The Armed Citizen® April 3, 2014

Mabel Fletcher, 64, was sleeping when her dog woke her with a forewarning bark. She scrambled in the dark for the 9 mm handgun that she keeps in the nightstand next to her bed. As Fletcher retrieved her firearm, a woman she did not know came into her bedroom. The woman advanced threateningly, so Fletcher fired. The woman continued to act erratically and threw things at Fletcher, including an ironing board. Fletcher described the incident, "She was wild. I didn't want to shoot her, but I didn't want to get hurt. I told her to stop, but she kept coming at me." Fletcher fired a second time, but the woman lunged at her once again. Fletcher fired a third and final time, causing the intruder to flee through a window. The intruder was later arrested and is facing charges including aggravated burglary, drug abuse, possession of drug abuse instruments and criminal trespass. (The Enquirer, Middletown, Ohio, 9/5/13)

A woman entered Diamond Star AZ Jewelry around 4:30 p.m. carrying a gun. When the owner of the jewelry store spotted the gun, he pulled out his own firearm. The two exchanged gunfire. Both the would-be robber and the store owner sustained non-life-threatening injuries. After being shot, the woman fled the store only to be arrested just a few blocks away. (The Arizona Republic, Phoenix, Ariz., 1/15/14)

From The Armed Citizen® Archives

July 1977: Two holdup men, disguised as electric company employees, entered the New York City apartment of Carlos Rodriguez and forced his wife and small son into a rear room. As the two thieves ransacked the place, Rodriguez and a friend, Manual Liriano, unexpectedly walked in. The robbers opened fire, wounding Rodriguez, but Liriano, firing his own legally-registered pistol, killed one thug and wounded the other. (The Daily News, New York, N.Y.)