Keeping a loaded gun near his bed paid off for a 70-year-old Tennessee man. Ronald Dykes, of Kingsport, Tenn., was drifting off to sleep one night when a burglar tried to force his way into Dykes’ home. “I thought, ‘He’s either gonna rob me or hurt me—I better do something,’” Dykes told a reporter from the local paper. Dykes shot the intruder, who was trying to climb into the house through a window. The suspect was treated for his wounds and charged. The armed citizen will not be charged, police said, because he was protecting himself. (Times News, Kingsport, TN, 6/2/15)
The Armed Citizen® Extra
Two armed neighbors rescued a 69-year-old Fruithurst, Ala., woman during a home invasion—likely saving her life. The woman awoke at approximately 3 a.m. to find an unfamiliar man inside her home. She ran to get her pistol but was overtaken by the thug, who wrested the firearm away from her and fired at her twice. Both shots missed, and the resident was able to get away long enough to call 9-1-1 and one of her neighbors. The neighbor and his father-in-law rushed over to offer assistance, one armed with a rifle, the other with a shotgun. A scuffle ensued upon encountering the criminal, and the neighbor had to hit the criminal so hard with his shotgun to get him off his father-in-law that it broke the long gun’s buttstock. At this point the suspect attempted to leave the scene in the neighbor’s still-running vehicle, but the father-in-law got there first and removed the keys from the ignition. The brigand then pointed his handgun at the father-in-law, causing the neighbor to drop to the ground and fire underneath the automobile—taking the assailant’s legs out from under him. The suspect was taken to the hospital for treatment and now faces eight charges, including attempted murder. (The Anniston Star, Anniston, AL, 8/17/15)
From the Armed Citizen® Archives
March 1968
A small businessman who shot straight killed a holdup man who didn’t in a Pineville, La., gun battle. Fruit stand owner Ralph Nugent and his wife were alone in the stand when a man entered, pulled a pistol and ordered Nugent to fill a paper bag with money. When a customer came in, the gunman pocketed his pistol and ordered Nugent to lower the bag behind the counter. As Nugent did so, drew a .38 Special-chambered revolver from under the counter and ordered the thug to drop his gun. The gunman fired a shot through Nugent’s sleeve and ran for the door, still firing wildly. Nugent fired four shots; each found its mark. (The Star News, Monroe, LA)
