Just the threat of being shot is enough to scare off some intruders, and that resolution was good enough for an Arizona man in his 80s. The elderly armed citizen was awakened one night by the sound of someone rifling through his cabinet drawers. The resident grabbed his handgun and confronted the suspect in the other room, ordering the alleged burglar to lie down and saying, “If you move, I’ll blow your head off.” The homeowner left that room to call 9-1-1, and by the time he returned, the interloper had fled. (Camp Verde Journal, Camp Verde, AZ, 10/19/16)
The Armed Citizen® Extra
Late one evening, an elderly man and his wife heard a trespasser attempting to break into their house. They immediately called police and then tried to thwart his entry. The male homeowner pleaded with the intruder to stop, but he continued to force his way in, eventually breaking the door handle. The homeowner then fired his revolver at the door, killing the prowler. The homeowner is not expected to face charges. (San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, TX, 7/26/16)
From the Armed Citizen® Archives
March 1982
Joseph Hodson, 73, was reading a newspaper in his rocking chair when a young robber entered his Indianapolis, Ind., home. The intruder ripped Hodson’s phone from the wall and began to ransack the house. Hodson armed himself with a double-barreled shotgun and, when the robber charged him, loosed a single blast that killed the criminal instantly. (The Star, Indianapolis, IN)