Pennsylvania authorities have ruled that a Reading man was justified in the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old who was assaulting him. The man had no choice, Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams said in reports. “He was literally laying [sic] on the ground being beaten up when he fired his gun.” Adams said that the robbery/assault victim was jumped by three teens, who knocked him to the ground and started kicking and punching him. While one assailant held the victim down, the other two rummaged through the man’s pockets. The Reading man reached his own gun and fired one shot into the air. That scared two of the teens away, but the armed one who held him down stayed there. The armed citizen then fired multiple times at that teen, killing him. (Reading Eagle, Reading, PA, 12/8/15)
The Armed Citizen® Extra 4/11/16
An Albuquerque, N.M., couple caught a burglar in the act of stealing from them and was able to hold him at gunpoint until the authorities could arrive to arrest the man. The 70-year-old male resident noticed the suspect loading his generator, power tools and other belongings into an SUV. The homeowner confronted the thief but was ignored. Grabbing a shotgun, and his 66-year-old wife arming herself with a handgun, the two then confronted the criminal again—this time he was more receptive. Police eventually arrived and placed the burglar under arrest; he had been released from jail just earlier that day. (Las Cruces Sun-News, Las Cruces, NM, 11/22/15)
From the Armed Citizen® Archives
January 1977
Alvin Thompson of Wilshire, Calif., was in the back room of his house when he heard someone breaking down the front door. He reached his .38 Spl.-chambered revolver just in time for the intruder to crash into his living room. When the invader reached for his belt, Thompson fired, fatally wounding him. (The Herald Examiner, Los Angeles, CA)
