The Armed Citizen® November 2009

*Two men learned their neighbor had just filled a prescription for painkillers and quickly hatched a plan to steal them. Pearhaps the men should've thought things through a little more carefully; they were aware that their victim owned a handgun. One of the men waited in a car while his accomplice entered the hoe and began viciously punching and choking the homeowner. Battered, the homeowner retrieved his handgun and shot the intruder, killing him. The other suspect was nabbed shortly thereafter. the homeowner was treated for injuries. (The Evening Sun, Hanover, PA, 08/08/09)

*An electrician was asleep with his wife when they were awakened by a knock at the door. The man feared something wasn't quite right about the early morning visitor, so he put a handgun in his pocket just in case. As he opened the door, police say two suspects tried to push their way inside. The man drew the gun from his pocket and fired twice, hitting both suspects. The suspects fired a return shot as they fled. One of the suspects died nearby. Police were seeking his accomplice. (News Sentinel, Knoxville, TN (08/06/09))

The Armed Citizen Extras

(The following accounts did not appear in the print version of American Rifleman.)

An Illinois homeowner and his wife woke up in the middle of the night to two would-be robbers breaking into their home. When the man approached the two masked assailants, they proceeded to hold him on the floor at gunpoint, choking him and demanding money. The man's wife then intervened, telling them that she had expensive jewelry upstairs. The two men went for the jewelry box and the homeowner went for his handgun. He shot and killed both men. An accomplice, who waited in a pickup outside, was later arrested. (The Associated Press, Indianola, IA, 09/23/09)

From The Armed Citizen Archive:

November 1968: Armed with an empty shotgun, a Pennsylvania housewife drove 5 escapees from the Northumberland County Prison into the hands of police. The 5 had turned up at the Eugene Troxell home in rural Sunbury, Pa. and asked for water. When Troxell complied, 2 of them threatened him with knives and demanded his car keys. Ostensibly going for the keys, Mrs. Troxell came back with a shotgun and bluffed the men into releasing her husand. The fugitives were picked up later near the Troxell home. (Sun Gazette, Williamsport, PA)