People fled in terror when a gunman entered a medical building and took several people hostage. A doctor at the practice, Jeff Ferguson, retrieved his gun and guarded an exit, allowing an estimated 50 people to escape down a stairwell, warning them, “If this guy opens this door, I’m going to have to shoot him.” Ferguson said after the ordeal, “I was absolutely prepared to shoot him, yes.” Despite negotiators’ best efforts to get 28-year-old Dominic Oliver to surrender peacefully, he was later shot during a confrontation with police. He died at a local hospital hours later. (FOX News, Colorado Springs, Colo., 2/28/12)
The Armed Citizen Extra
(The following account did not appear in the print version of American Rifleman)
A Michigan man was at home watching television with his family when an intruder ripped open the house’s storm door, began beating on the inner door and demanded entry. Homeowner Mark Goodman retrieved his personal firearm and held it up to the window. The intruder fled immediately, “like he had seen a ghost,” according to Goodman. (Macomb Daily Paper, Macomb County, Mich., 4/29/12)
From The Armed Citizen Archives
June 1982: Rev. Martin Jarreau was asleep in the rectory of St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Miami when he heard strange noises. He grabbed a .38 cal. Revolver and went to investigate. He found a would-be burglar trying to exit via a bathroom window. Fr. Jarreau held the man, who had a long criminal record, for police. (The Herald, Miami, Fla.)