Springfield, MO

From 1/5/16 Springfield News-Leader:

The Springfield woman said she cringes to think what might have happened if her husband hadn't pointed a gun at the man and scared him off.

"Our Second Amendment right to carry is what saved our lives," Claxton said. "If we didn't have our right to carry, I feel like we wouldn't be here today."

Claxton said she and her family stopped to get gas at the Rapid Roberts on Sunshine Street just west of Highway 65 at about 8 p.m. Sunday when a man approached their car acting strange.

Claxton said she was in the vehicle with her four young children while her husband was pumping the gas.

Claxton said she reached over to try to lock the doors as the man approached, but she accidentally rolled down the window. Claxton said the man opened the door, leaned into the car and brandished a long knife.

Claxton said she yelled for her husband, Matt, to get his gun, and the man then began to leave.

Off-Duty Security Guard Shoots Psychiatric Patient After Attack On Doctor

Boston, Massachusetts

From the October 27, 2009 Boston Globe:

A patient in a psychiatric center near the Massachusetts General Hospital stabbed his doctor this afternoon before being shot dead by an off-duty security guard, police said.

The physician is in stable condition, Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said at a press conference this afternoon as he described a chaotic scene.

A relative said the victim was Dr. Astrid Desrosiers, a Massachusetts General Hospital psychiatrist who worked at the center. Isabellie Desrosiers, Desrosiers' sister-in-law, said she had been told by Desrosiers' sister that Astrid had been shot. Police identified the patient late this afternoon as 37-year-old Jay Carciero of Reading.

The actions of the security guard, who does not work at the hospital, were hailed as "heroic" by Bonnie Michelman, head of security for Massachusetts General Hospital.

Tennessee: Man shot in self-defense, police say

Hamilton County, Tennessee

From the Chattanooga Times Free Press of April 12, 2009

Man shot in self-defense, police say

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office was called to 1211 Lakeside Drive at about 9 p.m. Saturday on reports of a shooting, spokeswoman Janice Atkinson said.

On arrival deputies found the victim, Kevin Bailiff, 22, lying on the ground at the edge of the driveway to the residence, suffering from a gunshot wound to the left lower leg, Ms. Atkinson said.

Deputies secured the scene and detained the father of the victim, Richard Bailiff, 66, Ms. Atkinson said.

Detective Ed Merritt advised that father and son became involved in a verbal argument that escalated to the shooting and at this time appears to be self-defense, Ms. Atkinson said.

The victim was transported to Erlanger hospital by Hamilton County EMS.

The investigation is continuing, Ms. Atkinson said.

Louisiana: Church security guard shoots man in chest

Shreveport, Louisiana

From the Shreveport Times of June 5, 2008

Church security guard shoots man in chest

Members of Mount Canaan Baptist let out of their Wednesday service to find a regular visitor had been shot in the chest by the Shreveport church's security guard.

At some point during the service, the man left the sanctuary and became involved in an altercation with the security guard, Shreveport Police Chief Henry Whitehorn said.

"He frequents different churches. He came here this (Wednesday) evening and was asked to leave because of his demeanor and actions."

Police still are investigating what caused the altercation outside the Alston Street church, Whitehorn said. The man had an object in his jacket he was using "in a threatening way," the police chief said.

Joanne Carter identified the wounded man as her brother Joe "Jake" Morris, 61, a disabled veteran who has been diagnosed schizophrenic.

"He does this holy dance, and they don't like it. Some men or women run around the church, and that's what he does," Carter said. "He goes to an extreme. Deacons have thrown stuff at him before."

Lashonda Nelson, who was in the service, said Morris was not being disruptive.

"Usually, he clowns, but there wasn't no clowning or anything. He was doing good. He talked to the preacher and left."

Nelson said she did not hear a gunshot and the congregation was unaware of what happened until the preacher announced it.

Morris was taken to LSU Hospital in Shreveport for treatment of a wound that was not life-threating, Whitehorn said.

Police are working to determine if the shooting was justifiable.

The guard was upset following the incident, Whitehorn said. "It's bothering him immensely."

Shooting of Stepson Ruled Self-Defense

St. Charles, Missouri

From the January 25, 2008 Belleville [Missouri] News-Democrat:

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- The prosecuting attorney in St. Charles County rules that the fatal shooting of a mentally ill man by his stepfather was justifiable homicide.

Prosecutor Jack Banas says no charges will be filed against Dr. John Gentles in the death of his stepson, 26-year-old Marshall Fink. Banas says Gentles acted in self-defense.

Fink was shot on Jan. 11. Banas says Fink had shown increasingly erratic and often violent behavior over the past 18 months, and relatives feared for their safety. His mother says Fink was bipolar and had lived at home since being discharged from the Navy because of his illness.

Authorities say Fink threatened both his mother and stepfather on the day of the shooting.

Michigan: Elderly Man Shoots Home Intruder

Detroit, Michigan

From WDIV of January 6, 2008

Elderly Man Shoots Home Intruder

An 82-year-old man on Detroit's northwest side shot and severely wounded an intruder who walked into his Collingwood Street home Sunday afternoon.

Police said that the intruder, a 44-year-old man from Redford, was visiting friends in the neighborhood when he entered the home of Thomas Jackson, 82, and his wife.

Jackson grabbed his gun and shot the intruder.

Police are investigating why the man had entered the home, but a friend told Local 4 that the intruder has a history of mental illness

"What he does, he's been known to go into people's houses and just sit down," said friend Charles Smith.

"He don't know where he is. He'll go into people's cars and sit down, you know, follow strangers down the street."

The intruder was listed in critical condition at Henry Ford Hospital Sunday evening.