The Armed Citizen

In a previous post I mentioned that if the average Americano knew how many times guns have been used to protect life and property in this country, more than 2,000,000 times a year, the inordinate fear of firearms in the hands of our fellow law abiding citizens would dissipate. These small stories from The American Rifleman will show some of these incidents.
JimG33

Phillip Ramsey was drinking coffee in his kitchen when there was a knock at his door. "I didn't recognize him and I didn't answer the door," Ramsey recalled. Shortly thereafter a second unknown man knocked at the door. Ramsey heard glass breaking and grabbed his 9 mm pistol, "For some reason, I had it with me in the kitchen that day," he said, "God must have been watching out for me." Ramsey called 9-1-1 and when he got to his bedroom, a man was getting off the bed below a broken window. Ramsey held the suspect at gunpoint until police arrived. Following the incident he offered the following safety advice to his fellow citizens, "Get a gun and learn how to use it." ( The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C. 8/31/11)

Temple University sophomore Robert Eells sat with a friend in front of the home they share with several other students when three robbers approached and demanded money. When Eells told them he had none, the thieves drew guns and opened fire, striking Eells in the abdomen. That is when Eells, who has a concealed-carry permit, drew his hand gun and returned fire. One robber, already a hardened criminal at 15 years of age, was shot. His accomplishes fled. The wounded suspect will be charged after his release from the hospital. Eells is expected to make a full recovery. "We are very thankful," said his grand mother. (The Inquirer Philadelphia, PA, 9/6/11)

Upon noticing a car following him into his neighborhood late one night, a homeowner had a bad feeling. Once he turned into his driveway, the car crept by, turned around and and again drove by before stopping. Then he heard someone running up his driveway. He retrieved a pistol from his glove box and got out of the vehicle just in time to see two suspects sprinting toward him. They were armed and demanded cash. "It was all probably a second," he explained, "It was just so fast." The home owner aimed and fired at one of the assailants, killing him. The second man fled. Though the suspects could have killed him, the homeowner harbors no ill will. "My prayers go out to the family," he said, "That was still someone's child." (Herald-Journal Spartanburg, S.C., 8/30/11)

It was not a good day on the job for one would be burglar. First, he tried to climb in the window of 77-year-old Donald McElrea's home, but was caught in the act. Pistol in hand, McElrea confronted the burglar. The gun startled the burglar so badly that he lost his footing and plummeted 20 feet over the side of the elevated deck. McElrea told the burglar to stay on the ground while his wife called the police, and the burglar should've just cut his losses at that point. Instead he got up and charged McElrea, who opened fire. Police arrived to find the burglar injured from the fall, shot in the arm, and considering a new line of work. (Harrison Daily Times, Harrison, SK, 10/18/11)

"Give me your money or I'll kill you!" When Dale Swallows heard those words uttered by the armed intruder accosting his son and his son's girlfriend, he knew he had to take immediate action. The intruder was thusly unaware of Swallows, who had gone to bed. Swallows retrieved a hand gun and approached the unfolding robbery. When he emerged, the intruder charged him. There was a struggle. Swallows pushed the intruder away and shot him. The intruder complained of trouble breathing, and Swallows told him to "lay still" until police arrived.The intruder will be charged after his release from the hospital. (The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, IN, 10/6/11)

An elderly woman heard a loud noise at 4 a. m., so she got up to investigate. She saw someone open the bathroom door, assumed it was her husband and went back to bed---only to find her husband there sleeping. She woke him, told him someone was in the house and called the police. The 82 year old man got his handgun and crept down the hallway. He peered inside the bathroom and shouted, "Stay where you are!" The 26-year-old suspect proved no match for the armed elderly man; he waited at gun point for the police. (Grand Forks Herald, Grand Forks, ND, 9/30/11)

It was 4 a. m. when Donna Hopper awoke to a stranger attempting to enter her home. When she refused to open the door, the man announced "I'm coming in!" Hopper wasn't sure what to do. "That's when it came to me---I had a gun," she recalled. Hopper had purchased a .38-cal. revolver just months prior for safety following the death of her husband. She retrieved the gun just in time as the burglar began prying open the window. that's when she heard the voice of her father, a long time police officer in her head: Two hands Donna. Keep your elbows straight. She opened fire and connected with the burglar on the third shot. The next day she returned to the gun store where she purchased her firearm to buy a cleaning kit. Shoppers praised her actions. "They all said 'Thank you. You're a brave woman,'" noted Hopper. "I said, 'No I'm a scared old woman who just happened to have a gun.'" (The Record Searchlight, Redding, CA, 10/23/11)

Food delivery drivers have statistically on of the 10 most dangerous jobs in America. Whether that weighed on the mind of a Papa John's delivery driver when he obtained a concealed-carry permit isn't clear, but he was glad he did when a man stuck a stolen pistol through his car window and said, "What you gonna do is drop off that money." The driver drew a .38-cal. revolver and emptied the cylinder. the wounded assailant dropped his pistol and ran into a house across the street, where he was found by police. (The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN, 11/5/11)

Roosevelt Maggett was at home recovering from cancer treatment when a burglar knocked on the door, pushed him over a chair and tried to choke him to death. "He grabbed me," Maggett explained. "He said, 'I'm going to kill you.'" Despite his weakened state, Maggett was able to reach for a firearm. "I guess the Lord gave me the strength to to get him up off me." he says. Maggett fired one round into the burglar, killing him. (WMC-TV, Memphis, TN, 11/26/11)

Those who say there's no way an armed citizen could stop a potential mass shooting---and may even exacerbate the carnage---should take the following to heart. Customers at a Houston, Texas, Denny's restaurant were eating breakfast one morning when two armed robbers brandishing guns burst into the store and demanded money. One of the diners stood up, drew a handgun and, opened fire on the men. The robbers fled the scene. No one was injured. (Associated Press, 11/26/11)