Greenfield, Indiana



From the Indianapolis Star of November 29, 2003

Alleged break-in ends in shooting



An Indianapolis man was wounded and his friend was arrested after the pair tried to enter a Greenfield apartment early Friday morning, authorities said.



Greenfield Police Chief Clarke Mercer said officers are still investigating why Arthur Pogue, 34, and Helen Day, 27, Charlottesville, tried to enter the home of Arthur and Jessica Pitcock, 400 block of Warren Way.



Jessica Pitcock described Pogue as both her estranged and ex-husband, and police were trying to confirm the exact relationship, Mercer said.



Pogue was in serious condition Friday at Methodist Hospital, a hospital spokesman said.



Mercer said the bullet that struck Pogue had lodged next to his spine, and he was at least temporarily partially paralyzed.



Police received a 911 call from Jessica Pitcock about 1:30 a.m. Friday, saying someone was trying to break into their home.



Pitcock told police she raised the window next to the door and asked Pogue and Day to leave.



Police said Pogue and Day tore off the window screen, and Pogue climbed through the window.



Arthur Pitcock, who had been warning Pogue to stay out, then fired one shot from a semiautomatic handgun, police said.



Officers are waiting to learn from Pogue's doctors whether he was shot while he was still in the house or attempting to leave. Mercer said Pogue either fell back through the window or dived through after he was shot.



Day was being held Friday in the Hancock County Jail on preliminary charges of residential entry and criminal mischief. Mercer said he expected similar charges would be filed against Pogue.

Kyle, Texas



From the San Antonio Express-News of November 25, 2003:

Hays resident shoots intruder



A Hays County homeowner shot and killed an intruder who was struggling with two sheriff's deputies in his back yard Sunday evening.



Claude Lefuma Labasa, 37, of Raleigh, N.C., was pronounced dead at the scene by Hays County Justice of the Peace Beth Smith.



Hays County investigators said they do not know why Labasa was in the Kyle area, but said he surprised two couples who were in the Stagecoach Road home at about 6:15 p.m. Sunday.



"Apparently he was a complete stranger to the people there," said Sheriff's Department Sgt. Allen Bridges. "He simply walked in the back door on them."



They called police, who arrived about 10 minutes later.



"There was no physical altercation with the people in the house," Bridges said. "I have no idea what the conversation was like."



Two sheriff's deputies arrived and tried to question the intruder, but Labasa was uncooperative, then fought with the deputies when they tried to arrest him.



The fight spilled out into the back yard, Bridges said.



While the deputies were trying to subdue the man, the homeowner, Stanley Hughson, fired one shot, hitting the intruder.



Investigators would not say where the bullet struck Labasa. After being shot, he ran from the deputies, who caught and subdued him in front of the house.



An ambulance was called to the house, but Labasa was dead by the time it arrived. Smith ordered an autopsy by the Travis County medical examiner's office.



Reached by telephone, Hughson declined comment Monday. He gave investigators a statement at the department's San Marcos headquarters on Sunday night.



Authorities did not immediately release the names of the deputies, both of whom were treated for minor injuries at Central Texas Medical Center and released.



No charges have been filed against Hughson. The results of the investigation will be handed over to the Hays County district attorney's office, Bridges said.

UPDATE Austin American-Statesman, January 9, 2004:

Stanley Hughson will not face prosecution for the fatal shooting of a North Carolina man who entered his house uninvited and later fought with authorities.



A grand jury decided Wednesday not to indict Hughson for the Nov. 23 shooting of Claude Lubasa Lufuma, 37, of Raleigh.

Birmingham, Alabama



From the Birmingham News of November 25, 2003:

Clerk cleared in fatal shooting



Convenience store death in holdup ruled justifiable



The owner of a North Birmingham convenience store said one of her employees had no choice but to shoot and kill a gun-wielding robber who burst into the shop over the weekend.



"I hate that it happened," said Tina Brown, owner of Spot-1-Stop. "But basically, it was either him get shot or one of them."



Demarcus Daniels, 18, was killed about 11 p.m. Saturday in what authorities said was a holdup attempt at the 26th Street North store.



The Jefferson County district attorney's office on Monday ruled the shooting justifiable.



"There was a videotape that clearly shows him robbing the place with a gun in his hand," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Roger Brown.



Police questioned the store employee who fired the shot, but did not take him into custody. His name was not released.



Daniels' mother, Glenda Daniels, said her son was not violent and never carried a gun.



"If he did," she said Monday, "it's shocking to me."



Tina Brown said Daniels came into the store Saturday night pointing a gun at the female cashier.



"He was yelling and cussing her and telling her to give him the money," Tina Brown said. "He said it was no joke, that he was fixing to blow her (expletive) head off."



Another employee stocking the store shelves heard the commotion and came to help. He grabbed a gun that Tina Brown kept in the store and fired a shot at Daniels, striking him in the chest or stomach area.



Daniels fell to the floor, got back up and ran out of the store, Tina Brown said.



He dropped a gun just outside the door and then collapsed at the far end of the parking lot. He was pronounced dead on the scene.



The entire incident was caught on a security surveillance camera.



"It's all on tape," Tina Brown said. "It was self-defense, plain and simple."



Tina Brown said if Saturday's holdup attempt had been successful, it would have been the fifth robbery at the store in the past year. There have also been six burglaries during that time.



That's why she bought the gun, she said.



"Enough's enough," she said.



Tina Brown said there have been threats of retaliation since the shooting, and someone slit the tires on the truck of another one of her employees. She said she won't let the trouble ruin business.



"People say it's a bad neighborhood but it's not. We have some of the best customers," she said. "One person doesn't make a bad community.



"So far, the people in the community understand it couldn't be avoided."

Lufkin, Texas



It's an Associated Press wire service story that appeared in the November 24, 2003 Las Vegas Sun:

LUFKIN, Texas (AP) - A suspect in the murder of an elderly Oklahoma couple who eluded police for weeks was finally arrested in Texas after he kidnapped another couple and the husband shot and wounded him, authorities said.



...



Eizember was accused of killing A.J. Cantrell, 76, and his wife, Patsy Cantrell, 70, on Oct. 18 in Depew, Okla., in the northeastern part of the state.



He is also accused of beating Carla Wright, a neighbor of the Cantrells, and wounding her grandson, 16-year-old Tyler Montgomery, that same day. Wright's daughter Kathy Biggs, Tyler's mother, is Eizember's former girlfriend, and authorities believe he had been stalking her.



Eizember managed to elude teams of law enforcement officers who combed through dense woods in between Oklahoma City and Tulsa.



...



Eizember drove about 200 miles east, where he allegedly kidnapped a doctor, Samuel Peebles, and his wife, Suzanne, near Waldron, Ark., O'Keefe said. They were forced to drive in their van about 300 miles south to East Texas, he said.



At that point, Samuel Peebles managed to grab a pistol he had concealed in his van and shot Eizember, O'Keefe said. The couple then drove Eizember to the hospital, O'Keefe said.



Wounded four times in the chest, Eizember was in stable condition early Monday at the Memorial Health System of East Texas in Lufkin.

Southfield, Michigan



From the November 20, 2003, Detroit Free Press:

Yarnell Hamilton was at home with his 24-year-old live-in girlfriend at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday when her 25-year-old ex-boyfriend from Detroit came over to collect a debt from her, police said.



Chatter quickly turned to gunfire.



Hamilton, who lives in the Garden View Apartments at 16200 W. 9 Mile, was enraged when he saw the other man, police said. He demanded to know who the man was and pulled out a .22-caliber handgun and pointed it at his girlfriend.



The ex-boyfriend, who had a concealed weapons permit and an even bigger handgun, a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol, tried to leave the apartment. But Hamilton turned his gun on the ex-boyfriend and fired, police said.



The ex-boyfriend pulled out his gun and shot back.



"The ex-boyfriend is almost a poster child for the NRA," said Detective John Harris of the Southfield Police Department, explaining that he had used the gun in self-defense. "The present boyfriend seems to be somewhat jealous and needs a little anger management."

St. Louis County, Missouri



From NewsChannel 5 in St. Louis, dated November 20, 2003:

An intruder got more than he bargained for when he broke into a home Tuesday night in North St. Louis County. Police say the man was shot and killed by the owner of the home.



"I really don't feel bad for the intruder. I really don't." That's what Jackie Greco says about the man who was shot and killed after he broke into her neighbor's home around 8:00 p.m. Tuesday in the 11500 block of Lares Drive.



Greco was at home having dinner with her two young daughters when she heard two gunshots, "And they heard this loud noise. I've never heard a gunshot before. They ran into the living room where I was and was scared."



Police say the man entered the couple's home through the basement. He then attacked the couple with what neighbors say was a knife.



The husband was able to get a handgun and shoot the man. The man then staggered out the house, but only got as far as Greco's driveway.

Rockford, Illinois



From a trade publication called PizzaMarketplace.com:

In Rockford, Ill., an attempted armed robbery of Vinny’s Pizza ended quickly when co-owner Lia Mercuri fired warning shots near two men who'd stormed through the shop's back door on Nov. 17.



Mercuri's brother and Vinny's co-owner, Mario Cassola, told the Rockford Star one man entered the pizzeria and attacked him with a hammer, while second man, carrying a rifle, followed him in.



Despite receiving multiple blows from the hammer, Cassola fought with the first man while Mercuri pulled out a gun kept at the shop and started to shoot.



"I was angry and I wanted to scare them away, so I shot into the air and hit the wall and by the door," Mercuri said.



Both men fled.



A short time later, a Rockford Park District patrol officer stopped a vehicle with two men inside. Both a hammer and a rifle were recovered from the scene of the arrest of Michael J. Buck, 18, and Vaughn V. Gulley, 23, both of Rockford.

Seattle, Washington



From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer of November 21, 2003

Bullets fly in holdup of Beacon Hill store



Grocer grazed, but he wounds robber; customer shot, too



Between errands yesterday, Christine Gonzalez decided to swing by the Latin American grocery that her husband, Tony, has run on Beacon Hill for 11 years, just stopping by to chat on an ordinary Thursday afternoon.



But this time was different.



"I walked in to see a man holding a gun on my husband and asking him for all the money in the till," she said last night.



And then it got worse.



"All of a sudden, there were guns being fired and all hell broke loose," she said, "and I'm terrified, and I'm thinking he's going to shoot Tony."



He did shoot Tony, the bullet grazing Gonzalez's left hand between his ring finger and little finger.



But Tony shot back. The robber, wounded, fell by the door, then staggered down the sidewalk before collapsing, scattering money in the street, Christine Gonzalez said. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center and likely will survive, police said.



A customer in the store also was hit by a bullet, in the cheek, Christine Gonzalez said.



Neither the holdup man nor the injured customer was identified by police. The robber, who police said dropped his handgun at the store, has not been charged. A 23-year-old Burien man was arrested in an alley behind the store as a suspected accomplice, police said.



...



After a rash of holdups at mom-and-pop stores was reported in the newspapers a few years ago, Tony Gonzalez bought a gun for protection at work, his wife said. But, although other businesses in the neighborhood have been held up, he never had to pull his weapon -- until 2:15 p.m. yesterday.

Chula Vista, California



I actually lived in Chula Vista, when I was very young. This is from channel 10 in San Diego:

A man who broke into a Chula Vista home was shot and wounded by a resident, police said Tuesday.



The burglar was shot after breaking several windows and entering the home in the 500 block of Manzanita Street at about 10:30 p.m. Monday, Chula Vista police Lt. Don Hunter said.



The suspect was struck by several rounds and collapsed in a neighbor's yard, Hunter said.



He was taken to UCSD Medical Center, where he was expected to survive his wounds, Hunter added.



The homeowner was taken to police headquarters for questioning and later released without being charged, Hunter said.

St. Louis, Missouri



Would you believe this if someone put this in a movie? He's watching the movie Death Wish when the bad guy forces entry and threatens the shooter's wife?



From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of November 20, 2003

Man, 73, kills robber holding shears to wife's neck



Police officers privately

praised the outcome

of North County shooting



A man in north St. Louis County was home watching "Death Wish," a movie about a vigilante who hunts down criminals, when he saw his wife held hostage by a robber holding shears at her neck.



Allowed to get his wallet, the homeowner retrieved his pistol instead and shot the intruder to death, county police said Wednesday after sorting out details of the previous evening's incident.



...



An intruder, 26, broke into the home through a basement window and tore down a curtain to tie over his face as a mask. The woman encountered him in the basement and he forced her up the stairs to confront her husband.



Police said the husband, 73, was watching the movie on TV when the stranger approached, demanding money and holding 4-inch shears to the throat of the woman, also 73.



The homeowner told the intruder he had to get his wallet from the bedroom, but he got a handgun instead. When he emerged, she pulled away and he opened fire.



The robber grabbed the wife again and pulled her through the front door with him, but then let her go and ran. He collapsed across the street, where he was pronounced dead.



The woman was treated for minor injuries at a hospital and released.



The dead robber was identified through fingerprints, but his name was withheld pending notification of relatives.



Privately, police officers praised the outcome, saying that burglars should take a lesson from it.

Indianapolis, Indiana



From the Indianapolis Star of November 17, 2003

Would-be victim thwarts robbery



A would-be robber ran into more than he expected during a holdup at a Southside carwash Sunday night -- getting doused with a hose, then apparently shot by his intended victim. ...



The shooting occurred shortly after 9 p.m. as David T. Humphries, 45, Indianapolis, was rinsing off his van at the car wash in Southern Plaza in the 4200 block of South Meridian Street. Burns said Humphries pulled into the carwash after his van was struck by an egg as he traveled south on Meridian Street.



Humphries told investigators a young white male with a bandana over his face approached him and demanded money. Thinking the man was joking, Humphries told investigators he sprayed water on the would-be robber.



The suspect then pointed an assault-type rifle at Humphries and threatened to shoot him.



Police said Humphries reached inside his coat -- as if he were getting his wallet -- but instead pulled out a .38-caliber handgun and fired several shots at the suspect, striking him at least once.



Burns said it is possible the suspect fired back before dropping his gun and running away.



Humphries is licensed to carry the weapon, Burns said, and was not charged in the shooting.

Thurston County, Washington



Not strictly a self-defense use, and probably not the smartest step to have taken, but the results were good. From the November 14, 2003 Olympia, Washington Olympian:

Josh Lenoue had stepped onto his front porch when he heard noises coming from the woods near his neighbor's property.



It was after sunset, and he could see lights that flickered off from the trees when he walked by to investigate.



Lenoue hurried back to his house, grabbed a flashlight and a .22-caliber handgun, summoned his German shepherd and went back outside.



As he crept closer to the area at 5:55 p.m. Wednesday, three men appeared out of the darkness, approaching him.



The 29-year-old commercial truck driver pointed his gun and ordered them to the ground.



It turned out that Lenoue had observed car headlights. He had interrupted three men who, according to police, were taking parts from a stolen car.



"As soon as I shined the flashlight on them, I knew what was going on," Lenoue said Thursday, saying the men told him they were repairing the car for a friend.



Lenoue used his cell phone to call 9-1-1 while he watched over the three men, drawing Thurston County Sheriff's deputies to his neighborhood in the 8100 block of 61st Avenue Northeast, near Tolmie State Park. Deputies arrested three male suspects.



The sheriff's office doesn't encourage citizens to take matters into their own hands, sheriff's Capt. Dan Kimball said. But, without Lenoue's intervention, deputies probably would have had little success in tracking the thieves, he said.

Evansville, Indiana



From the Indianapolis Star of November 10, 2003

Clerk kills robber who attacked her



A clerk shot and killed a man who beat her during the attempted robbery of a liquor store in southern Indiana.



Police said Charles Dale, 31, walked into a Kwik Stop Liquor store Friday in Evansville and began beating the clerk, demanding money from the register.



The clerk, who was in her 60s, fired a gun she was carrying, hitting Dale at least twice. Her name was not released, Detective Kevin Mason said.



Dale fled from the store with cash and two bottles of liquor. He was later found in an alley with the stolen cash and bottles spread out around him. He was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later.



The clerk, who had a permit to carry the gun, was recovering at St. Mary's Medical Center, where she was treated for bruises and gunshot wounds. Police said she may have accidentally shot herself while trying to fend off the attacker.



Investigators planned to submit the case to Vanderburgh County prosecutors for review.

Not Redundant, I'm Told



I was concerned, after starting this blog, that I might be duplicating efforts of others. I have been assured that while some others are doing this as well, that the style of this is different, and the more people doing this, the better. You will notice that I have added links to others doing similar collections of civilian defensive gun uses as well. The more the merrier!



You'll also notice that I have one accomplice in this now!



Oh yes, if you think this is a valuable resource--feel free to throw some money in the tip jar, on the button that says PayPal. I would love to devote my energy full-time to gun rights political activism, but I'm still a little short of being independently wealthy....

Galt, California



From the November 15, 2003, Sacramento Bee:

A botched robbery Friday afternoon ended with a bloody shootout in a Galt grocery that left one man dead and another injured.



As many as 12 people were in the Compadres Market at the time, and Galt Police Lt. Ken Erickson said they were fortunate to survive unharmed.



"With the number of people and the number of shots, we're very, very lucky there were not more people injured," Erickson said.



The dead man, whom police have not identified, was thought to be one of the robbers. One robber, and possibly a second, is still at large.



A clerk, whom police would not identify, fired at the suspects and was shot once in the small of the back. He was transported to the UC Davis Medical Center by helicopter and was in good condition, police said.

Louisville, KY

From the Louisville, Kentucky Courier Journal of November 11, 2003

Kelly O'Hara contended all along that he was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed his girlfriend's ex-husband during a struggle last January.

Yesterday, a Jefferson Circuit Court jury acquitted him of a murder charge in the death of Michael Henry — and refused to find him guilty of any lesser crimes, including manslaughter or reckless homicide.

San Antonio, Texas



From the San Antonio Express-News of November 13, 2003.



This isn't one of the better examples, since the shooter was no longer directly being threatened. Keep in mind that Texas law is different from every other state: this action would be unlawful just about anywhere else:

A North Side man who fired several shots early Wednesday at a fleeing car after his truck was burglarized will not face charges, police said, because he was protecting his property.



When he heard the alarm on his Ford F-150 going off at 3 a.m., Jason Peña ran from his home in the 12100 block of Stoney Circle with gun in hand. He told police two men had pried open the pickup's door with a screwdriver.



He told them to "freeze," according to a police report.



The men ran off with Peña in pursuit. The taller, slimmer man jumped in a waiting Chevrolet Cavalier, and he and a driver sped off. Peña told police he fired several shots at the fleeing car but didn't know if any had struck the gray car or the people inside.

At least one didn't get away:

Police arrived to find Peña pointing his gun at Hugo Hernandez, lying face down in a driveway in the 12100 block of Ridge Summit.

Detroit, Michigan



From the November 12, 2003, Detroit Free Press:

Valet kills man who attempted to rob him



A parking valet at Cheetah's On The Strip adult entertainment club shot and killed a 29-year-old man who tried to rob him with a fake gun early Tuesday.



Detroit police said the pellet gun looked real and the robber pointed it at the valet before the valet shot him.



Sgt. Paul Jones of the department's homicide section said the valet was in the club's parking lot on 8 Mile at 3:30 a.m. when a man stuck a gun in his face, demanded money and car keys.



After a struggle, the robber took off running, turned around and pointed the pellet gun at the valet while running, Jones said. The valet fired with his .40 caliber handgun, striking the Detroit man in the back.



...



The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office will determine whether the valet will face criminal charges.

Portsmouth, Virginia



From the November 4, 2003, Virginian-Pilot:

PORTSMOUTH — Somewhere between a Food Lion and home, Temesha Greene noticed a van following her.



When she got to her driveway that August night, a man pulled out a gun.



Greene pulled out her own gun.



The man fired at her.



She fired back.



He missed.



She didn’t.



That night, officers found Emmitt M. Warren, 34, in a van near Greene’s house, suffering from gunshot wounds, according to court records. He was taken to a hospital and eventually was charged with attempted murder and weapons violations.



...



No charges were filed against Greene. The incident happened Aug. 9, shortly after Greene bought a house alarm system and her first gun.



The 26-year-old mother began worrying about the safety of her Peachtree neighborhood after she heard about several break-ins.



She ordered the .40-caliber Glock pistol in late July, and it arrived a few days later. She shot it for the first time at a range on Aug. 9.



At first, she said, holding the weapon felt strange. It scared her.



Then she started imagining the target picture was someone coming after her, and she felt more comfortable.



Later that night, someone did, according to court records and testimony Monday. Greene, her two sons and her boyfriend arrived home from a Food Lion about 11 p.m., according to testimony.

Los Angeles, California



From the Los Angeles Times (free registration required), November 4, 2003:

A Koreatown store owner shot a suspected robber to death and critically wounded a second Monday night, police said.



"Both of the robbers were armed with handguns, and as they were fleeing a gunfight occurred," said Officer Jason Lee, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department. "The store owner suffered a minor wound to his leg."

Ault, Colorado



This isn't a terribly sympathetic person who did the shooting, but he appears to have been within his legal rights, and it sounds like he had good reason to be afraid for his life:

AULT - A Weld County man accused of killing his neighbor last week in a squabble over a barking dog will not be prosecuted. The district attorney says the shooting was justified under Colorado’s Make My Day Law.



Richard Hammock, 48, died Nov. 2 from a shotgun wound. His dog had been shot with a pellet gun and he went to his neighbor’s house to confront him about the incident.



Hammock was carrying a three-foot club when he went to 33-year-old Eric Griffin’s home. The district attorney says Hammock broke out the glass on Griffin’s front door and then Griffin shot him.



Griffin was arrested for the shooting, but district attorney Al Dominguez says he can't prosecute him because of the court's interpretation of the Make My Day Law. He says he believes it was a mistake for the state Legislature to pass the law.

If Griffin shot Hammock's barking dog (which seems at least open to discussion), then he certainly broke the law. But it still wouldn't justify Hammock going over to Griffin's house with a club, or breaking the glass on the front door.



I can see why Griffin might have felt legitimately afraid for his life. At least in most states, the moment when someone gets any part of their body through a broken window or door, they have committed breaking and entering.



The club could be interpreted as a sign of intent to attack Griffin. It could also be a sign that Hammock was afraid of Griffin--but if he was that afraid of Griffin, why did he go over there? Why didn't he call the police?

Duplication of Effort?



It turns out that someone else is already doing something very much like this, here. Maybe there's no point in me duplicating their efforts.

San Antonio, Texas



From the San Antonio Express-News:

Web Posted : 11/03/2003 12:00 AM



A 21-year-old man was shot and killed late Saturday on the East Side when he broke through a woman's front window at the Morningview Oaks Apartments.

According to a police report, Ernest Flores III broke through Judy Abram's living room window as she played dominoes with her sisters.



Abram yelled at Flores to leave, but he kept advancing. She ran to her bedroom, grabbed a pistol, and told him she had a gun. When he continued to enter the room, Abram, 55, fired two times while screaming, "Can't you see I have a gun? Get out of here!"



The police report said Flores continued to break through the window as Abram fired the remaining four bullets at him. She dashed to her bedroom to reload, but when she returned, Flores was gone.



Staggering next door, Flores crashed through a neighbor's front window and fell face down on a table where police found him with one gunshot wound to the upper chest.



Police said Abram acted in self-defense and no charges are expected to be filed.

Another Self-Defense Shooting By a Civilian



Okay, a retired cop, but still a civilian now. She first tried to hold two robbers for police, but when they nearly ran over one of her employees, she fired a single shot that killed both robbers.

The robbery and shooting happened early Sunday or late Saturday at Adela's place on the city's southwest side.



Police say the 49-year-old woman who owned the restaurant -- a retired Detroit cop who was a former member of Mayor Coleman Young's security team -- tried to hold the suspects in the parking lot until police arrived. But when the two men attempted to speed away, and nearly ran over one of her employees, she fired a single shot that apparently struck both men, according to police.



...



The two men -- Dorian Gordillo, 22, and Rosalio Becera, 33 -- were later found dead from a bullet wound in a car parked on the Interstate 75 service drive, according to police.



One of the men was reportedly still holding a beer in his hand.

Pretty obviously, this wasn't trick shooting, but utter luck that a single shot killed both robbers.

More Civilian Defensive Gun Uses



This is apparently from Licking County, Ohio, sometime in early November:

James R. Dennis Jr., also known as James L. Dennis, 33, of 1680 Lakeview Drive, Apt. F, was charged with one count of burglary, a fourth-degree felony.

In the course of responding to a burglary in progress on Saturday, Newark police found Dennis Jr. at a residence in the 100 block of West Greer Drive, according to court records. The homeowner had Dennis Jr. pinned to the floor and was holding a gun on him, records stated. Dennis Jr. allegedly gained entry through the residence through an unlocked breezeway, records stated.

This one from Greensboro, North Carolina, at first sounds a little uncertain--until you get a little deeper into the article:

GREENSBORO -- Thomas Earl Alston told police he was watching television with his girlfriend Thursday night when there was a knock on the door.



The man at the door -- 28-year-old Chester Kendale Lane -- asked Alston, 32, for a ride, then pulled a handgun, Alston told Greensboro police. The pair, who apparently didn't know each other, wound up exchanging gunfire about 9:15 p.m. outside Alston's apartment at 1008-E Rucker St., Greensboro police Sgt. Jane Allen said.



Neighbors in Brevard Park heard eight to 10 gunshots. Lane dropped to the sidewalk, with two gunshot wounds, one to the chest and another in the right thigh, said Dr. Thomas Owens of the state medical examiner's office. Lane, who has Randolph County ties but whose address is unknown, died minutes later at Moses Cone Hospital.



The investigation continues and no charges have been filed while police investigate Alston's claims of self-defense. Allen said once the investigation is completed -- she's not sure how long that will take -- the case will be presented to the district attorney, who will decide if charges should be filed.



...



Police are checking to see if Lane was involved in a breaking and entering of a nearby house minutes before the fatal shooting. Officers had been called to the Brevard Park neighborhood and heard gunfire when they were taking a report of a man who broke into a house at 3939-A McIntosh St. and shot at two female residents as they ran off to call police.

Here's a shooting that happened almost a year ago in Tift County, Georgia, and was prosecuted as four felony assault charges--but the jury just ruled that it was self-defense.

When the gunfire stopped, Matthew Bowen, Matt Tays, Jerry Young and Phuong Luong were shot, but all still alive.



Emergency workers race to the scene, not sure exactly what happened. Emergency worker: "At least three people shot. They said he just pulled out a gun and started shooting out there."



...



Then comes a call from Bobby's mother Patricia Sanderson. The 17-year- old boy with the gun went straight home. And from the beginning, to his mother, this was clearly self defense. "The boys tried jumping on my son. He said 'Mamma, five to eight guys just jumped on me.' His face was bloody and he was in shock."



But self defense is not the way the District Attorney viewed the case. Bobby Sanderson was jailed and charged with four felony assaults. Sanderson never denied the shootings, but claimed self defense.



And that's the matter a Tift County Jury was forced to decide in a criminal trial. Was it Assault or Self-Defense? The jury heard both sides of the story.



...



The shooting victims in this case say Sanderson had time to escape, but the jury agreed with Sanderson. After 90 minutes of deliberations they said it was not assault. It was self defense.



Why did the jury aquitt Sanderson on all felony counts? One juror, who wanted to remain anonymous, said it was a unanimous vote.



They felt Sanderson had the right to protect himself, he was outnumbered in the fight.

Sanderson was, however, convicted of being a minor in possession of a handgun.)



Here's a repeat self-defender from Tampa, Florida:

Late Thursday night, the 63-year-old victim of an attempted carjacking pulled a .357-caliber Magnum on his assailant and fired, critically wounding him, officials said.



The victim of the attempted carjacking, Benjamin Lee Tate, is no stranger to intruders at Engine Rebuild Specialists, 6214 E. Columbus Drive, his east Tampa business. Tate's forceful retaliation Thursday was his third in three years, Tampa police Capt. Bob Guidara said.



Tate shot two burglars - one in 2000 and another in February, Guidara said. Both suspects survived. No charges have been filed against Tate, whose business is in a high- crime area in east Tampa, Guidara said.



``He definitely hasn't had much luck, being targeted as many times as he has,'' Guidara said.



``I'm not looking for trouble,'' Tate said.



``I'm just here doing my job.''



Police said Tate was changing oil in a car at the shop about 11:30 p.m. Thursday when a man approached.



With his hand behind him as though he had a gun, the man said he would shoot Tate if he didn't hand over car keys and cash, police said. Tate shot him instead.



Michael E. Garner, a 31- year-old roofer who has a prison record for theft and drug convictions, was taken to Tampa General Hospital, police said.

Here's a case from Beaumont, Texas, at the end of October:

Thursday night around 11:30 p.m., officers were called to a home in the 4000 block of Woodlawn in reference to a home invasion robbery. The two residents of the home were not injured. The female inside the home told police she heard a knock at the back door. After several attempts to see and hear who was outside, the female cracked the door open. The door was forced open by two black male suspects who were armed with handguns. The female was forced to the floor by one of the men. He placed the gun to her head and demanded her purse. She was able to crawl down the hallway and yell for her husband. Her husband opened the bedroom door, and saw what was going on. He retrieved a 12 gauge shotgun and exited the bedroom. When the suspects saw the shotgun THEY RAN OUT THE BACK DOOR. After the husband locked the door, he thought that he saw someone back at the door through the window. Thinking that the attackers had returned, he fired one round at the window. No one was injured. The suspects were able to get away.

Just keep telling yourself: civilians very seldom use guns for self-defense!



Thanks to Dan Gifford for the links.

This Is What Gun Control Advocates Are Trying To Stop...



when they oppose wider issuance of concealed weapon permits. From the Northwest Indiana Times:

MERRILLVILLE -- A 28-year-old Gary woman said she knew what it meant Tuesday when she noticed the man holding a gun to her head was wearing gloves.



She figured she was going to die.



"I've called police on him before. He's tried to threaten me and my entire family. ... He was going to kill me," she said. "He's a friend who wanted to be more than a friend, and it's not possible."



But, the outcome of the incident took a turn when the woman pulled out her own 9 mm pistol and shot her abductor in the mouth, police said.



...



The woman said she was sitting in her car about 9 p.m. at CVS Pharmacy, 5301 Broadway, when two men in another vehicle blocked her car from moving.



A security officer came out of the pharmacy, and the men moved their vehicle, she said. But once the security guard went back inside the building, the men allegedly blocked her vehicle again and forced her into their car at gunpoint.



She said they then drove to an isolated wooded area in Gary and parked, with one of the men continuing to point a gun at her head.



While they were still in the car, a man came out of a nearby house and approached the vehicle.



She said while her abductor rolled down the car window and was momentarily distracted, she pulled out a handgun she had on her hip.

Funny, but I just received an email from a well-known academic who claimed that legitimate defensive gun uses are quite rare.



UPDATE: Ah, what the heck. I'll start adding to this entry with all the defensive gun shooting outside of the victim's home, so that I can provide a detailed list for this supposed scholar that such incidents are actually quite common. For example, this incident from September 23.

Lopez allegedly raised a gun toward Hyatt as Hyatt tried to leave the scene with the woman in her car. Hyatt stopped the car, got out and shot the victim in the chest with his .44-caliber Magnum.



"He was either going to shoot at her or at him," said Crowley, adding that interviews with witnesses substantiate Hyatt's claim that the shooting was self-defense. "Everything right now points to justifiable homicide."



Crowley said the man then fired at Hyatt but missed, leading to Hyatt's second shot, which hit the man's lower torso. The man died at the scene. His girlfriend, who ran when the shooting began, returned to the scene when police arrived.

On September 16 in Buffalo, New York.

A gunman attempting to rob a Northland Avenue convenience store is dead after he fired a shot at a clerk Monday afternoon and the store owner returned fire, hitting him in the head, police said.





The dead man was identified as Jason A. Cramer, 18, of Gibson Street. Cramer was arrested last month in the robbery of a Fillmore Avenue grocery store at gunpoint and was later released from jail.

On September 13:

PROVO — The wrong end of a gun barrel wasn't what the man who was attempting to rob the Provo Greyhound Freight and Travel depot was expecting Thursday afternoon.



But that's the position a 27-year-old Orem man was facing after demanding money from Scott Windhorst, the independent owner of the Greyhound station at 124 N. 300 West. A concealed weapons permit holder, Windhorst said he didn't hesitate in pulling out his pistol instead of forking out the company's cash.

Jury Rules Self-Defense



A pastor went into his church in April because an alarm went off in the middle of the night. Once there, he confronted two burglars. He shot and killed them. By his own description, he panicked, and acknowledged that he might have misread their movement towards him as an attack, when they were actually headed for an exit. It was one of those split second decisions that you hope you never have to make.



He was prosecuted. The news is that he was found innocent on all charges:

Speaking by phone Monday evening, Mielke said he was glad it's all over. He said he's sad that two people lost their lives in the situation, but he still feels he would have been killed if he had not pulled the trigger that morning.



Mielke faced charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide after shooting and killing 31-year-old Christopher Palmer and 23-year-old Francis Jones.



The pastor had caught Palmer and Jones as they were robbing his Big Lake Community Chapel around 5 a.m. on April 24. Mielke testified that, when he went to the church to check out a noise, it was dark and he panicked in the confusion, then shot the two men in the back after they ran past him up a flight of stairs and tried to get out of the church.



Palmer's family members were clearly disappointed by the not guilty verdicts.

Well, yes I guess they were disappointed. It's hard for me to be very sympathetic when two adults commit a felony, and get killed. Even if they were not a threat to Mielke, and were just running towards him to get out an exit, the burden was on them for committing a felony under conditions where a reasonable person could misinterpret their actions as a threat.



This situation isn't something to be thrilled about, but neither is it an argument for gun control. It is an argument against burglary.



It is also an argument against going into an unoccupied building yourself, instead of calling the police to do it for you. Whatever was lost in that church was, I'm sure, less expensive than hiring an attorney to defend Pastor Mielke.

Welcome!



What? Why does Clayton need two blogs? Because I started to keep track of civilian uses of guns for self-defense--and there were so many of them that it was hard to find them in my normal blog. So, here's where they are going to go in the future!



What sort of entries will go here? Just summaries and links to articles about civilians engaged in defensive uses of guns.