The Armed Citizen® January 6, 2012

It was not a good day on the job for one would-be burglar. First, he tried to climb in the window of 77-year-old Donald McElrea’s home, but was caught in the act. Pistol in hand, McElrea confronted the burglar. The gun startled the burglar so badly that he lost his footing and plummeted 20 feet over the side of the elevated deck. McElrea told the burglar to stay on the ground while his wife called the police, and the burglar should’ve just cut his losses at that point. Instead he got up and charged McElrea, who opened fire. Police arrived to find the burglar injured from the fall, shot in the arm and considering a new line of work. (Harrison Daily Times, Harrison, AR, 10/18/11)

The Armed Citizen Extra

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

It was a seemingly quiet afternoon in a Pittsburgh, Pa., car repair shop when suddenly a masked man entered through an open door, wielding a gun and demanding money from the shop owner. After the owner handed over his money, the masked intruder stunned him in the back of the head with a stun gun. A Vietnam veteran and NRA firearms instructor who specializes in personal protection, the owner stumbled to his feet and grabbed his gun. When the intruder pointed his gun at him, the owner fired one shot, killing the man. (The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, 12/18/10)

From The Armed Citizen Archives

January 1966: When two gunmen in Upland, Calif., took $150 from liquor store owner Hugh M. Davenport and fled, Davenport ran out of the store with his carbine and riddled the fleeing bandits' car, bringing it to a halt. Davenport ruptured the left front tire and put holes in the radiator, the gas tank and the oil pan. The thugs then fled on foot. However, they were captured minutes later by the police. (The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA)