The Armed Citizen® April 24, 2012

Home alone, a 17-year-old girl did not answer the door when the door bell rang. Shortly thereafter, she heard someone jump over the gate in the backyard. She then saw a man reach through the home’s doggie door and attempt to unlatch it. The girl quickly armed herself and fired a shot at the doggie door. Without hesitation, the suspect fled. It is unknown whether or not the man was injured. The area was heavily searched, but police were unable to locate the man. (The Arizona Republic, Glendale, Ariz., 2/07/12)

The Armed Citizen Extra

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

A man, his pregnant sister-in-law and her small child were at home on a Thursday morning when they were startled by a banging sound on the apartment door. Looking out the window, the residents saw two individuals trying to break in. The people in the home tried barring the door with a couch, but the home invaders got through anyway, one brandishing a pistol. The male apartment resident drew his own firearm and opened fire first, striking the armed intruder and sending his partner scurrying away. The wounded suspect was pronounced dead at the scene, and police immediately began a search for his accomplice. (Houston Chronicle, Houston, Tex., 9//24/2010)

From The Armed Citizen Archives

April 1980: Awakened by the cries of her 6-year-old daughter, a Baytown, Tex. Woman spied a male intruder hiding beside her bed. The woman grabbed a pistol she kept under the pillow, took the child in her arms, and ran into the next room. When the intruder followed, she shot him. The wounded man fled, but police later found him hiding in some nearby bushes and wearing only a pair of socks. (Houston Chronicle, Houston, Tex., 1/9)