Gareth Long was asleep with his wife shortly before midnight when he heard a loud bang inside their home. An intruder had gained entry to the Longs' home by using a tree branch to break in through a bedroom window. Long realized there had been a break-in and retrieved his handgun. He discovered the intruder in the hallway outside of their bedroom. Long was forced to fire when his repeated warnings went unheeded. The intruder's wounds proved fatal. Long and his family were not injured. (Dallas Morning News, Cedar Hill, Texas, 12/26/13)
Robert Shoemaker, 38, was at home late one night when he was attacked by an intruder and stabbed three times in the neck. Shoemaker was able to fire his firearm several times in self-defense. Shoemaker's mother, Loretta, was also home at the time of the incident and called 9-1-1. Police arrived to find the 44-year-old intruder, who had a long criminal history, dead from multiple gunshot wounds. Shoemaker was taken to a local hospital, and was reportedly expected to recover from his injuries. (Hamilton Journal News, Hamilton, Pa., 8/30/13)
From The Armed Citizen® Archives April 1972: Elmer E. Nissen of Tacoma, Wash., got a shotgun when three suspicious strangers rang his doorbell one morning. When they started twisting the knob off his front door with a pipe wrench, Nissen opened the door and held the trio for police. (The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash.)
