Two armed citizens who witnessed a drug deal gone bad in New Mexico used their guns to hold the shooter captive until the police arrived to take the suspect into custody. Officers were called to respond to a 7-Eleven after dispatchers received reports of a ruckus. Two men had apparently been fighting over drugs near the parking lot of the convenience store. One of the bad guys pulled a gun and fired several rounds, hitting the other man involved in the drug deal in the leg and nearly shooting some bystanders. Two armed citizens, seeing passersby endangered, tackled the shooter. After they took him down, each pulled a handgun and made sure neither bad guy could flee the area. The shooter faces charges of aggravated assault and other local charges, and the Albuquerque, N.M., police said federal charges are possible because he was a convicted felon who was illegally in possession of a firearm. (Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque, NM, 5/19/16)
The Armed Citizen® Extra
An armed 70-year-old man caught a burglar in the act of ransacking his residence and held the thief at gunpoint until the authorities could arrive to take him off the jail. The incident took place in Sanger, Calif. According to the local sheriff’s department, when they arrived at the scene, the suspect was sitting down on the resident’s front yard with his hands behind his back. The homeowner has held a permit to carry a concealed handgun for 50 years, but this marks the first time he’s ever had to draw it on another person. (The Fresno Bee, Fresno, CA, 1/29/16)
From the Armed Citizen® Archives
January 1980
Two men burst into a Wichita, Kan., jewelry store, tied owner Jerry Burnell to a chair and proceeded to clean out the showcases. Burnell was able to free himself, grab a pistol and fire, mortally wounding one robber. The accomplice escaped unharmed. (The Beacon, Wichita, KS)
