The American Rifleman, June 1996

THE ARMED CITIZEN

     Studies indicate that firearms are used over two
million times a year for personal protection, and that the
presence of a firearm, without a shot being fired, prevents
crime in many instances.  Shooting usually can be justified
only where crime constitutes an immediate imminent threat to
life limb or in some cases property.  Anyone is free to quote
or reproduce these accounts.  Send clippings to: "The Armed
Citizen," 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030


James Snipes came to the front of his Tradesville, South
Carolina, convenience store to check on a customer when the man
abruptly pulled a long-bladed knife and began stabbing him.
Snipes used his left arm to absorb the blows, suffering numerous
stab wounds before finally managing to draw his .38 from a pocket
and mortally wound his attacker. (The Herald, Rock Hill, SC,
12/28/95)
 
With the burglar alarm blaring, a White Center, Washington,
housebreaker splintered 65-year-old Rich Russell's front door,
rendering the deadbolt ineffective. Russell and his wife, Marina,
listened to the burglar rummaging around outside their bedroom
door for a few moments before everything got quiet. Russell
grabbed his revolver and decided to investigate, discovering the
man still inside his home. Despite the homeowner's warnings that
he would shoot, the intruder approached, eliciting a single fatal
gunshot. (The Times, Seattle, WA, 1/28/96)
 
Continuing a nightlong robbery spree in which he had successfully
hit four businesses including the same doughnut shop twice, a
Jacksonville, Florida, bandit marched into a Prime Stop Food
Store and demanded cash from clerk Edna Teagle. Instead, the
woman drew a gun and chased the man away. Teagle then notified
another nearby Prime Stop location to warn the clerk. As they
spoke, the bandit strolled into the other store. Thanks to
Teagle's warning, the clerk was able to get the jump on the
bandit and send him fleeing as well. (The Times-Union,
Jacksonville, FL, 2/3/96)
 
Dave Montgomery grabbed his .22-cal. semi-automatic rifle from
the gun cabinet and went to investigate the ruckus outside on his
Battle Mountain, Nevada, farm. Rounding the side of the barn,
Montgomery came face to face with a wolf trying to get to his
pigs and chickens. The canine charged the farmer at "full bore,"
but was finally halted by a volley of shots. Montgomery fired
more than seven times before the animal ceased his attack. (The
Daily Free Press, Elko, NV, 2/6/96)
 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, resident David Sloane expected the
thieves to return for the items needed to operate the electronic
equipment they had stolen the night before. Sloane was waiting
behind a fence in freezing temperatures when he heard his car
alarm wail. The criminals scattered and Sloane, a former Texas
deputy, grabbed his .45 and a pair of handcuffs and tracked the
suspects' footprints through snow to a neighbor's house, where he
found two teenage brothers hiding in some bushes. One froze as
Sloane commanded. The other fled, but was later picked up by
police. "They grabbed the wrong stereo," Sloane said. "Not all
victims are passive." (The Daily Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, OK,
2/7/96)
 
Kade Marsh clung to the side of his mother's stolen Nissan
Pathfinder as the three crooks inside the vehicle sped from a
Lindon, Utah, restaurant parking lot. The driver swerved toward
concrete overpass supports and parked vehicles at speeds up to 90
m.p.h., attempting to knock Marsh loose. As the trio slowed
coming around a corner, Steve Strate, a citizen following the
Pathfinder, forced it to the side of the road with his own truck
and held the car thieves for police with his licensed .38. (The
Tribune, Salt Lake City, UT, 2/16/96)
 
"A person who invades the sanctity of another person's home as
heavily armed as this assailant is not there for tea and
crumpets," said Johnson County, Indiana, Prosecutor Lance Hamner
in refusing to seek charges against James Hynes. Hynes killed the
estranged wife of a business partner after the masked woman broke
into his house in November 1995, armed with a firearm,
switchblade and stun gun. The assailant was pointing a gun at
Hynes' daughter's head, when his wife slipped him a gun, allowing
him to defend his family. (The News, Indianapolis, IN, 2/16/96)
 
The man strode into the Conroe, Texas, trailer company, walked to
the office and pointed a gun at his former employer, Boyd Odom.
"I thought I was dead," said Odom. Instead, his daughter, Linda
Cates, also in the office, diverted the former employee's
attention by standing up with her own gun in hand. The two traded
shots before Odom's son, Dale, charged from another room and
tackled the assailant. Nobody was seriously hurt in the incident.
(The Courier, Conroe, TX, 2/17/96)
 
Juana Hernandez reacted instinctively when she saw the robber
point a gun at her husband's head.  Reaching beneath the counter
of their Wilmington, Delaware, store, Hernandez grabbed a gun and
started shooting, striking the assailant in the face. He was
later arrested after appearing at a local hospital for treatment.
(The News Journal, Wilmington, DE, 2/17/96)
 
A Kentucky man in search of spending money for Mardi Gras broke
into a Slidell, Louisiana, gift shop unaware that store owner Jim
Griffin was in the back. Alerted to the intruder, Griffin armed
himself and went to investigate. The store owner opened fire upon
encountering the man, but missed. However, in his frightened dash
from the store, the burglar ran head long into a steel bar across
the front door and knocked several teeth out. Police arrested the
suspect at a nearby hospital. (The Times-Picayune, New Orleans,
LA, 2/22/96)
 
Crooks have found little success at a Bakersfield, California,
liquor store where four assailants have met their deaths during
robbery attempts over the past seven years. In the most recent
incident, a masked robber armed with a BB gun resembling a
semi-auto pistol turned toward clerk Craig Castle before leaving
with the store's money. Castle fired a single fatal shot. (The
Californian, Bakersfield, CA, 2/24/96)