The Armed Citizen® May 27, 2024

Armed Citizen® Today

A grandmother in Albuquerque, N.M., defended herself and her granddaughter from a convicted felon who, in the process of fleeing pursuing law enforcement, broke into the woman's home.

The 45-year-old grandmother and her young granddaughter were watching Taylor Swift's Eras Tour film, when suddenly, a 32-year-old man forced his way through the front door. The intruder said he didn't want to go to jail, demanded the keys to the woman's Range Rover Sport and threatened to harm the woman and her granddaughter.

After she left to find her keys, the woman dialed 911, then returned to the intruder, promising the keys, money and other valuables if he didn't hurt them. Once the man left the house and went toward the car, the woman begged for help from the 911 operator, instructed her granddaughter to stay inside a bedroom, then grabbed her gun. As police sirens wailed in the distance, the man reentered the home and made his way toward the armed woman.

"Get back, get back!" she screamed. "Get back, get back! I will f***ing shoot you!" Then the woman opened fire, striking the threatening suspect once. She then provided first aid and water to the stunned intruder before police arrived to take him into custody. The suspect was treated at a local hospital. Police say he had been fleeing law enforcement in a stolen vehicle while on pre-trial release for a case where he was found in a stolen car with fentanyl, cocaine and heroin.

"This city is a mess," the woman posted on Facebook. "Criminals are ruining innocent people's lives everyday. I'm sick of keeping quiet about the disaster this city's leadership has created." (Daily Mail; Albuquerque, N.M.; 3/21/24)

From the Armed Citizen® Archives – August 1963

William Modesitt was awakened after midnight by noises in his Brazil, Ind., home. Modesitt saw an intruder in the living room. After obtaining his shotgun, he quietly surprised the intruder and held him at bay until police arrived. When the man was in custody, it was learned he was on probation for second-degree burglary. (The Brazil Daily Times)