The Armed Citizen® April 14, 2025

Armed Citizen® Today

A carjacking spree was ended by an armed citizen in Indianapolis, who fired on his alleged carjackers and stopped the assault, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police.

Officers were initially called to the scene of an attempted, but unsuccessful, carjacking in the parking lot of a local shopping complex at about 5:40 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15. The caller had escaped the attempt in their vehicle and called 911 to report the crime. While en route, officers were notified of another carjacking attempt and were told that a person had been shot.

The three carjackers, two of whom were armed, targeted another person in the parking lot after failing in their first theft attempt. This time, the intended victim was armed, too, and opened fire, critically wounding one of the thieves. The other two suspects fled. Police recovered a knife at the scene and transported the wounded 23-year-old suspect to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. (Indianapolis Star; Indianapolis, Ind.; 1/16/25)

From the Armed Citizen® Archives – May 1960

In St. Catharines, Ont., Mrs. J.C.R. Fitzgerald, a widow in her 80s, refused when a burglar broke into her bedroom and demanded her jewelry. Instead, Mrs. Fitzgerald reached for her .38-cal. revolver in the shoebag hanging on the door near her bed.

The burglar tried to wrest the gun away, but the widow fired. The would-be jewel thief fled the house. "The last time I remember firing it was many, many, many years ago," Mrs. Fitzgerald said. "But my gardener has kept it cleaned and loaded for me." (Buffalo Courier-Express)