Normally Raven Smith leaves his gun in the vehicle before he goes into a restaurant, but something made him reconsider one evening. The concealed-carry permit holder kept his .380-cal. handgun holstered as he stepped out of the car to have dinner with his girlfriend. Before he’d taken three steps, a masked man rushed up behind his girlfriend with what appeared to be a gun. “Get down, get down!” Smith yelled to his girlfriend as he fired four shots. The suspect dropped to the ground with four gun-shot wounds and will be arrested after his release from the hospital. “I’ve only had practice doing casual shooting, as a hobby,” said Smith, an airline mechanic. “It’s completely different using it in a situation like this.” His girlfriend calls him her hero, adding, “I saw orange flashes over my head. And then my ears were ringing.” (St. Petersburg Times, St. Petersburg, VA, 08/08/11)
The Armed Citizen Extra
(The following account did not appear in the print version of American Rifleman.)
A 92-year-old Ohio farmer was outside of his home feeding his cats when he saw a white Chevrolet car racing down his driveway. Upon stopping, several men exited the vehicle and began taking cooper wiring and other supplies from the farmer's barn and putting them into the truck of the car. When the homeowner called out to the men, telling them to stop, one of the suspects began charging at him, so the homeowner grabbed his .38-caliber handgun and fired a warning shot into the ground. The suspects attempted an escape, but their car got stuck in a nearby ditch. They were later charged with breaking and entering. (Portsmouth Daily Times, Portsmouth, OH, 03/31/10)
From The Armed Citizen Archives
October 1979: A barking dog and the sounds of forced entry woke Barbara Squires in her Ft. Wayne, Ind., apartment. Squires secured a .38 cal. revolver and investigated, finding a youth in the front hallway of the darkened house. She held the would-be burglar at gunpoint while calling the police. (The Journal Gazette, Ft. Wayne, Ind. 7/6)
