Category: Self Defense

Home break-in under investigation in Roanoke County

ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) — The Roanoke County Police Department says a person was shot during a break-in at an apartment complex on Sunday morning.

Around 2:41 a.m. on March 5, officers responded to the North Point Apartments for a call of a break-in. At the scene, investigators learned the homeowner used their gun and the alleged intruder was shot.

NEW DETAILS: Christiansburg Police search for missing man
The yet-to-be-identified person was taken to the Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

No arrests have been made at this time.

Investigators say the homeowner is fully cooperating and the incident remains under investigation.

Kostas Moros

Few baseless claims are more frustrating than the idea that anyone who cares about the right to keep and bear arms “doesn’t care about people being murdered” and that we somehow support mass shooters.

No, we hate those vile lowlifes so much that we want them to be promptly shot in the head when their rampage begins, and not ten minutes later when the police arrive and the harm is already done.

There have been many examples of armed good Samaritans either preventing mass shootings entirely, or cutting short ones that would have hurt or killed many more people. Unfortunately, too many states preemptively disarm good samaritans by either making CCW permits hard to get, or by allowing “gun free zones” to proliferate, where killers know they are unlikely to meet armed resistance.

Also too often, the media does not cover prevented mass shootings with anywhere near the same attention as they do completed atrocities. That’s a shame, given we know that a big chunk of mass shooters are obsessed with becoming infamous. They need to be made aware that their vision of twisted glory can commonly end with Dicken-style humiliation.

Stop fearing them. Instead, it’s long past time we make these dirtbags afraid.

Man shoots, seriously wounds intruder on Northwest Side

CHICAGO (CBS) – A man shot and seriously wounded another man who broke into his home on the city’s Northwest Side early Sunday morning.

The shooting happened in the 3600 block of North Newcastle Avenue in Dunning around 1:20 a.m.

Chicago police say officers responded to the residence and found the suspect, 27, shot in the arm.

The victim told officers that he was awakened by his dog’s barking, heard a loud noise in the basement, and proceeded with his firearm to check.

The victim found the unknown suspect in the house who proceeded to walk toward him. The victim then discharged his weapon – striking the intruder, police said.

The suspect was taken to Lutheran General Hospital in serious condition and is in custody.

No further injuries were reported. Area Five Detectives are investigating.

 

IN SELF-DEFENSE
ARMED CITIZENS ARE FIGHTING BACK

There are now 25 states with so-called “Constitutional carry” and Florida appears to be approaching permitless carry, which translates to more citizens soon being able to carry defensive firearms without having to jump through the hoops of a licensing process.

There is another translation: Criminals, be careful … be very careful. In fact, now might be a good time to reconsider your career choices and see if the hardware store is hiring.

I routinely report on the number of active concealed pistol licenses in my home state of Washington, and following a slight end-of-year dip reported Jan. 3, the number has been steadily climbing. Last month, a whopping 698,186 active CPLs were reported by the state Department of Licensing.

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Man turns the tables on attempted robbers

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Philadelphia police say an elderly man was shot while fighting back during an attempted robbery.

It happened just after 11 p.m. at 10th and York Streets in North Philadelphia.

Police say the 71-year-old man was heading home after picking up take-out food from a Chinese restaurant when two suspects tried to rob him.

That’s when the man pulled out his own gun, and he and the suspects fired shots.

The 71-year-old was hit in the leg and is expected to be OK.

The suspects ran off.

Philadelphia police Chief Inspector Scott Small said detectives are reviewing surveillance cameras in the area to see where they might have went.

“Hopefully these cameras recorded something that can help us,” Small said.

The victim was just a few blocks from his home when he was shot, Small added.

Dog shot in home invasion; El Paso police say resident shot intruder in return

Two people shot in attempted Glens Falls break-in

Two people were shot in Glens Falls, following what police are calling an attempted home invasion.

The two people shot were breaking into the home when a third person who lived there shot them, a city spokesperson said. The two remained at Albany Medical Center Thursday night, with one in critical condition.

Glens Falls Police and New York State Police were interviewing the alleged shooter and trying to determine what crimes were committed.

All three of the people involved are from the Glens Falls and Hudson Falls area, police said.

Local attorney Tucker Stanclift is representing the person suspected of firing the gun. He described a case of self defense as the break-in unfolded. He did not provide NewsChannel 13 with the identity of his client.

No one has been charged at this time.

Shootout during alleged attempted burglary in central Bakersfield, 2 injured

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — Two men are in the hospital after a shoot-out, police say happened during an attempted burglary in central Bakersfield Thursday night.

According to Bakersfield police, on Thursday, February 23, 2023, at around 7:04 p.m., officers were called to a home in the 2300 block Pine Street regarding reports of a shooting.

When officers arrived, they found a man suffering from a gunshot injury.

Police said the investigation found that the man arrived home and saw an unknown vehicle parked in his driveway and several unknown men running out from his home towards the parked vehicle.

One of the men had a gun and began firing at the victim while he was inside his car, according to police. The victim, a licensed concealed carry permit holder possessing a gun, returned fire. Police said during the exchange of gunfire, the victim sustained a non-life-threatening injury.

The suspects were able to drive away in the suspect vehicle.

Bakersfield Police Department detectives responded to the scene and assumed the investigation.

Police said 43-year-old Melvin Carter of Palmdale, was identified as one of the suspects after arriving at a hospital with a gunshot injury sustained during the shoot-out with the victim. Carter is in serious but stable condition.

Police said pursuant to the investigation, 36-year-old Frederick Minnoy III of Bakersfield was taken into custody for his role in the attempted burglary and shooting. Minnoy was transported and booked into the Kern County Jail for attempted murder, conspiracy, and attempted residential burglary.

Burglar arrested after being shot by homeowner in North Charleston

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The North Charleston Police Department (NCPD) on Friday arrested a man accused of burglarizing a home after he was shot by the homeowner.

According to NCPD, officers responded to a home on Cambridge Avenue just after 4 a.m.

The suspect, later identified as John Jones (42), was involved in an altercation at the Cheap Way Gas Station where he allegedly put an acquaintance of the homeowner in a chokehold.

Jones then reportedly went to the home on Cambridge Avenue.

Jones kicked in both the screen and front doors of the home before the homeowner fired shots toward him, the report stated.

The owner told authorities that he did not recall striking Jones, and that Jones left the residence and tried jumping over a fence to flee.

Arriving officers found a trail of blood from the front door of the home to the roadway.

Police then found Jones standing outside on South Allen Drive and identified him.

While placing him into custody, police learned Jones had a warrant out of Charleston County.

Jones was charged with first-degree burglary. He was treated for his gunshot wounds at a local hospital.

Debunking the gun-banners’ false constitutional-carry claims
Gov. DeSantis will likely sign the bill long before its July 1 effective date.

Nearly every anti-gun group in the country has descended upon Tallahassee to try to stop Florida from becoming the 26th state to allow residents and visitors to carry concealed firearms without a permission slip from the government.

It’s an important mission for the gun-ban industry, because once Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the bill — and he will — a majority of states will allow unlicensed or permitless carry. For pro-gun advocates, this would be a significant victory in the war to restore our Second Amendment rights, and the other team will do anything they can to prevent that from happening.

It’s important to point out that neither Florida’s HB 543 nor its companion bill, SB 150, are traditional constitutional-carry bills, since neither bill legalizes the open carry of arms. True constitutional carry allows gun owners to decide for themselves whether to carry arms openly or concealed. Despite Republican super-majorities in both the House and the Senate, and a governor who’s promised to sign “constitutional carry” legislation, open carry was not included in either bill. We still have not been told why, at least not officially.

In what has been called “smart bundling,” SB 150 also includes numerous school-safety provisions, such as expanding Florida’s School Guardian program, adding funds for hardening schools, providing additional money for gun-sniffing dogs, clarifying zero-tolerance policies and ensuring every law enforcement agency has an active-shooter policy. So, a vote against the bill can be seen as a vote against school safety.

Regardless of what the bill is called or its other offerings, the very thought of restoring more gun rights — especially in Florida — has brought the gun-banners out in droves. We’ve seen members of Everytown, Demanding Moms, Demanding Students, Giffords, Brady and Florida’s extremely anti-gun League of Women Voters all shuffle to the mic. Their testimony before House and Senate committees has been interesting, desperate and at times, comical. If the gun banners sent their A-team to Tallahassee and this is the best they can do, freedom will most certainly prevail.

It’s clear the gun-banners’ moves are well organized and orchestrated. Too many of their objections seemingly come from the same playbook. Keep in mind anti-gunners have phones, Skype and Zoom, too. They’re sharing information and ideas. Florida has become their latest battle template. They are throwing a lot of crap against the wall. That which sticks likely will be used in the next state they attempt to victimize.

Here are some of the lowlights of their testimony.

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IMPD says domestic incident led to deadly shooting of attempted home intruder

INDIANAPOLIS – A man is dead after police said he was shot trying to force his way into an apartment on Indy’s northeast side.

Just after 1 a.m., police were called to the Bayview Club apartments near 75th and Shadeland and found Cavin Pogue Jr. shot. The 31-year-old died after being taken to the hospital.

Police confirm the shooting appears to be domestic related.

Man shot while charging at IMPD officer with knife gets less than 3 years in prison
Because investigators claim Pogue was acting as a home intruder, his death, while still a homicide, does not appear to be criminal.

“People are allowed to use deadly force to protect themselves and their homes against intruders,” said attorney Mario Massillamany.

Attorney Mario Massillamany said Indiana lawmakers have given people a lot of freedom to defend their homes.

“Our legislature values that your home is your castle and you have a lot more protections than if you’re on the street,” said Massillamany. “You do not have a duty to retreat. You are allowed to feel safe in your own home.”

The death Tuesday morning is just the latest in a series of non-criminal homicides to start 2023.

Ten of the first 36 homicides this year have been deemed accidental, self-defense or cleared without charges.

That’s a dramatic increase over the last two years on the same date, when there was only one non-criminal homicide in 2021 and three in 2022.

West Virginia lawmakers overwhelmingly approve NRA-backed campus carry bill, send to governor for signing

West Virginia lawmakers passed an NRA-backed bill that will allow concealed carry permit holders to carry their firearms on the campuses of state colleges and universities.

“The National Rifle Association applauds the West Virginia Legislature’s passage of NRA-backed campus carry,” NRA West Virginia State Director Art Thomm told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

“There is no reason why any adult who is deemed mature enough to defend his or her country at war should not be entrusted to defend themselves and others on campus. And there is no reason an adult who is allowed to carry in other parts of the state can’t be trusted when on campus,” he added.

The bill passed in the West Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday 84-13.

If signed into law by Republican Gov. Jim Justice, West Virginia will become the 12th state in the U.S. with such legislation, alongside states like Arkansas, Georgia and Kansas. West Virginia is currently one of 20 other states that have no laws on the books preventing concealed carry holders from carrying on college campuses.

Supporters of the bill include Republican Delegate Mike Honaker, a former Virginia State Police officer who responded to the tragic Virginia Tech campus shooting in 2007 that left 32 people dead.

“I know we have to be careful about this issue,” he said. “But there’s no way that I, as someone who has lived through this and seen it with my own eyes, could forbid another free law-abiding American citizen from carrying a firearm and retaining the ability and the capacity to defend yourself or others, God forbid they ever be put in a position to do it,” he said last week as the bill advanced in state House.

Votes on the bill come just days after a shooting at Michigan State University on Feb. 13, when three students were killed and five others were injured. Critics of the bill cited the shooting in their argument against the legislation, with some college students in West Virginia attending a public hearing last week to voice their concerns.

Marshall University student E.T. Bowen said this month that some students are “terrified on campus as it is,” CBS News reported.

“We don’t need more guns to exacerbate that. This bill is like throwing kerosene on the wildfire, and it is appalling that we even need to say that while there’s still blood on the ground at Michigan State,” Bowen argued.

Thomm told Fox News Digital, however, that criminals break laws no matter if there is a gun-free zone or other rules prohibiting firearms.

“Criminals break laws regardless of boundaries or gun free zones. Law-abiding people don’t. NRA-backed campus carry has been passed in many states, and we look forward to Gov. Justice signing this life-saving legislation into law,” Thomm said.

Private Gun Carriers’ Self-Defense Against Public Shooters
The El Paso incident from a few days ago, the FBI 2021 statistics, and more.

I had written about this in past years, but I thought I’d update it to reflect the El Paso incident from last week. According to the El Paso Police Department (see also CNN [Andy Rose]), a confrontation between two groups of teenagers at a mall “escalated into a physical fight” and then into a 16-year-old fatally shooting a member of the other group and seriously wounding another member, as well as injuring a member of his own group. Then,

As soon as the shooting ended, the 16-year-old suspect began to run and was pointing the gun towards the direction of bystanders, including 32-year-old Emanuel Duran, a Licensed to Carry Holder. As the suspect ran towards Duran and bystanders, Duran drew his handgun and shot the suspect.

At that time, one off-duty El Paso Police Officer arrived at the area of the shooting and together with Duran rendered aid to the 16-year old suspect and the others that were injured. Investigators found that there were at least two other legally armed citizens in the area of where the shooting took place, but were not involved.

Now in this case, the suspect didn’t seem to have planned a mass shooting; he seems to have had a beef with the other teenagers. On the other hand, he appears to have been pointing his gun towards the bystanders, so it’s hard to know what would have happened. And something similar could easily have happened with an intended mass shooting as well; for an incident like that from last year, see this WCHS-TV story:

Police said a woman who was lawfully carrying a pistol shot and killed a man who began shooting at a crowd of people Wednesday night in Charleston.

Dennis Butler was killed after allegedly shooting at dozens of people attending a graduation party Wednesday …. No injuries were reported from those at the party.

Investigators said Butler was warned about speeding in the area with children present before he left. He later returned with an AR-15-style firearm and began firing into the crowd before he was shot and killed.

“Instead of running from the threat, she engaged with the threat and saved several lives last night,” Charleston Police Department Chief of Detectives Tony Hazelett said.

According to WCHS-TV (Bob Aaron), Butler was a convicted felon, and was thus not legally allowed to own guns. In principle, perhaps he might still have been stopped by (say) a law requiring background checks, which would likely have stopped law-abiding sellers from selling him the gun; but it’s not clear whether someone with his criminal record would have much been stymied by that, as opposed to just buying a gun on the black market. Likewise, in El Paso, CNN reports that the gun used by the 16-year-old shooter was reported stolen.

I gathered some more examples from over the years here, and then followed up with data based on FBI reports of mass shootings in 2016 and 2017: legal civilian gun carriers tried to intervene in 6 out of 50 incidents, and apparently succeeded in 3 or 4 of them.

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Lincoln Park man, 73, opens fire on catalytic converter thieves

Chicago — A Lincoln Park man fired shots at a catalytic converter theft crew that pointed a gun at him overnight, according to a Chicago police report. No injuries were reported.

The 73-year-old man saw two thieves trying to steal his catalytic converter in the 2000 block of North Larrabee around 3:40 a.m. He confronted the thieves, and one of them brandished a firearm, prompting the victim to open fire, a police spokesperson said.

Both thieves escaped in a dark SUV, which struck a parked car as they fled the scene, according to police.

The incident occurred near the corner of Armitage and Larrabee. | Google

Neighbors who called 911 said they heard yelling, followed by two or three gunshots. Police said the victim is licensed to own firearms.

Another round of catalytic converter thefts was reported in the area just after 5 a.m. One incident was reported in the 2200 block of North Cleveland, just a couple of blocks from where the shots were fired earlier. Witnesses said the thieves on Cleveland fled in a white Dodge Durango.

Homeowner shoots suspect in Ogle County home invasion

CHANA, Ill. (WTVO) — A suspect in a home invasion was shot by a resident in Chana early Sunday morning, according to police.

The Ogle County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were called to a home in the 9000 block of E. Fowler Road around 1:11 a.m.

When police arrived, they found the offender had been shot in the lower abdomen by someone living at the residence, authorities said.

The man was taken to the Rochelle airport and flown to Saint Anthony’s in Rockford via Life Flight helicopter.

Police said the suspect is in critical but stable condition. The incident is under investigation, police said, adding that charges are possible.

 

How Hard is Real Armed Defense?

Everyone has an opinion. If you ask them, most people will give you their impression of armed defense. Is it trivially easy or is it impossibly hard? I’ve looked at armed defense for a decade and I think we often ask the wrong question about defending ourselves and our families with a firearm. One view is that armed defenders have to make split-second decisions after evaluating a number of complex legal and tactical factors. In contrast, many new gun owners want to concentrate on firearms handling skills so they can manipulate their gun with “fast hands”. I don’t think that is what most defenders really do.

I think almost anyone can learn armed defense if they are willing to take instruction and then practice what they were taught. This is what I’ve learned from firearms students and instructors.

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Teen breaking into Lexington home shot by homeowner, killed

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Lexington police say one person is dead after an overnight burglary.

Officers were called to Jouett Creek Drive off Hays Boulevard around 1:10 a.m. Monday for a burglary.

They say they found 19-year-old Oscar Daniel Wilds dead from a gunshot wound inside a home where the homeowner and his children slept. Police say Wilds was forced his way inside, before being shot by a resident.

The Fayette County Coroner says the homeowner and Wilds did not know each other.

Police found a man suffering from gunshot wounds inside a home. He died from his injuries.

Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn has identified him as 19-year-old Oscar Daniel Wilds of Lexington. Police say Wilds was shot by the homeowner while he was breaking into the home.

Ginn says the homeowner and his children were inside at the time of the break-in. Neighbors say they feel even more vulnerable and feel that it could have been any of their homes instead.

Jim Groves and his neighbor Subir Ghosh were discussing the early morning events just a block away from where it all happened.

“We’ve lived here ten years, and nothing like this has ever happened,” said Groves. “It brings it home that all of us are vulnerable,” said Ghosh. “Sometimes the mind looks for excuses to say, that can’t happen to us, but something like this, would bring it home that it’s random and could happen to anyone.”

Police say all parties involved have been identified, and the investigation is ongoing. Police have not said if charges will be filed.

Armed Defense- How Close is Too Close and How Soon is Too Soon?

When should we use our guns? We hear that question asked in every concealed carry class. That doesn’t mean we’re eager to shoot: if anything, it asks how long we can wait. There is more to this than meets the eye. Remember that most of the times when we use our firearm in armed defense we don’t press the trigger. We can cost lives if we use our firearms too early and if we present it too late. Are we so reluctant to present our firearm that we are waiting until we have no option but to shoot our attacker? Let’s look at a recent story of armed defense to see what happened and what might have happened differently.*

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Bystander shot Cielo Vista Mall gunman as suspect fled fight while pointing gun

A bystander shot and helped detain a 16-year-old boy suspected of fatally shooting another teen as two groups fought in Cielo Vista Mall, El Paso police said late Friday night.

Angeles Zaragoza, 17, was with a group consisting of a 17-year-old boy, a 17-year-old girl, a 16-year-old boy, a 14-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl when they got into an argument with another group around 5 p.m. Wednesday near the food court at the mall, police officials said.

The other group included the suspected shooter — a 16-year-old boy — along with a 20-year-old man, a 17-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy.

Police did not release the name of the suspect or the other people involved in the fight.

The argument between the groups escalated into a physical fight during which the 16-year-old suspect pulled out a gun and fatally shot Zaragoza and seriously wounded the 17-year-old boy who was with Zaragoza, officials said.

The 20-year-old man, who was with the alleged shooter, also was shot.

After the shooting, the suspect ran away while pointing his gun toward the direction of bystanders, including a 32-year-old man, police said.

The bystander pulled out his gun as the suspect ran towards him and other bystanders and shot the suspect, police said. Police identified the bystander as being licensed to carry a firearm.

“As soon as the shooting ended, the 16-year-old suspect began to run and was pointing the gun towards the direction of bystanders, including (bystander), a Licensed to Carry Holder,” police said. “As the suspect ran towards (bystander) and bystanders, (bystander) drew his handgun and shot the suspect,” according to the news release.

The El Paso Times is not identifying the bystander since he has not been charged with a crime.

An off-duty El Paso Police Department officer, who was working security at the mall, arrived at the area of the shooting and helped the bystander render aid to the suspect and the others who were injured in the shooting, police said.

Police initially stated after the shooting that the off-duty police officers was responsible for taking the suspect into custody and never mentioned a bystander being involved.

There were at least two other legally armed bystanders in the area where the shooting took place, but were not involved, police said. Texas has a constitutional carry gun law allowing 21-year-old and older residents to carry concealed weapons.

Police said the investigation into the shooting is ongoing and charges are pending against the 16-year-old suspect.

The suspect remains in the hospital and is last listed in stable condition, police said.

This is the fourth murder of 2023 as compared to two at this time last year, police said.

DeKalb homeowner fatally shoots intruder, cops say; no charges expected

Police said a homeowner shot a man to death after he broke into his DeKalb County residence Thursday afternoon.

Officers were called to the home in the 3400 block of Valley Chase Court at about 4:30 p.m. At the scene, police said they found a man’s body in the backyard. His identity was not released, but he was said to be in his 20s.

According to investigators, the man forced his way into the home and the homeowner confronted and shot him. The man then ran out the back door, where he collapsed, police said.

No charges are expected to be filed, police said. The homeowner was not publicly identified.

The home, located in a residential area in Stonecrest, is just a short drive from Browns Mill Elementary School and Salem Middle School.