After the office door was closed, staff members at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital reported hearing loud arguing inside. The staff opened the door to find a patient holding a doctor and caseworker at gunpoint. They immediately dialed 9-1-1. Gunshots were heard a short time later. The caseworker was shot and killed by the gunman. The doctor was grazed by gunfire, and promptly pulled out his own gun and returned fire. When the patient emerged from the office, he was wrestled to the floor and disarmed by another doctor and caseworker. The suspect sustained multiple gunshot wounds, but was reportedly expected to recover. The doctor was expected to recover from his wounds as well. Many praise the doctor’s actions, which likely saved lives. The responding police chief said of the incident, “Without that firearm, this guy [the patient] could have went out in the hallway and just walked down the offices [shooting] until he ran out of ammunition.” (Bucks County Courier Times, Darby, PA, 7/25/14)
The Armed Citizen® Extra:
Two teenagers entered a jewelry store in Fresno, Calif., pointed a handgun at the clerk’s head and announced that they were robbing the place. When the store owner, who had been in the back office with his daughter and new-born grandchild, heard the clerk say he was being robbed, he armed himself with a shotgun and confronted the pair. Upon seeing the shotgun, the two robbers hastily fled the scene. The entire encounter was caught on security cameras, and since the teens had not bothered to wear masks or disguises, tipsters were quickly able to assist the authorities in identifying them. One of the culprits turned himself in to police, and his compatriot was arrested two days later. There were no injuries, and nothing was stolen. Both men pleaded no contest to their charges. (The Fresno Bee, Fresno, CA, 12/11/14)
From the Armed Citizen® Archives January 1980:
Responding to a knock on the door of his Louisville, Ky., home, James F. Freeman was confronted by an armed man who ordered him and five friends to lie on the floor and then demanded cash. When Freeman’s wife went into another room to get the money, the gunman followed. Freeman hurriedly found his revolver and greeted the robber with a burst of gunfire, wounding him in the side. The robber managed to escape with the cash, but was later identified by Freeman at a hospital and arrested. (The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY)
