Backup

If the unthinkable happens—you’re forced to use a firearm to neutralize a potentially deadly criminal threat—more than likely, authorities will hold your gun as evidence. The wait for its return could be a long one. Meanwhile his buddies are still out there.

I know, it sounds paranoid. Wiley Clapp wrote an article a while back that recommends a backup to your primary self-defense gun for this kind of situation, and it should be a twin. His contention that a gun that operates identically minimizes the chances of muddling things up under stress makes sense—especially for law enforcement—but for law-abiding citizens who aren’t working a beat every day, it can get expensive.

Besides, that’s the stuff of cheap fiction and action movies, right? An 85-year-old resident of El Cerrito, Calif., may beg to differ.

Two burglars broke in the back door while he was home alone last week. The report indicates he feared for his life, grabbed his gun and shot. Both suspects fled immediately and one is still at large. Authorities caught the second alleged criminal somewhere near the scene with a bullet lodged in his head. He is listed in serious condition in an area hospital.   

The victim’s nightmare wasn’t over. A relative of the hospitalized parolee decided to pay him a visit, although the news report doesn’t make it clear if there was any threat. It does  indicate a law enforcement officer is now guarding the house, however.

It’s a scary reminder that revenge is part of the criminal mindset and it can occur minutes or hours after the initial incident. Wiley is right—as usual. I can almost hear him laughing right now, even though we’re on different sides of the country.