A man came to the door of Herschel Matheny, 82, and Jacqueline Hicks, 75, one morning and asked to use their telephone. When the man was given a phone to use, he reportedly stabbed Matheny in the chest and demanded money from Hicks. While giving the man the impression she was leaving the room to get money, Hicks retrieved a firearm instead and forced the man to leave. Matheny was taken to a hospital and is expected to recover. The suspect is at large. (The Southern Illinoisan, Herod, IL, 4/24/12)
The Armed Citizen Extra
(The following account did not appear in the print version of American Rifleman)
It was nearly 10 p.m. in Wilkinsburg, Pa. when two young men approached a home on Montier Street and knocked on the door. The homeowner, upon seeing the two late-night visitors, retrieved a handgun from the bedroom and returned to the front door. The owner opened the door to hear his guests out and was greeted by the barrel of a shotgun. He opened fire first, striking the shotgun wielder and sending the accomplice fleeing down an embankment. The wounded intruder was taken to the hospital and his friend turned himself into police not long after. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, Pa.)
From The Armed Citizen Archives
June 1982: A youthful hoodlum leaped over the counter of Alma Harris' South San Diego, Calif., restaurant and attacked her. As he tried to strangle her with a telephone cord, she grabbed a revolver and shot him four times. The assailant fled, but only made it about a block before collapsing. (The Union, San Diego, Calif.)