Lithia, FL

11/1/19 Bay News 9:

“I’ve got a fractured eye socket, a fractured sinus cavity, a concussion, 20 stitches and three staples in my head,” said King, outside his home on Old Welcome Road in Lithia. “I took a severe beating.”
King said he was inside his home Wednesday when two masked men armed with guns barged in around 9 p.m. He said he doesn't know who they are, never met them and has no idea why he was targeted.  Both men pointed guns at King while demanding money.
“They came in heavily hooded and masked. As soon as they had got the back door opened, they had a pistol on me and was grabbing my 11-year-old daughter,” he said.
“I’m telling them, ‘I have nothing for you,’" King explained. "(A)nd they’re like, ‘Give me everything you got.’ It became real violent, real fast.”
King said one of the men started pistol-whipping him while another kicked him repeatedly in the head. His wife, who is eight months pregnant, was in the back bedroom and peeked out to see what was going on.
King said one of the men shot at her. She retreated, grabbed an AR-15 and returned fire.
“When he came toward the back door in her line of sight, she clipped him,” King said. “He made it from my back door to roughly 200 feet out in the front ditch before the AR did its thing.”
Deputies later found a man dead in a nearby ditch. The other gunman ran off after that fatal shot was fired.
"Them guys came in with two normal pistols and my AR stopped it,” King said. “(My wife) evened the playing field and kept them from killing me."
Investigators are still looking for the second gunman.

Winston-Salem, NC

11/22/19 WRAL:

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Police in North Carolina say they won’t charge a man who fatally shot someone trying to rob him during a botched drug deal.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports that Lt. Gregory Dorn said 25-year-old Charvez Kent Brown went to a home on Tuesday to sell 22-year-old Danielle Miller marijuana. However, Dorn says the potential buyer, along with 22-year-old Ajian Lynell Jones and 19-year-old Andres Harris, tried to rob Brown. The newspaper says Brown ran away but the three began shooting at him. He was wounded and returned fire, also wounding the others.

Police say Jones later died from his injuries.

Boutetort Co., VA

6/21/19 WSLS:

The man authorities say broke into a Botetourt County home is in the hospital after being shot by the homeowners' adult daughter's boyfriend Thursday afternoon, according to the Botetourt County Sheriff's Office. 

At about 4:30 p.m. the Sheriff's Office received a call about a person who forced his way into a home in the 3300 block of Ball Park Road, near Eagle Rock.

A man reportedly entered the home, pointed a gun at the female homeowner and demanded that she give him the keys to her truck.

When she refused and yelled for another person in the home, the intruder began firing his weapon inside the home.

Another resident retrieved a weapon, came down the stairs and he fired one shot at the intruder, who was coming up the stairs, hitting him in the neck. 

Wichita, KS

1/3/19 KAKE:

The number of homicides rose by 13 percent in 2018, the highest in decades, justifiable homicides more than doubling.  The chief sat down with KAKE's Pilar Pedraza to take a closer look at what's going on.

"A significant number of the homicides in 2018 have a drug connection," he said.
Police investigated a total of 44 homicides in Wichita last year.  A homicide legally is when one human kills another.  Some homicides are legal, some are crimes.

It started on January 8th with what's called a justifiable homicide, a case of self-defense.
"Our first two homicides were one incident - where a homeowner...had people at his door with guns and he shot and killed both of them," Ramsay said.  "And that's how the year started out,  was our first two homicides were  justifiable."

Justifiable homicides climbed to a high of nine confirmed last year, with Chief Ramsay expecting a shooting last week to become number ten on that list.

"You know when we look at last week's, very obviously justified you know, with a store being robbed. He had had a gun pointed in his face."

Houston, TX

7/18/18 KHOU:

Husband shoots home invasion suspect holding wife at gunpoint

The husband managed to shoot one of the suspects in the head. This happened at a home in in southeast Houston near Scott and Airport.

Dade Co., FL

11/29/16 Miami Herald:

For the second day in a row, a South Florida resident stood his ground and shot someone trying to break into a home, police said. One man died. The other is clinging to life.

Early Tuesday morning, as a man was banging on the front door of a North Miami-Dade home, Warren Cespedes grabbed his gun, gave warning, then fired twice through the door, sources said.

A man who had driven up to the home at 14240 NW Second Ave. in a red car just before 5:30 a.m. was knocking heavily and the family believed he was trying to get inside. The noise awoke Cespedes, his wife Jessica Bustamante and their two sons, ages 5 and 9.

“They were sleeping at the time. I believe two shots were fired,” said family attorney Michael Grieco. “They did not recognize this guy. They both have concealed weapons permits.”

Police haven’t named the would-be intruder. They said the 22-year-old man is in critical condition after being taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article117653498.html#storylink=cpy

Brooklyn, NY

From 12/16/15 New York Daily News:

A teen robber who was shot and killed during a Brooklyn home invasion was trying to steal the shooter’s marijuana stash, authorities said Tuesday.

Melvin Richie, 16, and an accomplice pushed their way into Ricardo Cameron’s first-floor apartment on Church Ave. and E. 91st St. in East Flatbush on Sunday, authorities said. One intruder had a pistol, but Cameron, 37, managed to get to his own gun and shot Richie in the head, prosecutors said.

Investigators believe Cameron acted in self-defense, but he had two guns — one licensed, one not, sources said.

He tried to hide one of the weapons and the marijuana, by sticking them into a bag and telling another resident to get rid of it, according to a criminal complaint. Cops found the bag in the building’s laundry room.

Robbing A Poker Game Is Stupid

From Jul. 1, 2015 WNEM:

SAGINAW TOWNSHIP, MI (WNEM) -
The Saginaw County Prosecutor has announced that a deadly shooting at a poker game was ruled justifiable homicide.

The incident happened about 12 a.m. March 12 at Camelot Place Apartments on Ivanhoe Drive. The area is off of Center Road, between Gratiot and Michigan Avenue in Saginaw Township.

A high stakes poker game was allegedly going on at the apartment. Christopher Talkington, one of the poker players, orchestrated the robbery, police said.

Gunfire was exchanged between one of the participants and the suspects.

Ramon Caesar Vasquez, 25, was shot during the incident. He later passed away at the hospital, police said. Police did not mention if Vasquez was a poker player or one of the suspects.

Read more: http://www.wnem.com/story/28402139/three-men-charged-after-shooting-at-alleged-poker-game#ixzz3tm3B4sMg

Remember: Gun Self-Defense Is Really Rare

Or so, the anti-gunners keep insisting.  From Oct. 26, 2015 Orlando Sentinel:

Tyrell Owens returned home early Sunday with a case of beer and a pistol tucked in his pants.

It was 1:53 a.m. in Pine Hills, moments before 911 calls flooded the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
"Give it up," Owens was told. And then the stranger's voice blurted, "Oh, [expletive], he has a gun, too."

In the seconds that followed, multiple gunshots exploded at Avesta Rolling Hills apartments on Pine Chase Drive.

When it was over, Owens survived uninjured.
The stranger ran away leaving a trail of blood. He ran to a white Mercedes-Benz SUV with after-market rims waiting in the parking lot. He fell at least once as a result of his wounds. Later identified as Wilmar Jolteus, 32, he jumped into the passenger seat, and it sped away, a report says,

Later in the night, he was dumped outside the emergency room at Orlando Regional Medical Center, records show.

Jolteus — a convicted felon with 11 prior arrests in South Florida — had been shot in the left leg and his right buttock, records show.

Sheriff's records complimented Owens' coolness under fire.

Never Bring A Fake Gun To A Real Gunfight

From Nov. 2, 2015 Washington Post:

On Saturday evening, a man wearing a mask walked into a South Side Chicago bodega, pulled out a gun and announced a robbery.

As the robber pointed his gun at the store’s employees, however, a customer pulled out his own gun.
The robber’s gun, it turns out, was fake.

The customer’s was not.

Now the robbery suspect is dead, gunned down by the concealed-weapon-toting customer.

The case is the latest in a string of incidents across the country in which bystanders have pulled out their concealed weapons and used them against suspected criminals.

At least this fool wasn't a suspected criminal.  As one comment observed:

And an object lesson here...play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Remember: Self-Defense With A Gun Is Really Rare

From Nov. 29, 2015 KJRH:

TULSA - Police say a man was shot Sunday evening during an attempted armed robbery at a Burger King in midtown Tulsa.

Officers responded to the fast food restaurant near East 41st Street and South Memorial Drive around 5:30 p.m.

They say a suspect was carrying a crowbar when he tried to rob another man outside the restaurant.

Police say the victim then pulled out a gun and shot the man accused of threatening him once in the shoulder.

Police say the suspect was able to drive away from the scene in a blue car with license plate number 828-BDX. Once they find him, police say he will face assault with a deadly weapon charges.

They say the shooter will not face charges because he was acting in self-defense.

Jefferson City, Missouri Robbery Goes Badly

Jefferson City, Missouri

From the October 9, 2009 Springfield, Missouri News-Leader:

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Law officers now say a man killed near Jefferson City apparently was shot by one of the residents in the mobile home he and others were trying to rob.

The Cole County sheriff’s office previously had said that 19-year-old Lamar Gardner, of Kansas City, appeared to have been shot accidentally by another robber.

But Sgt. Bob Bruchsaler (Brook’-say-ler) said Friday that an adult resident of the home now says he fired the shot in defense of the two other adults and two children living there. He did not identify the person.

Florida: Homeowner Shoots Armed Robbery Suspects

Ormond Beach, Florida

From the Central Florida News of September 14, 2009

Homeowner Shoots Armed Robbery Suspects

Two attempted armed robbery suspects were hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds after the man police said they tried to rob shot them.

According to police, Christopher Young, 38, and William Bell, 31, went into the home of Dane Rollins, 34, early Sunday morning armed with handguns.

Police said after the suspects stole cash, Rollins grabbed his shotgun and went after them.

The two suspects fled, but police said they later found them with several gunshot wounds. The men were taken to Halifax Medical Center.

Rollins was not hurt.

Police said shocked neighbors witnessed the entire gunfight.

“‘Boom, boom, boom!’ Then I came outside and hear a neighbor yelling to get out of the house,” said neighbor Jonathan Smith.

A third suspect, Brandy Lee Harris, 28, was also arrested Sunday, but police did not say how she was involved.

Texas: Robbery suspect killed in Houston card room gun battle

Houston, Texas

From the My San Antonio of September 4, 2009

Robbery suspect killed in Houston card room gun battle

A suspected robber was killed and another man was injured in a gun battle after three masked gunmen ambushed a card game in southwest Houston on Thursday, police said.

Around 2 a.m., witnesses said the masked men waited for someone to leave the game, which was held inside an unmarked office park unit behind a shopping center.

The gunmen burst in through the open door and began robbing patrons, one of whom pulled his own pistol, said Sgt. Juan M. De La Cruz, a Houston homicide detective. A gunfight ensued.

One suspect was killed and one of the patrons suffered a non-life threatening wound and was taken to a nearby hospital. Police, who found multiple 9-millimeter shell casings at the scene, say the other two suspects fled.

Police recovered card tables, cards and cash, and one of the patrons said everyone at the game knew each other. Police said they didn't immediately know who rents the space, which like many in the complex has no signage.

De La Cruz said the gambling matter would be turned over to the vice squad, but it wasn't clear whether the game was illegal. In Texas, there's nothing wrong with money changing hands in poker and other games as long as someone isn't taking a cut.

Identities of those involved were not immediately released, and no arrests were made.

Ohio: Robbery, standoff end with 2 men dead

Fairborn, Ohio

From the Dayton Daily News of September 2, 2009

Robbery, standoff end with 2 men dead

A stolen $500 piece of silver and two dead suspects are what’s left of a bizarre home invasion that led to a four-hour police standoff.

Bradley Fugate said he had just opened the front and back doors to let some cool air into his Huffman Avenue home Monday, Aug. 31, when two men came in the back door and put guns to his head.

Less than 24 hours later, both of those men were dead, one at Fugate’s home Monday and the other after a Fairborn standoff Tuesday.

“I didn’t know who they were, and they kept asking 'Where’s the money?’ ” Fugate said. “My brother, we kept trying to talk in circles to keep them calm. The black guy, he kept laughing.”

That man, Danny L. Brown, 30, pushed Fugate’s niece down onto a bed while rummaging through a safe in the bedroom, Fugate said.

“That was enough for me and it allowed me to get my gun from where I keep it in the bed and I raised up and fired,” Fugate said. “We got into the kitchen and he turned around and raised his gun up at me. That’s when I shot him in the head. It was a fatal shot.”

Fugate said he fired two shots at the other robber, Shawn Jones, 40, who was able to get away in a cream-yellow Cadillac with a one-pound silver bar and some prescription medication.

“They got into my safe and got the silver,” Fugate said. “It was just one of the safes with a key — a K-Mart special. You use it to store important documents in case of a fire.”

Brown was found inside Fugate’s home on Huffman Avenue and pronounced dead at Miami Valley Hospital.

Hours later three women tried to pawn the silver bar, Dayton Lt. Patrick Welsh said. Detectives used the silver bar to track down Jones in Fairborn, Welsh said.

Jones at first slammed the door and held his grandmother, Edna Vickery, captive, yanking her back into the house twice when she tried to leave, Fairborn police Capt. Doc Plemmons said.

About 15 minutes later, police were able to pull the woman out of her home when she came to the door a third time. Police said she was not injured but had her grandson’s blood on her clothes.

Fairborn Chief Terry Barlow said police were never able to talk to Jones after that initial contact at the door. Negotiators urged him to come out, waited, then fired tear gas into the house, all with no response. Officers then kicked in the door and found the man dead in the living room, his wrists cut .

Welsh said police are still looking for a possible third suspect in Monday’s home invasion — a person who drove the Cadillac from the scene.

Bradley Fugate is not facing any criminal charges at this time, police said.

An Ohio law passed last year allows people to defend their homes from invaders by any means necessary, including lethal force.

“I ain’t no hero, and I’m broken up about it,” Fugate said. “I did what I had to do.”

North Carolina: NC man, 76, shoots youth, 15, after home invasion

Charlotte, North Carolina

From WRAL of August 26, 2009

NC man, 76, shoots youth, 15, after home invasion

Police are unraveling a home invasion and burglary that began at an elderly couple's home and ended with a 15-year-old suspect shot to death on a nearby street.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said robbery and homicide investigative units are working to sort out the Saturday incident that began when four young men pushed into the upscale brick home that C.L. McClure, 76, shares with his wife in northeast Charlotte's Newell community.

"I'm not in any condition to talk" about the incident, McClure, a retired building fireproofer, told The Charlotte Observer on Tuesday.

Police said four teens entered McClure's home Saturday. McClure was bound with duct tape and his wife held at gunpoint. The robbers left with some jewelry and a wallet.

McClure's son, Larry, who lives next door, said his father broke free and after checking that his wife was OK guessed at the robbers' route out of his neighborhood. C.L. McClure grabbed a pistol, got into his dark green van and pursued the crooks, Larry McClure said.

"He thought they might have been driving, and he wanted to get a tag number," Larry McClure said.

Larry McClure said his father told him he was in his van when he saw one of the suspected robbers and thought he was armed. C.L. McClure fired his pistol when the teen turned toward him, his son said.

Marcus Fluker, 15, died later at Carolinas Medical Center. Police said they didn't recover a gun from near his body.

Officers took C.L. McClure to headquarters for questioning but released him without charges.

Police charged the other three teens with robbery and burglary. Police identified them as Joseph Graves, 17, Matthew Everett Morgan, 17, and Tahjaue Wiley, 18.

Police said they want to prevent any possible retribution against McClure and have assigned an officer to keep an eye on the residence.

"I think there's a concern. They just want to be extra careful. It's extra upsetting to have a 15-year-old shot and killed," said Capt. Mike Smathers, who command's the department's robbery unit. "I don't care who you are; that's terrible. They're just trying to make sure peace is maintained."

Seguin, Texas Robber Driven Off With Handgun

Seguin, Texas

From the July 29, 2009 Seguin Gazette-Enterprise:

SEGUIN — A wallet was stolen in a brazen nighttime robbery of a Guadalupe Street resident, according to reports.

A resident of the 2100 block of North Guadalupe Street woke up at 11:40 p.m. Sunday when he heard a noise in the front of his house, and then a man came into his bedroom and demanded, “Give me your money.”

The victim reached for his wallet and a handgun, and the two fought over the weapon before the suspect jumped out a window and left, the report said.

No shots were reported fired in the incident, which is being investigated by police detectives.

Pontiac Man Robs The Wrong Partygoers

Pontiac, Michigan

From July 19, 2009 Detroit channel 4:

PONTIAC, Mich. -- Neighbors in one community said a man was shot and killed early Sunday morning after he interrupted a neighborhood party and robbed some of the partygoers.

"It's like playground rules. They just broke one of them by going in and robbing and turning your back on someone," neighbor Andre said.

Andre said 29-year-old Gregory Scott interupted a dice game in the basement of a house in the 300 block of Seward Street in Pontiac at about 3:30 a.m.

Andre said Scott pulled a gun on partygoers and robbed them. "He goes in, pulls out a gun, let off a shot or two to make the person come out his money, and he was fine with that and turned his back," Andre said. "But everybody had pistols ... lights went off on him then."

Andre said the man was shot several times as he ran up the stairs and out of the house.

"He made it outside. He fell outside," Andre said.

Neighbors said two other people were also wounded but were able to walk away from the scene.

Louisiana: Attempted robbery leads to deadly shooting

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

From WAFB of July 9, 2009

Attempted robbery leads to deadly shooting

Police say a deadly shooting on Alliquippa Street in Baton Rouge was apparently the result of an attempted robbery gone bad.

They say around 2:00 Wednesday morning two men rushed into a home attempting to rob the people inside.

Police say an 18-year-old inside the home grabbed his gun and started shooting, but so did a 38-year-old robber.

The robber died at the scene, while the 18-year-old remains hospitalized fighting for his life.

The second suspect ran off. If you can help police find him, call Crime Stoppers at 344-7867.

Tennessee: Gunman Shot to Death During Home Invasion

Antioch, Tennessee

From WZTV of June 24, 2009

Gunman Shot to Death During Home Invasion

A home invasion turns deadly after one of the robbers is shot by the homeowner.

It happened on Moss Landing Drive in Antioch around 1:00 a.m.

Dennis Nicholson told detectives that he was confronted by 22 year old Elijah Minnard (pictured left) at the home.

Nicholson says Minnard had a shotgun, and 17 year old Jeremie Thomas (pictured right), had a pistol.

Police say the men forced Nicholson inside, and Minnard held Nicholson and 25 year old Lincoya Stephens at gunpoint upstairs while Thomas searched the downstairs area of the home.

Police say Stephens grabbed the shotgun to try and disarm Minnard, but Stephens was hit in the leg by a shotgun blast.

Police say Stephens and Nicholson still managed to get the gun away from Minnard.

Officers say Stephens then pulled a pistol that was concealed in his waistband and shot and killed Minnard.

Thomas, hearing the gunfire, went to check on Minnard.

Stephens opened fire on Thomas, and he fled the house.

At 2:15 a.m., police say Thomas, with gun in hand, jumped in front of a driver on Hamilton Church Road and yelled for her to stop.

The driver accelerated as she and her four passengers ducked.

Thomas was caught by officers a short time later.

Detectives say Thomas told them he and Minnard went to the home to commit a drug-related robbery.

No drugs were found in the residence.

Stephens is hospitalized with a gunshot wound to his leg and has not yet been interviewed by detectives.

The investigation is continuing.

Thomas is charged at Juvenile Court with two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of unlawful weapon possession, attempted criminal homicide, four counts of aggravated assault, and attempted aggravated robbery.

Thomas is being held in juvenile detention pending a hearing.