*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)
The Armed Citizen Extra
(The following account did not appear in the print version of American Rifleman.)
A Florida man awoke late one night to the sound of robbers barging into his home. When he confronted the two men, they demanded money. He gave it to them, but also grabbed his shotgun as the robbers fled. Gunfire was exchanged in the street, and one suspect ran off into nearby woods, while the other jumped into a vehicle and sped away. Both men were later taken into custody. The homeowner suffered no injuries. (Hometown News, Daytona Beach, FL, 9/18/2009)
From the Armed Citizen Archive
May 1960: In New York City's theatrical district, actor Jay Scott awakened and saw a burglar on a fire escape opening the window of a nearby flat. Scott tried to telephone police, but gave up when he heard a woman scream as the intruder entered her apartment. The man fled in panic, burst into the hall, and entered the next apartment where more female screams caused him to flee the scene of his original entry. As he climbed back out the window, actor Scott, in his apartment window, fired one shot from a hunting rifle. Felled with a leg wound, the intruder was taken by police on the escape landing. (New York Journal-American)
