Cincinnati, Ohio



From Cincinnati’s WCPO.com of October 6, 2004

Store Owner Shoots Back At Suspects In Bond Hill Robbery



Cincinnati police are investigating an old fashioned shootout at a bond hill gas station.



The store owner said that over his dead body would any robber be getting away with his hard earned cash.

…



Saper Ayad says he's always prepared and waiting for a robber to walk in with a gun, and last night at the Sunoco on Seymour and Langdon Farm road his preparedness was put to the test.



"It is dangerous, but you know, you got no feeling no more," said Ayad, a co-owner at the gas station.



Ayad says around 11:30 p.m. Monday night he noticed on surveillance video from his back office that a robber was holding his clerk up with a gun, so Ayad grabbed his gun.



"When he shot at me it made me more mad," said Ayad. "If he did it again I would do it again but I hope it's not going to happen again."

….



When Ayad comes out from the back the suspect fires -- and from behind the counter Ayad fires back.



"He tried to run out the door," said Ayad. "I chased him with a gun shooting at him as he ran."



Ayad's partner says there should be a bullet hole in the suspect's car.



There's a hole where Ayad fired and missed inside the store.



"I don't like to shoot," said Ayad. "I don't like to carry guns, but sometimes you have, I feel, I got no choice."



No one was injured but one of the store's co-owners says he's becoming very frustrated.

Cosby, Tennessee



From the Knoxville News Sentinel of October 6, 2004

Intruder fatally shot by Cosby homeowner



A man shot to death at midnight Monday, as he reportedly attempted to enter a home, was identified Tuesday.



Chad Lee Hicks, 31, Cosby, was shot in the neck, according to Detective Bryan Murr of the Cocke County Sheriffs Department.



D.R. Williamson told investigators he was asleep in his Roostertown Road home when he heard a noise at a door leading from a rear deck. Williamson, 79, grabbed a rifle and went to the locked door. When he saw no one, Williamson opened the door and observed a man cutting the screen from another door.



"The subject headed toward him armed with the knife. He had an article of clothing wrapped around his head, fashioned as a mask," the detective said of the would-be intruder.



After Williamson fired a shot striking the subject under his chin, the shooter called E-911 to report the incident.

Jacksonville, Florida



From the Florida Times Union of October 6, 2004

Westside man shoots intruder, 17



Homeowner shoots her in face as she charges with butcher knife, police say.



The car keys were on the dining room table, Richard Clark told the young intruder.



She ran to get them after telling him she planned to steal his maroon Taurus.



But Clark, 59, ran for his gun.



Moments later, the two faced off inside Clark's Westside Jacksonville home, with 17-year-old Alie McMillan coming at him with a butcher knife as he defended himself, police said.



Police answered a call about a shooting at Clark's home in the 7300 block of Proxima Road Tuesday, finding McMillan with a gunshot wound to her face and Clark with a superficial stab wound to one of his wrists.



McMillan stayed awake and answered questions as firefighters treated her injuries, including by wrapping a large bandage around her head.



A bullet wound was visible on her right cheek as she was put in a rescue rig about 3 p.m. and taken to Shands Jacksonville hospital.



The runaway faces aggravated battery and armed burglary charges, police said.

Los Angeles, California



From the Los Angeles Times of October 4, 2004

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Guard Kills 2 Men in Car Outside Silver Lake Nightclub



A security guard shot and killed two men sitting in a car outside a Silver Lake nightclub early Sunday after one of the occupants allegedly pointed a gun at him when he asked repeatedly that they move their vehicle, police said.



The shooting occurred shortly after 2 a.m. in the parking lot of Los Globos Nightclub in the 3000 block of West Sunset Boulevard, according to detectives at the Los Angeles Police Department's Rampart Division.



The incident began when the security guard, who had not been charged with a crime and whose name was not released, asked the driver of a black Nissan Altima to move his car, police said. He did not, and when the guard asked a second time, one of three men in the car pointed a handgun at the guard, police said.



"The security guard removed his firearm and fired twice, striking both victims," a police report states.



The driver of the car, Jose Manuel Martinez, 27, drove to a Chevron station nearly four miles away and called police, according to the report.



One of the victims was pronounced dead at the gas station. The other was pronounced dead at County-USC Medical Center. Both men were shot in the upper torso, police said. Their names were not released.



Because he was allegedly involved in a crime that resulted in two deaths, the driver was being held on suspicion of murder, police said.

Tacoma, Washington



From the Tacoma News Tribune of October 4, 2004

Man killed in Tacoma during melee, struggle over rifle



A man was shot to death in Tacoma on Sunday morning in what police said appeared to be a case of self defense.



The incident took place at a house in the 2500 block of South L Street, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.



A man who was staying in the house as a guest told officers there was a knock at the front door about 9 a.m. He answered and found a man on the porch asking to speak to a woman who lives at the home, Fulghum said.



The guest said he would get the woman, who apparently was in her bedroom, Fulghum said.



The man who dropped by followed the other fellow into the house. When they arrived at the woman's bedroom door, the man sucker-punched the guest in the head, Fulghum said. A fight then broke out between the two, and the woman who lives in the house and the guest's wife eventually joined the melee, Fulghum said.



At one point, the guest and his assailant spotted a rifle lying nearby and began to struggle over it, police reported.



During the struggle, the guest pulled the gun's trigger, firing one shot that hit the other man and killed him, Fulghum said.



Police took the guest to a local hospital where he was treated for injuries suffered in the fight.



He and the two women were then taken to police headquarters downtown where they were interviewed and released, Fulghum said.



"Nobody has been arrested at this point," he said. "There doesn't seem to be anything malicious. It looks like he was protecting himself."

Homestead, Pennsylvania



From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette of October 2, 2004

Charges are dropped in Homestead slaying



A witness to a deadly shootout in August in Homestead recanted his police statement, causing a prosecutor to withdraw homicide and related charges against two suspects.



Gregory P. Smith, 24, of the North Side, and Gary L. Butler, 26, of Penn Hills, were expected to be released from the Allegheny County Jail, where they had been held without bail.



The two were charged with the Aug. 9 shooting death of Dontez McCollum, 24, of Homewood.



Defense attorney James Wymard, who represents Smith, said at a coroner's inquest yesterday that his client and the co-defendant actually were attacked by McCollum and another man, Ivan Perrin.



Police said Perrin told them he witnessed the shooting outside a bar in the 800 block of Amity Street.



As the only witness called yesterday, Perrin denied that he gave a statement to police.



McCollum suffered a bullet wound that passed through his thighs and severed his femural(sic)artery. He died the next day at UPMC Presbyterian.



Smith was treated at UPMC Presbyterian for wounds he received in the shootout. Then he was arraigned on homicide charges.



Butler also was wounded.



Wymard said that had the case gone to trial, he and defense attorney Todd Hollis, who represents Butler, were prepared to make self-defense arguments.

Muskegon, Michigan



From the Muskegon Chronicle of September 30, 2004

Store owner won't be charged in shooting



No charges will be filed against the owner of an Egelston Township business who shot an intruder early Wednesday inside his store.



Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague said there was no question about what occurred inside D&M Produce, 992 S. Maple Island, and the owner, Michael Moore, had a right to defend himself.



Moore was working in his office about 1:15 a.m. when he heard noises. At first he thought the noises could be from an animal, but then he heard a doorknob jiggle, police said.



The office door was partially open, and Moore saw a person jump over a counter, Muskegon County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. James Christiansen said following the incident.



The owner got his shotgun, and when the intruder didn't freeze, he fired once, police said.



Scott Lamb, 17, of 1879 S. Maple Island, was hit in the shoulder area by the blast from the gun that was loaded with birdshot, according to police. His condition at Hackley Hospital had improved to "serious" this morning.



Tague said Lamb was to be charged today with breaking and entering of a building.



"The investigation revealed that both the suspect and the store owner gave the exact same description of what occurred inside the store," Tague said. "That also was corroborated by the physical evidence at the scene."



Tague said the 50-year-old store owner "has the right to defend himself with whatever force was necessary if he fears for his safety."



The suspect broke in, Tague said, and police reported that the teen-ager was dressed in camouflage clothing and dark boots. The teen-ager, who removed some metal siding to gain entry, also carried a loaded pellet gun, police said.



Christiansen said that, after the shooting, Moore immediately called 911 and got a blanket to cover the teen and tried to comfort him until authorities arrived.