Homeowner Thomas Patterson, 71, woke to noises coming from inside his home around 6 a.m. He quickly retrieved his firearm and opened the bedroom door. Patterson recalled, “The man, I could see him trying to duck into the closet in the next room, and I just told him, ‘Come out of there, bud.’” Patterson then held the 22-year-old intruder at gunpoint while he called 9-1-1 and waited for police to arrive. No injuries were reported and no shots were fired during the break-in. (WTHR, Indianapolis, IN, 8/4/14)
The Armed Citizen® Extra
A 21-year-old man was shot and killed while allegedly breaking into a Lower Township, N.J., house early Sunday morning. Just after 3 a.m., the married residents of the home were awakened by the sound of someone attempting to force their way into the building. This prompted the woman to call the police while the man armed himself with a handgun and investigated the noise. The intruder broke a glass door in an attempt to enter the dwelling, after which the male resident encountered him and warned the trespasser that he was armed. When the burglar ignored the warning and continued to enter the home, the armed resident shot him once in the head. He was transferred to a local hospital where he died. The male resident was also taken to a nearby hospital, where he was treated for an undisclosed injury and released. (The Wildwood Leader, Marmora, NJ, 1/22/15)
From the Armed Citizen® Archives
October 1958
A 57-year-old Stickney Township, Ill., grandmother, Mrs. Vanda Jensen, always carries her .38 cal. handgun when she takes the day’s receipts from her store to her car. On a recent evening as she walked toward her car a masked man rushed her, threw a blanket over her head, struck her several times and knocked her to the ground. Mrs. Jensen fired her gun once, and the bandit fled. A short time later at a nearby hospital where she was being treated, Mrs. Jensen saw a young man seeking treatment for a bullet wound and recognized him. The police were notified, and the man later admitted to the attack. (Chicago American, Chicago, IL)
