*A 15-year-old boy was alone in his mother’s apartment when he heard a strange sound. Upon glancing into the living room, he discovered a masked man armed with an illegally possessed firearm. Police said the boy fled to his mother’s bedroom and grabbed a .22-cal. pistol. He then locked himself inside the attached bathroom and listened to the burglar ransacking the home. When the burglar attempted to enter the bathroom, the boy fired three shots. The burglar fled the scene. It is unknown if he was injured. (Times Daily, Florence, AL, 06/18/10)

*Desperate for narcotics, a man wearing a ski mask and armed with a spear and a baseball bat burst into a pharmacy. Technician Paul Hemmer confronted the masked man before he had a chance to toss the spear. Police said Hemmer drew his licensed handgun and asked the man, “Do you really want to do this?” The masked man considered Hemmer’s logic for a moment and quickly fled the scene. Law enforcement lauded Hemmer’s actions. “Not only did Paul Hemmer defend himself, co-workers and a customer … he also prevented dangerous drugs from getting out on the street,” said Sullivan County, N.Y., Sheriff Michael Schiff. “Mr. Hemmer acted courageously and with great restraint.” (Daily Freeman, Kingston, NY, 06/04/10)

*In February an NRA-supported federal law went into effect permitting people who may legally carry firearms to do so in many previously gun-free national parks. Three months later, a backpacker chose to exercise the new right while hiking in Alaska’s Denali National Park. His decision and the new law likely saved his life and that of the female hiker accompanying him. They discovered bear sign and went on high alert. The bear, a grizzly, quickly emerged and charged the female hiker. The man drew a .45 ACP pistol and fired about nine shots, killing the bear. (Daily News-Miner, Fairbanks, AK, 05/30/10)

*Police say four known gang members burst into an Arizona store that sells car alarms and stereos and announced the robbery. The gang members began ransacking the store and forced an employee into a back office at gunpoint. That’s when the store’s owner emerged onto the scene and opened fire with a shotgun. One gang member was killed and two were wounded. The store owner, whose forearm was slightly injured by return fire, held the three surviving suspects for the police. (Associated Press, 05/12/10)

*When Michael Lish returned home to find the back door and a window ajar, he entered cautiously with his handgun for protection. As he inspected his home, a man dressed in dark clothing and wielding a sword sprung out at him. Police say the burglar threatened Lish and walked toward him. Lish fired a shot, wounding the burglar who fell to his knees. The burglar reached behind his back in an apparent attempt to grab another weapon, forcing Lish to fire two more shots, killing him. The burglar, who was on probation at the time of his death, was also carrying two illegally possessed guns, a knife and a stun gun. (Tulsa World, Tulsa, OK, 04/03/2010)

*A man was enjoying his lunch on a park bench when, according to police, a suspect with a less wholesome agenda spotted him. Clutching a knife, the suspect approached the man and said, "Give me all your money or I'll stab you!" The mugger grabbed the man and shoved him against a fence. The suspect may have intended to inflict bodily harm on the man, however, he didn't realize his would-be victim was licensed to carry a firearm. The man drew a handgun and opened fire on the suspect, wounding him. The mugger was to be arrested upon his release from the hospital. (The Hartford Courant, Hartford, CT, 04/27/10)

*Police said that early one morning, an armed suspect burst into a home office in an area described by one resident as "a quiet neighborhood." Hearing the burglar, the resident quickly armed himself with a firearm. When the burglar approached, the resident feared for his life and shot the suspect, killing him. "I'm not for someone being shot," said Nora Dietz, a concerned neighbor, "but you have to protect yourself." (The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, MD, 3/29/10)

*A crazed, knife-wielding man attempted to stab people at random in a convenience store parking lot. Police said he'd already chased a delivery driver and others when he ran down a car leaving the lot. He lunged at the car's driver with the knife, wounding him. That's when the driver, whose two young stepdaughters were in the vehicle, produced a handgun and fired about six shots, killing the attacker. The driver will recover from his injuries. "You've got to protect yourself," said witness Byron Cook. "He had his two kids in the car and they were terrified." (WREG-TV, Memphis, TN, 03/05/10)

*When he was awakened by his home security system, NRA Endowment member Steve Bason prepared for the worst—he got his Benelli M1 12-ga. shotgun, while his wife, Beth, an NRA Life member, grabbed her Glock 9 mm pistol. "At first we figured it was just another false alarm," Bason told the editor of the "Armed Citizen." "Then a light came on in our barn and I thought, 'My goodness, this is real!'" Police say the couple cautiously approached the barn. They peered inside and found a man standing next to Bason's truck with the door open. "There was some yelling and we probably said some words that aren't fit for print," Bason recalled. The suspect quickly found himself staring down the barrels of two different guns and waited patiently for police. (The Express, Lock Haven, PA, 02/02/10)

*The incessant ringing of her doorbell woke a woman from her sleep. She looked through the front door peephole and saw someone in a hooded sweatshirt outside continuing to ring the bell. Police say the woman ran to the bedroom, got her handgun and dialed 9-1-1. As she returned to the front door, a second hooded suspect emerged, sprinted to the door and kicked it. His foot busted a hole in the door, knocking down the woman. She looked through the hole and saw the suspect preparing to run and kick the door again, so she stuck the barrel of her handgun out of the hole and fired two shots. The suspects fled the scene and are being sought by police. (KNXV-TV, Phoenix, AZ, 02/11/10)

*NRA member Robert Cole and his wife, Pam, had just started to doze off one evening when they heard breaking glass and their motion detector alarm as it went off. Then Cole heard someone in the living room. “I woke my wife up and told her we had someone in the house, and she told me to grab the shotgun,” he remembered. Police said he peered out the bedroom door and saw a man in the living room holding a fire extinguisher. “I was worried he was going to hurt me or my wife so I [fired] one round of No. 6 shot,” Cole said. Police arrested the wounded suspect and an alleged accomplice nearby. This wasn’t Cole’s first act of armed citizenry. He was involved in an incident that appeared in this column in December 2004. (North Channel Sentinel, Pasadena, Texas, 01/07/10)

*Police said that shortly after midnight three men broke into a home seeking money and drugs. There were no drugs in the home, but there was a .22 cal rifle—and an 11-year-old boy trained in its use. The boy leapt to the defense of his mother and sister. One of the intruders shot the boy, slightly injuring him. The boy returned fire, seriously wounding a suspect and causing the men to flee the home. Police found all three intruders nearby. That wounded man was airlifted to a hospital and will be charged after his release. (San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, Texas, 01/20/10)

Armed Citizen Extra
(The following account did not appear in the print version of American Rifleman.)

Early in the evening, a 74-year-old homeowner arrived at home to find his front door kicked in and side door open. After entering the home, he found two male suspects who threatened him with landscaping tools. The homeowner grabbed a machete-like weapon and swung it at the men, striking one of them several times but the suspects continued to approach the homeowner. So, the man produced a .25 caliber handgun and fired twice at the intruders. Both men fled the residence and were later arrested. Both are facing numerous charges. (WVI Local News, Lewes, Delaware, 09/11/2009)

From the Armed Citizen Archive
April 1978: Paul Tornabene, of Buffalo N.Y., was driving home when he saw a woman being mugged at knifepoint. Tornabene responded to the woman’s cry for help, stopped his car, and held a gun on her assailant until police arrived. The man was arrested on a first degree robbery charge. Of Tornabene, one officer said, “I think the guy should get a merit badge. People are so reluctant to get involved these days, and this guy really went out of his way to help the woman and police…” (The Courier Express, Buffalo, New York)

*Criminal justice instructor Michael Minto was exiting the Kaplan Career Institute when he saw a man being viciously stabbed. According to police, Minto ran onto the scene, drew a handgun for which he has a permit to carry and ordered the attacker to drop the knife. The suspect fled. The victim was treated and released from the hospital. “[If not for Minto], we might be talking about someone who died,” said Swatara Township, Pa., Deputy Police Chief Jason Umberger. “There are not many citizens out there that would have the courage to take that action.” (The Patriot-News, Harrisonburg, PA, 12/08/09)

*Fairfax County, Va., police officer Bud Walker says a resident had time to get his handgun because an armed burglar “was making quite a bit of noise trying to get into the house.” The resident made noise as well in an attempt to scare off the suspect. “The burglar…continued to try to get in even though he knew there was someone inside the house. Our experience is that most burglars…tend to target houses that are not occupied.” The suspect forced his way into the home and opened fire, wounding the resident, who returned fire and forced the intruder from is home. The resident is expected to recover. (The Washington Post, Washington, D.C., 12/18/09)

*When a woman knocked on the door, Donald Kaighn--an NRA member, World War II veteran and gun collector--opened it. Her car had broken down so Kaighn allowed the woman inside to use the phone, a favor she returned by spraying the 84-year-old's face with lighter fluid and hitting him in the head with the can. Kaighn grabed a Colt .32-cal. pistol while his assailant ran upstairs. He confronted her. "She said something like 'Stop or I'll shoot,'" Kaighn explained. "I immediately fired the gun." The woman briefly returned fire before leaping from the second story window with some of Kaighn's possessions. "I'm a member of the NRA and I subscribe to its policy of not being a vicitim," Kaighn said. "I don't want to hurt anybody." (WPVI-ABC6, Philadelphia, PA, 12/01/09)

*Nathan Brown remembers, "I heard three distinct bangs like someone was kicking in my door. It wasn't like a knock, it was emotionally charged. It scared me." Brown was especially frightened for his 2-year-old daughter, who was sleeping in a back room. Police say Brown got his gun and ordered whoever was on the other side of the door to go away. Two men shouted back and one of them broke the door's lock and charged inside. "I said, 'Stop, I'll shoot you!'" Brown recalls, but the men pressed on. "That's when I shot." Both intruders fled. Police found one of them nearby suffering from a gunshot wound. A full-time student and single father, Brown recently bought his first firearm out of security concerns. "I don't feel safe here, which is why I bought the guns in the first place," he said. (KPTV-FOX12, Portland, OR, 11/27/09)

*Shocked onlookers watched as a vehicle careened across a mall parking lot, nearly striking a tree. Inside, a man was savagely beating his girlfriend as she screamed for help. While others stood by and watched, a 27-year-old man with a concealed carry permit ran to the woman's aid, drew a Glock semi-automatic pistol and shouted at her boyfriend to end the assault. The boyfriend saw the gun and promptly complied. Police praised the armed citizen's actions. "For all we know, he could have saved her from serious injury," said Police Captain Norman Cloyer. "I'm going to call him and tell him that when he gets ready to renew his [concealed carry] license, it's on me." (News-Telegram, Sulphur Springs, TX, 10/15/09)

*A great-grandmother and five of her relatives were enjoying a family trip when an armed robber stormed inside their motel room. Shouting orders, the robber forced the great-grandmother onto the floor, which actually positioned her closer to her .357 magnum revolver, a gun she inherited from her late husband and for which she had a permit to carry. As the robber threatened three generations of the woman's family and demanded money, she quietly got her gun. A shot rang out. "I thought I was shot," her son said. "I didn't realize my mother had shot him. It was mass chaos." The robber stumbled outside and died. "She said to me, 'God was with me tonight. You know I couldn't have done that myself,'" her son recalled. (The Columbus Dispatch, Columbus, OH, 10/23/09)

Police say a club-wielding intruder entered a home's unlocked front door while the residents were inside. He snuck down a hallway, entered a bedroom and began stealing a coin collection. The homeowner heard the ruckus and accosted the intruder, who merely shouted threats and continued taking the coins. The homeowner left the room and returned with a handgun, firing a shot at the intruder. The suspect fled the property, scattering coins as he ran. He was being sought by police. (The Island Packet, Hilton Head, SC, 9/23/09)

Early one morning, a pregnant woman had no idea she would be targeted by a young adult in the midst of a burglary spree. Police say the suspect had already burglarized several cars and homes when he entered the woman's residence in the early morning hours. She awoke and confronted him with a shotgun, prompting him to draw a handgun. Rather than firing a shot, the pregnant woman explained to the intruder that her gun was larger. He put his gun away and waited for the police. (Press-Register, Mobile AL, 9/11/09)