The Armed Citizen® Sept. 19, 2025

Armed Citizen® Today

A burglary that escalated into a full-scale assault ended when the victim defended himself inside of a Boise, Idaho, retail store.

At about 9:30 a.m., an 18-year-old woman entered the store and began stealing alcohol when she was confronted by the store's employee. Immediately following the confrontation, two other suspects entered the store, and all three began assaulting the employee, who was backed into a corner of the store and was "repeatedly punched, kicked and stomped as he remained on the ground," according to the police report.

At that point, the employee drew his firearm and shot at the suspects, striking the 18-year-old man who had entered the store following the initial confrontation about the alcohol theft. All three suspects then fled the scene, and they were later found at an intersection by local law enforcement, who took the wounded suspect to an area hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound. All three suspects were booked on felony charges of aggravated assault, and the 18-year-old woman also faces charges of commercial burglary. The store employee was treated at a local hospital for "serious but non-life-threatening injuries." (Idaho Statesman; Boise, Idaho; 8/3/25)

From the Armed Citizen® Archives – November 1981

In seven years of facing criminals at his Glendale, Calif., jewelry store, Ed Kovacs has been held up four times, but has never lost a dime to robbers. The criminals, on the other hand, have suffered two dead and two wounded. In the most recent incident, a trio of criminals entered and demanded loot.

Kovacs hauled out a .38-cal. revolver instead, killing one shotgun-wielding robber, wounding a second and holding the third inside the store with the help of an electric lock. Kovacs said World War II service in Italy taught him "if someone points a gun at you, shoot him." (The Times, Los Angeles, Calif.)