A female resident was at home with her young niece late one evening when a man she did not know came to the door. He claimed that his vehicle had broken down and that he needed help. The man then pulled a knife and tried to force his way inside. Fearing for her safety, and the safety of her niece, the homeowner drew her gun and fired several shots. Responding officers found the 18-year-old intruder’s body nearby. He was pronounced dead a short time later. Neither the homeowner nor her niece were harmed during the incident. (WSFA 12 News, Autauga County, Ala., 4/4/14)
On October 14, an intruder was shot in the chest after a homeowner opened fire on him. Ricardo Rosas, 51, had been sleeping around 2 p.m. when he heard a knock at the door. Before he could respond, a man kicked in the door and entered the house. As the intruder approached him, Rosas who keeps a handgun for protection, fired, striking the suspect who fell and then ran to a getaway car. A third man who was acting as a lookout, police say, jumped into to the car as it drove away. The suspect, 28-year-old Raymond Valdez, was taken into custody when he went to a downtown hospital for treatment where he was stabilized and transferred to University Hospital for additional treatment. Valdez will face a charge of burglary of a habitation with intent to commit theft. The two accomplices had not been located. The homeowner was not expected to face any charges. (San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, Texas, 10/16/14)
From The Armed Citizen® Archives
April 1967: Noticing an attempted attack on a 71-year-old woman in an empty garage near his home, an unnamed Dayton, Ohio, citizen grabbed his pistol and ran outside in time to prevent a rape and hold a 25-year-old man at gunpoint until the arrival of the police. Police declined to name the rescuer, fearing reprisals from underworld friends of the prisoner, a criminal. A detective did say, however, “They don’t make many citizens like that anymore.” (Dayton Daily News, Dayton, Ohio)
