The Armed Citizen® Jan. 15, 2024

Armed Citizen® Today

Surveillance video at a 7-Eleven gas station in Auburndale, Fla., showed an alleged burglar being shot by the driver of a vehicle after the man assaulted him while he was in his car.

Local investigators say the footage showed the suspect, identified as a 36-year-old Hispanic man from Texas, reaching into the parked vehicle and hitting the man in the face. The driver, armed with a handgun, drew his pistol and fired one round, striking his assailant once in the abdomen. The suspect made his way to the parking lot of a nearby Best Western hotel, where he collapsed and was subsequently found by arriving police.

After investigating the incident, police don't know the reason why the suspect assaulted the driver of the vehicle and said the two men did not know each other. The wounded assailant is being treated for his injuries and faces a felony charge of burglary with battery. "... the victim was placed in a well found fear for his life," an Auburndale Police Department press release read. (FOX13; Auburndale, Fla.; 12/3/23)

From the Armed Citizen® Archives – March 1973

As Carl Petrusa walked through a New York City parking lot, two youths, one waving a pistol, jumped out from behind a car and demanded his wallet. Petrusa, a court officer, pretended to reach for his wallet, but instead came up with a gun and wrested the youth's pistol from his hand. Both would-be robbers surrendered without a struggle. (Daily News; New York, N.Y.)