Savannah, Georgia

From the Tallahassee Democrat of April 27, 2005

Police: Woman stops rape by shooting attacker

A woman who was being raped ended the assault by shooting her attacker, police said.

The woman told officers she was sitting in a car with her boyfriend Monday night when two men came up to the parked car with a handgun and ordered them out of the car, according to a Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police report.

The two men took a purse and wallet from the couple and then approached the woman. They ripped her pants off and began sexually assaulting her, the report said.

But when one of the men put his gun down, the woman grabbed it and fired four shots. One of the shots struck one of the attackers in the neck, causing him to fall over.

The woman and her boyfriend jumped back into their car and drove off. The men followed and, using the gun, broke the car's rear windshield, the report said.

But the couple got away and went to a home where they called police.

Officers later found Eric Easterling bleeding on a porch.

Easterling, 20, was taken to a hospital and faces charges of armed robbery and sexual assault-related charges, said police spokesman Sgt. Mike Wilson.

Police said they were still looking for the second suspect, whom Easterling said was his brother.

The woman was treated and released at a hospital.