Category: Self Defense

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.

No charges in deadly Rocky Mount motel shootout

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (WITN) – Rocky Mount police said no charges will be filed in a deadly shootout Sunday at a Rocky Mount motel.

Police said Damien Williams was killed when he and two other men forced their way into a room at the Executive Inn on North Wesleyan Boulevard to rob the two men inside.

Officers say there was an exchange of gunfire and Williams and Johnny Lyons were shot. Lyons received non-life-threatening injuries and was one of the men inside the room before the robbery went down.

After consulting with the district attorney, police said the killing of Williams was done in self-defense and no charges would be brought.

Police said they have since learned the names of those involved in the robbery.

Leonard Rudd has been charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon.

They continue to search for Shamoral Williams, Naquandre Mitchell, and Montavis Jones. Police said the three should be considered armed and dangerous.

Suspect shot and killed in failed robbery

ST. LOUIS – A man was shot and killed in a failed carjacking on Wednesday morning.

Nic Lopez, FOX 2’s Nissan Rogue Runner reporter, took video of the scene at the Gulf gas station on the 1300 block of North Tucker. Police said a man attempted to rob a driver in a white Chevy Malibu while he was getting gas, but the victim shot and killed the suspect.

The suspect ran about a half a block from the scene and later collapsed and died.

Texas armed robber runs for his life after store clerk turns the tables

An armed thief ran for his life from a southeast Texas convenience store after the clerk pulled out a gun and shot at the would-be robber.

Detectives with the Sugar Land Police Department outside of Houston released video this week of a man who walked into the WB Food Mart, displayed a handgun, and discharged a round into the ceiling.

The man then pointed the handgun at the clerk and demanded money from the register.

The clerk grabbed a gun and the robber opened fire as the clerk shot back in self-defense, according to police.

“The suspect fired a final round toward the clerk before running away,” the post said, adding that neither the suspect nor the clerk are believed to have been injured “largely due to a bullet-proof enclosure surrounding the register where the clerk was working.”

Sugar Land Police said the suspect remains on the loose.

Police describe him as a Black man in his 20s wearing black pants, a black hoodie, a white T-shirt and a black face covering.

By now, we’ve heard this. Attested by people who have relatives who attend MSU, all the buildings are ‘gun free zones’, even for those with carry permits.
As always, that sure seems to work, doesn’t it?

Michigan State Shooter Found Dead.

(UPDATED 12:05 AM EDT, 2/14/23: According to multiple sources, the suspected shooter shot himself in the head as police approached. CPR was being performed but the shooter had no pulse. Sources added that a handgun was recovered.)

 

ORIGINAL STORY:

A shooting at Michigan State University gripped the news cycle on Monday evening. Reports of two separate shootings on campus broke (one at a residence hall and another in a gym), apparently carried out by the same person. Currently, at least one person is dead while five have been hospitalized.

Hours after the shootings, police held a press conference and officially released a description of the suspect. Shortly after that, the MSU Police Department released pictures as well.

 

Unfortunately, some used the immediate aftermath of the tragedy as a way to spread false information in an attempt to paint the shooter as some kind of right-wing white supremacist. I won’t link those posts, which went viral within an hour of the first shots fired, so as to not further defame the guy who is being targeted by them. Pictures of three men walking down the street were also being spread to suggest there were three shooters. That was also false.

The shooter, who is described as a short, black male with red tennis shoes, is still at large and is assumed to be armed and dangerous. RedState will provide further information as it comes in.

UPDATE:

The death toll has now risen to three.

 

Man who brought gun to Phoenix restaurant dead after shooting

PHOENIX — A 26-year-old man died after a shooting occurred at a Phoenix restaurant on Saturday night, authorities said.

Officers responded to the area of Camelback Road and 27th Avenue just before 10 p.m. and found Oscar Luna with a gunshot wound, the Phoenix Police Department said in a press release.

The Phoenix Fire Department transported the man to a hospital, where he died from his injuries.

Police detained a man on site and spoke with witnesses, authorities said.

Detectives learned that Luna allegedly entered the Tacos El Rancho with a firearm and shot multiple rounds inside.

The man detained allegedly provided statements that he shot Luna in self defense which ended the confrontation. Witnesses confirmed the statement, and no arrests were made.

The shooting remains under investigation, and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office will review the incident for criminal charges.

US shoots down another high-altitude object, Montana airspace temporarily closed

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he ordered the takedown of “an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace.”

“Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object,” he tweeted.

Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage, Trudeau said.

The object was shot down approximately 100 miles from the Canada-U.S. border in central Yukon, Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand told reporters during a press briefing Saturday night. It appears to have been a “small, cylindrical object” that was flying at about 40,000 feet, she said.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command detected the high-altitude object over Alaska late Friday evening, according to Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder. Two U.S. F-22 aircraft monitored the object over Alaska, then Canadian aircraft joined as it crossed into Canadian airspace, he said.

Following a call from Trudeau to President Joe Biden on Saturday, Biden authorized that U.S. aircraft take down the new high-altitude object and a U.S. F-22 shot it down with a sidewinder missile, Ryder said.

The leaders authorized that the “unidentified, unmanned object” be taken down “out of an abundance of caution and at the recommendation of their militaries,” according to a White House readout of the call. They also stressed the importance of recovering the object to determine its purpose or origin, the readout stated.

“As Canadian authorities conduct recovery operations to help our countries learn more about the object, the Federal Bureau of Investigation will be working closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,” Ryder said in a statement.

The development comes a day after the White House said an unknown “high-altitude object” was shot down over the waters off Alaska.

That object was about the size of a small car and flying at around 40,000 feet, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Friday. U.S. Northern Command said Saturday it had no further details on the object’s “capabilities, purpose or origin.”

Trudeau said he supported the “decision to take action.”

“Our military and intelligence services will always work together, including through @NORADCommand, to keep people safe,” he tweeted Friday.

NORAD confirmed on Saturday that there was a temporary space restriction over Montana.

The airspace was closed due to an object “to ensure the safety of air traffic in the area during NORAD operations. The restriction has been lifted,” the statement read.

“NORAD detected a radar anomaly and sent fighter aircraft to investigate. Those aircraft did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits. NORAD will continue to monitor the situation,” the statement continued.

Montana Sen. Steve Daines said he was in contact with the Pentagon regarding the object in the airspace and receiving frequent updates.

“Montanans still have questions about the Chinese spy balloon that flew over our state last week. I’ll continue to demand answers on these invasions of US airspace,” he tweeted.

The U.S. also shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4, after tracking it across the continental U.S. for several days.

U.S. officials said Friday that the undercarriage of the Chinese balloon — where the surveillance equipment and other technology was housed — had been located.

In the wake of the incident, the U.S. Commerce Department said Friday it added six Chinese entities to their Entity List for “supporting the PRC’s military modernization efforts, specifically those related to aerospace programs, including airships and balloons and related materials and components, that are used by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for intelligence and reconnaissance,” according to a press release.

By adding these companies to the list, the U.S. can block them from “obtaining U.S. items and technologies without U.S. government authorization.”

The move is aimed at sending a “clear message to companies, governments, and other stakeholders globally that the entities on the list present a threat to national security,” the release said.

There is no age limitation I know of concerning thugness

12-year-old car theft suspect fatally shot after shootout with owner in Denver

A 12-year-old car theft suspect died of a gunshot wound after being confronted by the car’s owner, according to the Denver Police Department.
Denver’s Office of the Medical Examiner reported Tuesday that Elias Armstrong, 12, died of a gunshot wound Sunday. Police received a report of an auto theft in the 8300 block of E. Northfield Boulevard, according to police.
The car’s owner tracked the vehicle using an app and found it stopped in the area of West 12th Avenue and North Decatur Street.
“When the vehicle’s owner approached the car, he was involved in an exchange of gunfire with occupant(s) in the stolen vehicle,” according to investigators. “A juvenile male then drove the stolen vehicle to the 2900 block of W. 10th Ave. where he was found by officers to be suffering from a gunshot wound.”
Armstrong was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The car’s owner gave a statement to investigators. He has not been arrested and no charges have been filed, according to police.
It appears other occupants of the stolen vehicle “fled on foot from the 2900 block of W. 10th Ave. prior to officers’ arrival.”
A 12-year-old boy named Elias Armstrong was shot and killed during an attempted car theft Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023.

9News

In May of 2021, Denver Police sent out an alert to help locate a 10-year-old boy named Elias Armstrong who ran away from home, and was last seen near 30th Avenue and North Downing Street. The boy was quickly located and the alert was canceled. Police verified early Wednesday it’s the same boy.

Mississippi Senate passes bill allowing teachers to be armed

Legislation that would allow public and private school teachers in the Magnolia State to be armed has passed the Mississippi Senate.

On Wednesday, Senate Bill 2079, authored by Senator Angela Hill, R-Picayune, passed after receiving 39 yea votes and 13 nay votes.

The bill would establish a School Safety Guardian Training Program, which would be administered by Mississippi Homeland Security under the umbrella of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS).

Governing bodies of school systems throughout the state would have the autonomy to determine whether or not they will participate in the program. Authorities within participating school districts would either approve or deny permission for a volunteer school employee to be involved in the program.

“If a school wants to put together an armed educator team to work with law enforcement and to be trained to basically assist in the time of an active shooter or some unfortunate situation, the framework is now in place once we get this bill through the House,” Senator Hill said on The Gallo Show.

To participate in the program, one must possess an enhanced or concealed carry permit prior to applying.

According to DPS Commissioner Sean Tindell, once qualified, those participating in the program go through a two-to-three-week training session where they are educated on tactics related to gun safety and proper interaction with the police if a crisis happened to occur.

“They would learn self-defense tactics. They would learn firearm tactics. They would learn communication with law enforcement,” Tindell said on MidDays with Gerard Gibert. “If we’re going to have teachers in schools with a firearm, they’re going to have the proper training and an interaction plan with law enforcement.”

Training would be conducted at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officer Training Academy in Pearl and led by multiple law enforcement agencies in collaboration with one another.

Mt. Airy man shot in the neck after breaking into a home

MOUNT AIRY, N.C. — An intruder was shot in the neck during an attempted home invasion in Mount Airy Tuesday, according to police.

The Mount Airy Police Department said they received a call about a shooting around 4:19 p.m. on Andrews Street.

When police arrived, they found the homeowner, Joshua Wade Murphy, 41, standing with a shotgun in his front yard. 26-year-old Daniel Scott Laskey Brown, of Mount Airy, was lying in the front yard with a gunshot wound to his neck.

Investigators identified Brown as the suspect. They said he broke into Murphy’s home through the front door as he was armed with a gun. Once Brown came through the front door, Murphy shot him in the neck.

Brown was taken to a local hospital and is in critical condition.

After consulting with the Surry County District Attorney’s Office there will be no criminal charges issued at this time.

While Service members living in barracks are not, those living in on post ‘private housing’ are almost always allowed to retain personal firearms. They’re supposed to kept unloaded, with the ammo stored separately, but RHIP – (Rank Hath It’s Privileges)

Air Force leader’s spouse shot at intruder in base breach

WASHINGTON (AP) — The intruder who breached Joint Base Andrews, the home of Air Force One, reached the residence of one of the Air Force’s top leaders before her spouse opened fire, the air base said Tuesday.

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne Bass confirmed that the intruder had reached her home on Monday. The chief master sergeant is the Air Force’s top enlisted leader.

“We appreciate the outpouring of support we received after this incident. I can confirm that my husband, Rahn, was involved, and is safe, thanks to the quick response and professionalism of our Security Forces Airmen,” Bass said in a statement on Tuesday.

In a statement posted to Twitter, the air base said: “A resident discharged a firearm, security forces arrived on scene to apprehend the intruder and law enforcement is investigating the incident.”

Joint Base Andrews is home to the fleet of blue and white presidential aircraft, including Air Force One, and a frequent base for the “doomsday” 747 aircraft that can serve as the nation’s airborne nuclear command and control centers if needed.

It’s not the first time the base’s security has been breached; in February 2021 a man got through the military checkpoint onto the installation, then through additional fenced secure areas to gain access to the flight line and climb into a C-40, which is the military’s 737-equivalent aircraft used to fly government officials.

That intruder was apprehended because the “mouse ears” cap he was wearing struck an observant airman as odd.

An inspector general’s investigation found three main security failings, starting with “human error” by a gate security guard who allowed the man to drive onto the base even though he had no credentials that authorized his access.

Hours later, the man walked undetected onto the flight line by slipping through a fence designed to restrict entry. Finally, he walked onto and off a parked airplane without being challenged, even though he was not wearing a required badge authorizing access to the restricted area.

Harris County robbery suspect shot to death at apartment complex on N Vista Dr

A man shot and killed a robbery suspect at a Harris County apartment complex early Tuesday morning, the sheriff’s office says.

The shooting was reported around 1:45 a.m. in the 300 block of N Vista Drive.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a shooting on N Vista Drive.
Based on the preliminary investigation, the sheriff’s office says they believe a man and a woman were trying to rob another man at the complex.

The man who was being robbed was able to get away, went to his truck, and got a gun, investigators say.

The sheriff’s office says, when he was confronted again by the suspects, he shot the male suspect.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.

The woman and the shooter are both being questioned about the incident, authorities say. The investigation is ongoing.

Like how that State’s Attorney (More commonly called a Prosecutor for the rest of us) slyly moves the goalpost of self defense so he can slide in ‘hurt feelings’? I’ve found very few prosecutors that like the idea that they can have their hands tied, legally speaking, from exercising every bit of power they have just exactly how they want?

Shooting at Roanoke supermarket reveals “substantial evidence” showing self-defense

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – WDBJ7 has learned new details about a shooting over the weekend at a Food Lion in Northwest Roanoke. Roanoke City’s commonwealth’s attorney told WDBJ7 the suspect was released because there is a substantial argument for self defense.

Saturday night, there was a disagreement at the store on Peters Creek Road. Investigators say one man threw a punch at another man, who then took out his gun and shot several times.

He hit the person who initiated the fight and a woman who was caught in the middle. The woman’s injuries were not life-threatening, but Roanoke Police said the man’s injuries were serious.

The commonwealth’s attorney explained the store’s surveillance video will help investigators determine if this was self defense.

”That’s where it becomes a fine line; does a person have to stand there and take a beating or get beat up, or if they are armed, can they use deadly force to repel the attack?” Donald Caldwell said. “That will be a decision that we’ll have to get the actual video from the Food Lion and watch and make those determinations.”

The man who fired the gun stayed on scene and cooperated with police. Caldwell explained cooperation is rare in situations like this.

“The predicate act for using a gun has just become so low is there’s almost no bar,” Caldwell said. “Hurt feelings now, among some members of our society, justify using a gun. It is just a sad state of affairs.”

The commonwealth’s attorney also stated the man who started the fight could face charges for assault and battery.

Elitist snobs from New York always think the land between the coasts is populated by nothing but hicks and cows

As the Wyoming Legislature considers several bills that would make it easier to carry firearms in public spaces, there’s evidence that those practices make things worse, a gun control advocate said.

“We’ve seen things like guns routinely being left in bathrooms on campuses,” Andy Pelosi told Cowboy State Daily.

As executive director of The Campaign to Keep Guns off Campus, which is based in New York State, Pelosi was answering what he claims are flawed arguments from Wyoming concealed-carry advocates who have said that the loosening of concealed carry restrictions in other states hasn’t caused problems.

Causes More Problem Than It Solves?

Allowing firearms on college campuses has led to problems and even some tragedies, Pelosi said. That has included more suicides or perpetrators using firearms to force sexual assaults.

He cited some studies his group has compiled from reports of gun-related incidents on campuses, including Colorado State University. Concealed carry is allowed at CSU.

It generally isn’t allowed on the University of Wyoming Campus. Students or staff may carry at UW only if they’ve obtained a special permit from university police for some pressing reason, such as being stalked.

Some of the incidents in Colorado that Keep Guns off Campus cites include student gunshot suicides in 2008 and 2017 and an accidental shooting on the CU-Denver campus in 2012.

And in 2017 at Fort Collins Community College, “A 26-year-old female student pulled a loaded gun on her professor after he confronted her about cheating,” according to one of the studies cited.

Overall, allowing guns on campuses and other previously gun-free public spaces isn’t shown to diminish crime, but instead increases the number of incidents such as suicides, threats and accidental shootings, Pelosi said.

The Associated Students of the University of Wyoming opposes allowing concealed carry on campus, the group’s representative, Caitlin Heddins, told legislators during a recent discussion of one of the firearms-related bills.

Still A Good Idea, Some Say

However, advocates for the bills – House Bill 105 and Senate File 135 – argue that it violates the Second Amendment rights of Wyoming residents to not allow concealed carry into government buildings, government meetings and the like.

They contend that gun-free zones simply create “soft targets” for mass shooters or others with ill intent.

New ‘Capitol Carry’ Bills 

A pair of new bills introduced to the Wyoming Senate on Monday would help allow concealed carry in the Wyoming Capitol building, where civilians are now prohibited from having firearms.

Senate File 149 would create an “enhanced concealed carry permit.” The current Wyoming concealed permitting process does not require applicants to take any actual firearms handling or live-fire training. Instead, they take only classroom or online courses.

Under the bill, those regular concealed carry permits would still be available. But for people wishing to take it to another level, enhanced concealed carry permit training would entail hands-on firearms safety courses, as well as live-fire training and qualification sessions.

Under Senate File 150, people who had obtained the enhanced concealed carry permits would be allowed to concealed carry their firearms in the Capitol.

Poll: Majority of Americans Oppose ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban

Bans on AR-15s and similar firearms have continued to fall out of favor with the American public.

51 percent of Americans now oppose adopting a national “assault weapons” sales ban, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Monday. That’s a ten-point jump in opposition since the question was last asked in 2019. Only 47 percent said they support the policy. That represents the second-lowest level of support measured since the poll began in 1995.

Those who strongly opposed a nationwide ban also outpaced those who strongly supported it for the first time since 2015.

The results are just the latest to confirm a decreased appetite for the ban. At least three separate polls conducted in 2022 documented a decline in support for the policy, even in the immediate aftermath of the Uvalde school shooting.

The latest results arrive just one day before President Biden (D.) is slated to give his State of the Union Address, where he is likely to reiterate his support for an assault weapon ban. Biden has made an assault weapon ban one of his signature gun policy goals, and he routinely calls for Congress to pass a ban after every prominent shooting–a request his party delivered on in the House last year but not the Senate.

The polling results suggest the public is increasingly turning a deaf ear to those calls.

Pollster David Langer said the decline in support for the gun ban was “broadly based across groups” but could only speculate as to what was driving the drop in support.

“It would take a study focused in more detail on the issue to assess its reasons, but other studies provide clues,” he said in a statement. “In a Pew Research Center poll last year, the public divided on whether or not making it harder to get guns would reduce mass shootings.”

Beyond public opinion souring on the bans, the court system has also started to cast doubt on their constitutionality after the Supreme Court’s decision in 2022’s New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. The High Court vacated a federal decision upholding Maryland’s assault weapons ban shortly after that ruling and sent it back down to the lower courts to be relitigated under the new standard it set. Since then, federal judges have blocked two local assault weapon bans in Colorado, and a state court blocked Illinois’ new ban.

However, that hasn’t stopped lawmakers in blue states from continuing to push for the bans. Illinois joined Delaware in passing the first statewide assault weapons bans in several decades when it adopted its version last year. Lawmakers are also considering new bans in Washington, Rhode Island, Colorado, and New Mexico this year.

Langer Research Associates conducted the ABC News/Washington Post poll by cell phone from January 27-February 1. It sampled 1,003 adults with a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.