phone for  help, the crook
fired at him but  missed. Gray then  returned fire, killing his
attacker. Police said the dead man had a long police record, and
added   that    Gray    acted    in    self-defense.    (<I>The
Journal-Bulletin<D>, Providence, R.I., 9/10/92)

Jessie Bishop was rudely awakened when an intruder tried to climb
through the window of her Phoenix, Ariz., home. Bishop warned the
man she was going to call police, but when he continued to climb
through the window, she fired a  single shot from her revolver,
fatally wounding  him.  (<I>The  Arizona  Republic<D>, Phoenix,
Ariz., 11/15/92)

Turning to get cigarettes, Trung Thach, manager of a San Antonio,
Tex., convenience  store, turned  back  to find  his "customer"
holding a gun. As Thach complied with the man's demands for money
by reaching into the till with his right hand, he pulled a 9 mm
from under the counter with his  left and fired twice, mortally
wounding the  robber.  Police, noting  the  robber's  "gun" was
realistic-looking toy,  said  Thach  was  justified  in firing.
(<I>The Light<D>, San Antonio, Tex., 10/19/92)

Nathaniel Womack tried to ignore the late-night pounding on the
door of his Lynchburg,  Va., home, hoping  the visitor would go
away. When a  prowler broke down  the door and  barged into his
bedroom, however, Womack  shot him in  the face and  put him to
flight. A wounded suspect  was apprehended a  short time later.
(<I>The News & Daily Advance<D>, Lynchburg, Va., 9/11/92)

Gail Meadows, a columnist for  the anti-gun <I>Miami Herald<D>,
got a firsthand look at crime and what armed citizens can do to
prevent it when her car was rammed by another near her home. Four
thugs swarmed her car and were trying to rob her when--alerted by
Meadows beeping her horn--her neighbors came to the rescue. One
man, armed with a shotgun, wounded one of the attackers and put
the other  three  to flight.  (<I>The  Herald<D>,  Miami, Fla.,
10/28/92)


Jacksonville, Fla.,  resident  David Pierce  capitalized  on an
unusual  opportunity  while  driving   home  one  afternoon--he
recovered his stolen  truck. Taken  along with  over $12,000 in
tools and cash in a nighttime theft at his home, the truck pulled
up beside Pierce  at an  intersection about  three weeks later.
Pierce grabbed his .357, ordered two men from the truck and held
them for police, who lodged several charges against the pair. "I
saw the opportunity . . . to tell them very politely to get out
of my truck," Pierce said. "They did exactly what I wanted them
to do."  (<I>The  Florida  Times-Union<D>,  Jacksonville, Fla.,
10/29/92)

Hearing noises from his father's  grocery store next door early
one morning, Hickory, La., resident Bruce Bennett peered through
his window  and saw  a  man banging  on  the side  door  of the
business. Bennett got his gun and found the man trying to break
through the front door. Bennett ordered the man to kneel and held
him at gunpoint until police arrived. (<I>The Times-Picayune<D>,
New Orleans, La., 11/5/92)

James Brown didn't hesitate in becoming  involved when he saw a
man being  robbed  and assaulted  by  several  gun-toting thugs
outside a Covina, Calif., bank. Brown  chased one of the group,
who was carrying two bags full of money. When the robber turned
and fired two shots at him at a distance of 200 ft. and missed,
Brown returned fire and wounded the gunman in the stomach. Brown
then held the man for police, who later arrested his accomplice.
(The  San  Gabriel  Valley  Tribune<D>,  West  Covina,  Calif.,
10/31/92)

An East Long Beach, Calif., man pushed his luck too far when he
apparently tried to break into the same house twice in 10 days.
Hearing sounds near  his front door,  resident George Doolittle
grabbed his handgun and went to investigate. When he got into the
front hall, Doolittle saw the man coming through the front door.
Firing two shots, Doolittle wounded the intruder and held him for
police. (<I>The Press-Telegram<D>, Long Beach, Calif., 10/7/92)

Police scored an easy collar after an Erie, Pa., homeowner heard
a breakin, called police and the grabbed his rifle. Confronting
the intruder, the homeowner forced him to retreat outside, right
into the handcuffs of arriving officers. (<I> The Daily Times<D>,
Erie, Pa., 10/22/92)

Billy Sisson and two fellow elk hunters had stopped for gas at a
Grande Ronde, Oreg., market, when  a man witnesses described as
possibly drunk or on drugs  approached and started an argument.
After trading words with the  hunters, he began threatening the
trio with a revolver. Sisson retrieved  his .30-'06 and fired a
single shot, mortally wounding the man; police said he had been
arrested 18 times. (<I>The  Statesman Journal<D>, Salem, Oreg.,
11/17/92)


The Armed Citizen, March 1993

Charlie Mikos of Bensalem, Pa., had just gone to bed when he was
roused by his daughter's screams and  the sounds of a struggle.
Running downstairs, he found a man holding what later turned out
to be a stun gun to her head. Grabbing his pistol, Mikos trained
it on the man, convinced him to  cease his assault and held him
for police. (<I>The  Bucks County  Courier Times<D>, Levittown,
Pa., 11/6/92)

When he heard his dog barking early one morning, Willie Wilson of
Winston-Salem, N.C., grabbed his rifle  and went onto his front
porch to investigate. He saw a man rummaging through the cab of
his truck. When Wilson yelled the thief turned and fired a shot,
prompting Wilson to return fire. The man and an accomplice fled,
but a wounded suspect was later apprehended. (<I>The Journal<D>,
Winston-Salem, N.C., 11/24/92)

After a man gained entry to a Jericho, N.Y., hotel by opening his
coat to prove to  the manager that he  was unarmed, the manager
remarked that the establishment had been robbed several times in
the past month.  Pulling a gun,  the would-be  guest replied "I
know, I'm the robber." The manager pulled a .357 and killed the
robber--who had several  juvenile felony convictions  and was a
suspect  in  a  string  of  armed  robberies--with  two  shots.
(<I>Newsday<D>, Long Island, N.Y., 10/22/92)

Finding firearms piled on  the couch and  the television pulled
away from the wall of her future mother-in-law's home in Datil,
N. Mex., Shawna Haynes called police and family members and then
got a rifle and loaded it. Noticing a man approaching the door to
the house, Haynes warned him away. When he ignored her and tried
to open the door, she fired several shots, putting him to flight.
(<I>The Defensor Chieftain<D>, Socorro, N. Mex., 11/14/92)

"Thank God he  was still  there; he's  usually not  around this
late," was one woman's praise for Lazaro Salazar. Ft. Lauderdale,
Fla., businessman Salazar heard screams from the store next door,
grabbed his pistol and  confronted an armed  robber exiting the
shop. The criminal raised his pistol, but Salazar was faster on
the draw and fired, wounding him.  Neighbors said the crook who
was taken into custody had previously robbed them, one shopowner
five times.  (<I>The  Sun-Sentinel<D>,  Ft.  Lauderdale,  Fla.,
11/10/92)

Though beaten and shot by a  pair of robbers, Carol Ponciano of
Oroville, Calif., managed to get a  pistol from her bedroom and
opened fire on the pair as they assaulted her roommate. Her shots
mortally wounded one  of the intruders.  The other  fled, but a
wounded juvenile was apprehended later. "You can't say enough for
the courage she displayed," said the county sheriff, adding the
dead man had an "18-page rap sheet." "Had she not done what she
did, I'm convinced  we'd have  a triple  murder on  our hands."
(<I>The Enterprise-Record<D>, Chico, Calif., 12/7/92)

Claiming to be electrical inspectors, two men gained entry to an
elderly Golo,  Ky.,  couple's  home  and  pretended  to inspect
electrical outlets.  When the  homeowner found  one of  the men
rifling his wife's purse, however, he grabbed a handgun and drove
the men  off  with several  shots.  (<I>The Courier-Journal<D>,
Louisville, Ky., 12/2/92)

A 19-year-old robber made a big mistake when, several days after
stealing a pistol from a Chula Vista, Calif., gunshop, he tried
to come back for the rest of the firearms. He pointed the stolen
firearm at owner Gene Reynolds and his partner and announced his
intentions, but when he leaned over a counter to open a display
case, Reynolds pulled his  own pistol and  fired several shots,
wounding  the   man   and   stopping   the   robbery.   (<I>The
Union-Tribune<D>, San Diego, Calif., 12/9/92)

Samuel Stewart, 77, didn't believe the man at the front door of
his Wichita, Kans., home when he claimed to be a police officer,
so Stewart shut  the door.  Stewart called  police and  got his
shotgun when the man broke in  through an upstairs window a few
minutes later and kicked through a door to the ground floor. When
the housebreaker came around the corner, Stewart killed him with
a single blast. Police  said the slain man  had a police record
that included burglary charges. (<I>The Eagle<D>, Wichita, Kans.,
12/11/92)

Insulted, afraid and angry after discovering a burglary at their
Springfield, Mo., home, Kent and Mary Dunning decided to wait and
see if the burglar would return.  Their vigil was soon rewarded
when two men walked in the backdoor, knocking over several cans
that the Dunnings had placed as an alarm. When the pair ignored
orders to halt, Kent Dunning opened fire, wounding one intruder
and holding him for police. The other escaped. "I'm strongly in
favor of the right to keep  and bear arms," the homeowner said.
(<I>The News-Leader<D>, Springfield, Mo., 12/29/92)

Jumped in his carport by two gun-wielding thugs, Columbus, Ga.,
area cattleman Clarence Borom handed  over his wallet. When the
men told him  to go  into the house  and get  more money, Borom
slammed and locked the door and headed for his pistol. One of the
two men shot out a  pane of glass in the  door, unlocked it and
entered the house. When  Borom heard the  intruder threaten his
wife, he opened fire. In the exchange of shots Borom was wounded
in the  arm, but  drove both  men  from the  residence. (<I>The
Ledger-Enquirer<D>, Columbus, Ga., 11/3/92)

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