What goes through the mind of an armed citizen when he or his family is threatened? A North Carolina businessman who lived through that type of situation said he hated to have to kill a man, but said he couldn’t take a chance because his wife was being chased by a gunman. The businessman, who describes himself as a gun collector and an experienced target shooter, has long kept a shotgun at his jewelry store. When three armed men came in one day in November and started smashing display cases and stealing merchandise, the store owner’s wife ran to the back, yelling, “Gun! Gun!” Her husband grabbed his shotgun and had a fraction of a second to make a decision because one gunman was only three or four feet away. “I’m glad he didn’t (fire) before I did. I was afraid he might,” the store owner said. The thief he shot was killed, but his two accomplices fled. (Winston-Salem Journal, Winston-Salem, NC, 11/10/15)
The Armed Citizen® Extra
After an argument between two Macomb County, Mich., neighbors led to one of the participants physically attacking the other, a woman with a .38 Spl. revolver was able to end the assault—potentially saving the life of the victim. When the woman saw that her boyfriend was on the ground being pummeled in the head by their intoxicated neighbor, she ran to his side with her gun in hand and forced the assailant to retreat. After a tense standoff, the attacker returned to his home, where he was later arrested and charged with felony assault. The 52-year-old victim suffered serious damage to his head, and the armed citizen also had to be hospitalized following the event due to the stress of the altercation. (Detroit Free Press, Detroit, MI, 11/10/15)
From the Armed Citizen® Archives
July 1971
LaVerne K. Berry of Battle Ground, Wash., saw two youths loosening the lug nuts on the wheels of his car. Grabbing a gun, he went out, confronted the youths, apprehended them and held the two until police could arrive. (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
