The Armed Citizen® June 2, 2025

Armed Citizen® Today

An armed homeowner responded to a break-in at his residence in Spanish Fort, Ala., just after midnight on Saturday, March 22, firing a shot and critically wounding the teenage suspect who had illegally entered his home.

According to police reports, the homeowner was alerted by his wife, who said she believed she had heard someone enter the house. When he went to investigate, he found the teen inside the home and fired a single shot, wounding the home invader in the upper abdomen. The homeowner immediately called 911, and responding officers provided aid to the suspect. Police also noted that they believed the suspect to be under the influence of "some substance" and was at a nearby residence with some friends before forcing his way into another house, where he encountered the armed homeowner.

“Inside your residence, you don’t have to retreat,” Spanish Fort Police Chief John Barber said to reporters. “The homeowner took what we believe was a reasonable step to protect himself and his family. Eventually, this will be presented to a grand jury to make sure this was the case, but that’s the initial investigation.” (FOX 10 News; Spanish Fort, Ala.; 3/22/25)

From the Armed Citizen® Archives – April 1962

Douglas Zeman, a college sophomore, was in his family's living quarters to the rear of their grocery store in Chicago, Ill., when he overheard men's voices in the store tell his parents they were being robbed.

As the bandits, three of them, marched the couple toward the rear of the building at gunpoint, Zeman took a .38-cal. revolver and hid in the bathroom. When the gunmen came into sight, the student killed one of them with shots at close range. The others managed to escape empty-handed. (Chicago Tribune)