A 28-year-old man was sitting on the backyard patio with his wife, 36, at around 10 p.m. when they were approached by a man wearing a mask. The man carried a gun and ordered the couple inside the home where their three young children—ages 6, 13 and 14—slept. Once inside, the husband was able to retrieve his firearm, and he fired it at the masked assailant. The police arrived a short time later, and the gunman was pronounced dead at the scene. The family remained unharmed. “It’s shocking,” a neighbor said. “But he had to do what he had to do to protect his family, his household.” (The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, LA, 8/22/14)
The Armed Citizen® Extra
A suspected burglar suffered a fatal gunshot wound after allegedly breaking into a townhouse in Brookhaven, Ga. Officials say the suspect repeatedly rang the doorbell in the morning hours, and when he got no response, he proceeded to kick the front door in and enter the home. Inside he encountered a resident, who fired one shot at the intruder, striking the interloper in the head. The burglar was taken to a nearby hospital for emergency surgery, but ultimately succumbed to his wounds. Police say the area had recently been hit repeatedly by similar break-ins. No charges against the resident have been filed at this time. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta, GA, 12/4/14)
From the Armed Citizen® Archives
October 1968:
As a burglary suspect was being booked in the San Patricio County, Texas, jail, he grabbed an officer’s pistol and fled. At a nearby filling station he forced two Dallas boys Larry Trujillo, 17, and his brother Timothy, 10, to drive him away in their car. When the car spun out of control shortly afterward, the boys scuffled with the man. Though Larry was shot in the leg, the boys managed to wrest the pistol from the fugitive and flee on foot. When the man pursued them, Larry turned and fired, wounding the man in the jaw. Police then recaptured him. (Houston Chronicle, Houston, TX)