Self Defense – Page 56

Houston man turns the tables on would-be carjacker, suspect dead
A man told Houston police he shot a man who approached him and started a fight before taking his car

A 21-year-old man in Houston told authorities he shot and killed another man who was trying to carjack him Tuesday at a gas station.

The Houston Police Department said officers were dispatched to the 8300 block of Park Place Boulevard close to 5:30 p.m. following a shooting. When police arrived, they found a 29-year-old man unresponsive in a crashed vehicle a few blocks from the shooting.

He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The shooter told police he was sitting in his vehicle when another man approached and initiated a physical dispute, police said.

“At that time, the male in the vehicle fired several shots and struck the male,” a police statement said. “The shooter then exited his vehicle and called 9-1-1.” The wounded man got into the shooter’s vehicle and fled before crashing a few blocks away, police said.

The case is being referred to a Harris County grand jury.

Eleven Fewer Dead People
A deep dive on the Greenwood Park Mall shooting shows a clear path to even fewer dead people than that

On Sunday July 17, 2022, some dork with two rifles and a handgun attempted to shoot up the Greenwood Park Mall food court in Greenwood Indiana. In the span of only fifteen seconds he was shot eight times by private citizen Elisjsha Dicken, an 80% hit rate from forty yards with a double stack nine millimeter handgun, whereupon the dork decided to flee to the bathroom and do us all the favor of dying there. We have much to unpack about this instance, but five key points with mathematical backing show a clear path to saving hundreds of future lives, and further show why the media doesn’t want to save them. Let’s begin.

A Tom Brady Moment

This was a seriously impressive feat of shooting. Dicken has no military or police experience and was taught to shoot by his grandfather. The local news agency WTHR approached several instructors who attempted to replicate the shot, and were able to come generally near to replicating it a range of twenty-five yards. Pistol ranges only go out to twenty five yards. Dicken put eight out of ten shots on target in fifteen seconds at almost double the maximum pistol range distance, completely unprepared, jacked full of adrenaline in a situation that would make most untrained shooters panic, facing an opponent with a rifle designed for that engagement range. This shot was heroic beyond imagination, and the gun community is tremendously impressed. As Douglas Jefferson of NAAGA said in a private channel, “That’s a B-8 drill at almost twice the distance and only 1.5 times the time.” It stresses the need for anyone who carries a firearm to train for the scenarios in which they envision using them, but it also highlights the more important point that even shooters without formalized training can save dozens of lives, as long as they happen to be carrying when something like this happens. Which brings us to the next point.

Gun Free Zones Almost Killed Eleven People

Rampage killings are only stopped by two things, the police or private citizens. Three people died in this shooting. When we perform a true analysis of “rampage killing” statistics, we find that rampage killings stopped by police carry an average of 14.29 casualties, whereas rampage killings stopped by citizen responders carry an average of 2.33 casualties. The average police response time to a 911 call is eleven minutes. Mr. Dicken responded to this shooting forty four times faster than the average police response time, saving (by averages) 11.29 lives in the process. These are facts.

This entire engagement transpired in a gun free zone. If Mr. Dicken had followed the rules on the sign, then 11.29 additional people (by averages) would be dead. The gun free zone sign did not deter the shooter, and eleven people in that food court owe their lives to the fact that Dicken also ignored the sign. This is indisputable.

Permit Carry Laws Almost Killed Eleven People

Dicken didn’t have a permit to carry his firearm, because he currently doesn’t need one. Up until July 1st of this year, Indiana prohibited concealed carry of firearms by anyone without a license. The state’s “Constitutional Carry Law,” which means no permit is required to carry a firearm, only went into effect this month. Seeing how Dicken did not have a carry license prior to the law going into effect, it’s likely that without the law he wouldn’t have been armed, and 11.29 additional people (by averages) would be dead.

While the local Greenwood Police Department has been glowing over the efforts of Mr. Dicken, the Indiana effort to pass this law was opposed most publicly by law enforcement officials, such as Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter who testified against it. If Doug Carter had gotten his way 11.29 additional people would be dead. This is indisputable.

Uvalde Comparison

May be a cartoon of text that says '376 UVALDE POLICE OFFICERS STANDING AROUND ONE 22-YEAR-OLD TAKING ACTION washingt n t'

This cartoon from the Washington Post doesn’t even begin to describe the contrast between these two rampage shooting incidents. Not only did the Uvalde police response do nothing for almost an hour, they actively prevented multiple private citizens from responding on their own. They were very specifically acting as a security detail for a rampage shooter. They arrested parents to prevent them from entering the building. They even intercepted one police officer whose wife was dying in her classroom, disarmed him, and escorted him off scene. A more accurate version of this political cartoon would have 376 police officers surrounding the rampage shooter on a pile of bleeding yet not yet dead bodies, with their backs to him preventing citizens from saving the pile of injured people from dying. That is not an exaggeration.

The official inquiry into Uvalde is not complete as of the writing of this piece. It could be that the Uvalde failure was due to chicken shit cops. It could be due to the fact that all government of all kinds moves at the speed of molasses infused mud. It could be some secret tinfoil hat conspiracy. It could be something else, or some or all of the above. We don’t know. But what we do know is response time differences matter, and we know that 11.96 people are saved when the cops aren’t involved, 11.29 in this case.

I am not someone who lives in fear of rampage shootings. I understand the statistics, which show that these things are as rare as shark attacks, and I do not live in fear of sharks. But some people do live with this fear, because different people have different risk tolerances. It seems to me that some people who live with this fear have some significant overlap with ACAB (“all cops are bastards”) messaging. If you are a rational person within either or both of those groups, and compare Uvalde to Greenwood, you must conclude that absent a non-existent magic gun evaporation fairy the best alternative is ubiquitous citizen concealed carry. This is indisputable.

Mass Media Social Contagion

I will not claim that CNN’s stated goal is to glorify rampage shooters, but that’s the exact effect CNN’s behavior has in the mind of a potential rampage shooter. If CNN reversed its behavior and gave twenty five times more coverage to Dicken instead of Uvalde, then the psychological effects would dampen rampage shooters instead of inciting them. This very rampage shooter may have been spurred on by CNN’s behavior, and CNN gets 30% more rampage shootings to farm for clickbait money because of their behavior.

If the United States were to string together three consecutive incidents of rampage shooters getting plugged by private citizens within seconds, as happened in Greenwood Park Mall, and CNN were to give each of them the sorts of coverage they give to Uvalde, the rampage shooter dorks would be too scared to try it. They’d stay in their basement playing XBox instead of shooting people, and the second order effects of constitutional carry would exceed 11.96 saved per incident, because there would be fewer incidents. CNN not covering rampage shootings at all would reduce rampage shootings by one third. If they elevated coverage of failed rampage shootings stopped by citizens, they’d probably reduce them by an additional third.

But they don’t want to do that, because they’re hemorrhaging money. They need as many of these things to transpire as possible to make their bottom line. They are beholden to Moloch, trapped in a cycle that gets people killed, and the only way I can figure out of this cycle is to produce a lot more citizen shooters like Dicken.

The only way out is to shoot our way out and it’s CNN’s fault.

Woman Kills Gunman after He Runs Over, Shoots Her Family

A woman killed an alleged gunman in self-defense after the assailant drove into her family and fatally shot a man and toddler near Montana’s Glacier National Park, police said Tuesday.

Authorities determined 37-year-old Derick Amos Madden, of Goldsby, Okla., “purposefully drove his vehicle” into Christina Siau’s family Sunday as they were walking alongside the road.

The two had previously been in a relationship together and Madden was “suffering from mental health issues,” police said in a statement. Police have not yet determined if Madden owned the gun legally.

Madden crashed his vehicle into a tree and proceeded to shoot at the family with a shotgun, killing 39-year-old David Siau and his daughter, 18-month-old McKenzie Siau. Other family members attempted to flee the scene on foot, but Madden shot and injured David Siau’s wife, 40-year-old Christy Siau, police said.

Two other children were present but managed to run away uninjured.

Madden then proceeded to attack and injure Christina Siau with a knife. Despite receiving “critical injuries,” she fought back and fatally wounded Madden, who died at the scene, the statement read. Authorities did not say how Madden died.

Christy, Christina, and McKenzie Siau were all transported to a hospital where McKenzie succumbed to her injuries.

“The attack was isolated to this incident with a clear nexus between the victims and Madden,” police said, noting the investigation is ongoing.

Madden had been working in East Glacier and Christina Siau was originally from New York and living in East Glacier, NBC Montana reported, citing Jody Hickey, a spokesperson for the Glacier County sheriff.

Christy Siau was previously a bookkeeper for the American Baptist Churches of New York State, and she and her husband David were members of the First Baptist Church of Hoosick Falls, N.Y., according to the outlet.

Lincoln County crime spree ends when homeowner shoots, kills suspect

LINCOLN COUNTY, Miss. (WLBT) – A man was shot and killed after allegedly assaulting multiple people early Tuesday morning, including trying to hit a person with his car.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received a disturbance call around 4 a.m. regarding a man who had threatened those at a house. However, he left before deputies could get there.

While at the home, though, deputies got a call about someone breaking into another home and assaulting two men before leaving.

When deputies arrived at that home, they found that not only were two people assaulted there but that a neighbor had also been attacked.

As they arrived to the home where the gunshot occurred, they found that a man had been shot while trying to hit someone with his car. The man was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Through an investigation, it was discovered that he was involved in every disturbance.

Two of his victims were treated at a hospital for various injuries. The homeowner who killed the suspect has not been charged.

The Good Samaritan With A Gun In Indiana Serves To Refute Four Common Gun Control Myths

On Monday, a good samaritan with a gun averted a catastrophe at an Indiana mall. Douglas Sapirman, a 20-year old man brought more than 100 rounds of ammunition and three rifles: a Sig Sauer M400 rifle he bought in March 2022; an M&P15 rifle that was found in the mall bathroom and bought in March 2021; and a Glock 33 pistol discovered on his body. In the span of a few minutes, Sapirman fired 24 rounds, killed three people, and injured two others.

But Elisjsha Dicken, a 22-year old man, was shopping at the mall with this girlfriend. And he was carrying a concealed pistol. The New York Times describes his heroics:

Chief Jim Ison of the Greenwood Police Department called the bystander’s actions “nothing short of heroic,” identifying him as Elisjsha Dicken of Seymour, Ind.

He engaged the gunman from quite a distance with a handgun, was very proficient in that, very tactically sound, and, as he moved to close in on the suspect, he was also motioning for people to exit behind him,” Chief Ison said at a news conference where he described surveillance video footage of the shooting. . . .

All the victims were shot by Mr. Sapirman, who fired 24 rounds, Chief Ison said. Mr. Dicken fired 10 rounds, killing the gunman as he tried to retreat to a mall bathroom where he had spent an hour apparently preparing for the attack. . . . .

Over the past two years, the relatives told the police, the gunman had frequently practiced shooting at a range in Greenwood, which is roughly 15 miles south of Indianapolis. . . .

When the police arrived, they handcuffed Mr. Dicken and took him to a station for questioning, where security camera footage confirmed his description of the events. Chief Ison said that the police could not determine whether Mr. Dicken had a gun permit, but that he was carrying his Glock 9-millimeter handgun legally under the state’s constitutional carry law.

“This young man, Greenwood’s good Samaritan, acted within seconds, stopping the shooter and saving countless lives,” Mayor Mark Myers said on Monday.

This amazing story is simply one data point, but it serves to refute four myths about gun control.

First, a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun. Recently, Eugene catalogued other similar instances of defensive gun use.

Second, constitutional carry ensures that good samaritans can carry, even if they do not satisfy onerous carry regimes. I imagine that if this incident happened in New York, the good samaritan would be indicted for illegal possession of a firearm.

Third, a common argument in favor of “high capacity” magazine bans is that defensive gun use never needs more than a few bullets. Here, the good samaritan used ten bullets, and he could have needed even more. In California, for example, magazines are limited to ten rounds. Had the good samaritan needed one more bullet to drop the assailant, he would have been out of luck in California.

Fourth, it is commonly argued that a person armed with a handgun cannot take down a person armed with larger rifles. This incident proves that myth is wrong.

It is difficult to generalize from a single incident, but the situation in Indiana serves to push back against many of the common gun control myths.

Update: I didn’t realize that Indiana’s constitutional carry went into effect on July 1, 2022. Had this event happened a month earlier, the good samaritan may have been in violation of the state’s carry law. The NY Times has some more details:

Mike Wright, manager of the Luca Pizza di Roma in the mall’s food court, remembers taking shelter when the firing started and then emerging when it stopped to see the bystander behind a low-slung wall with his handgun trained on the assailant he had shot to death.

“He stood there maybe 25 or 30 feet from the body and held that pistol pointed at him until law enforcement arrived,” Mr. Wright remembered on Tuesday. “The good Samaritan guy seemed poised and under control. He appeared to be very disciplined.” Jim Ison, the local police chief, went further, saying that his engagement with the gunman, who had killed three people, was “nothing short of heroic.”

But along with the horror, drama and acclaim came a roaring and rekindled controversy in a country united in revulsion over its ceaseless plague of gun violence, yet bitterly divided over a loosening of gun restrictions like the Indiana law, passed this year, that allowed the bystander, Elisjsha Dicken, 22, to carry his 9-millimeter handgun in the first place. . . .

Chief Ison said the police found no indication that Mr. Dicken had a permit for the handgun. But the chief said he was carrying it legally under the new law. In a brief interview, Mr. Dicken’s lawyer, Guy A. Relford, described his client as an “all-American Indiana boy,” and declined to provide any specific information about him or the mall encounter.

Update 2: The Greenwood Police now report that the Good Samaritan acted quickly. In the span of 15 seconds (not 2 minutes), he fired 10 rounds, eight of which hit the assailant. And his first shot hit the assailant from 40 yards!

That is some top-level accuracy.

Well, to be honest, in a ‘free country’, I’ve never thought that the police could prevent any crime. That requires an authoritarian Police State the likes of which would be on par with North Korea. The poor people who always believed this, were always wrong, and that’s what’s sad; they were delusional

Confidence in Law Enforcement to Prevent Mass Shootings Plummets

A new poll from Convention of States Action and the Trafalgar Group shows Americans no longer trust local and federal law enforcement to stop mass shootings. This outcome should be no surprise after a long string of mass shootings where law enforcement knew the perpetrator before the tragedy.

The tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, is the latest example. However, school officials and law enforcement were aware of the risks posed by the shooter in Parkland, Fla., and the other mass shooting tragedies since then. It seems the left’s preoccupation with social justice rather than criminal justice prevents law enforcement at all levels from taking proactive action to prevent violence. The social justice push ended stop and frisk in New York City and ensured red flag laws in Illinois and New York were useless.

These examples may explain why a majority of voters report they are not confident local authorities can prevent a mass shooting before it happens. Sixty-two percent of voters say they are not sure their local law enforcement or federal agents could identify and stop a violent person before they started a mass shooting. More than a quarter (26.9%) report they are not confident at all. Only 9.8% indicated they are very confident in their local authorities’ ability to prevent a mass shooting.

Uvalde officers not immediately and aggressively confronting the gunman in the elementary school was reminiscent of law enforcement failures in the Parkland shooting. “Americans watched in horror as an active shooter was permitted to rampage through a school while the police stood outside and did absolutely nothing. Over and over again, citizens are given the clear message that—when it comes to protecting loved ones—you’re on your own,” said Mark Meckler, President of Convention of States Action.

Americans are painfully aware of the tragic results in these situations and believe in the “good guy with a gun” more than the gun grabbers would like. According to the poll, a plurality believes their fellow citizen with a firearm is the best protection for them and their family in a mass shooting situation. Almost 42% of voters believe that an armed citizen would be their best protection if they were caught in a mass shooting event. Local police retained the confidence of 25.1%, and 10.3% had the most faith in federal agents. Almost one-quarter said none of the above.

Results indicating how many respondents feel they will best protect themselves and their families would be an interesting supplement. Democrats appear the most fatalistic, with a plurality of 33.9% saying they do not trust anyone to protect them and their family in a mass shooting event. But, they are still the party pushing for strict gun control. Meanwhile, 70.4% of Republicans trust armed citizens the most, while only 16.8% and 1.6% trust local or federal law enforcement.

Yet, somehow, our leaders in Congress think more gun laws are the answer. The recent bi-partisan gun law does little to prevent these tragedies, especially in an environment where citizens are losing trust in law enforcement. “At the same time, we’re told guns are the problem, and we should give up our right to self-defense,” Meckler noted. “Voters are not stupid. They understand that responsible citizens offer the best means of protecting our schools, homes, and communities in this country. Pursuing such policies is not only bad politics, it puts all of us at risk.”

As if to prove the point made by a plurality of voters, an armed citizen stopped a mass shooter in a mall food court in Indiana yesterday. According to law enforcement, the gunman shot three people fatally and injured two Sunday evening before a good guy with a gun shot and killed him. The shooter entered the mall with a rifle and several magazines. Greenwood Police Dept. Chief Jim Ison said, “The real hero of the day is the citizen that was lawfully carrying a firearm in that food court and was able to stop the shooter almost as soon as he began.” The poll ended before reports of this shooting appeared in the news cycle.

A legally armed citizen recently thwarted another mass shooting in West Virginia. A woman used her pistol to shoot a man who had returned to a graduation party with a rifle. He had been in a verbal altercation with the partygoers earlier in the day. “This lady was carrying a lawful firearm,” Lt. Tony Hazelett of the Charleston Police Department said. “A law-abiding citizen who stopped the threat of probably 20 or 30 people getting killed. She engaged the threat and stopped it. She didn’t run from the threat. She engaged it preventing a mass casualty event here in Charleston.”

Examples like these may be why states like Texas, Georgia, and others are passing open and constitutional carry laws. Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed constitutional carry in March of this year. As of July 1, no legal gun owner in Indiana is required to have a carry permit after passing the required background check. That law may have made all the difference for the Hoosiers in the mall on Sunday.

The Greenwood Mall Shooting Should End Claims of the Danger of Permitless Concealed Carry.

During the recent attempted mass shooting at the Greenwood Park Mall in Indiana, a 22-year old man who was lawfully carrying a pistol stopped the killing. For this heroic action, he’s been called “good Samaritan” by local law enforcement. Even the owners of the mall, (who ban guns on their properties praised his actions. That got under the skin of anti-gun activists.

Why? If they were forced to be honest about it like the main character in the 1997 film Liar Liar, they’d have to admit that a quintessential case of a good guy with a gun stopping a bad guy with a gun is utterly devastating to their case against civilian gun rights.

Sadly (for them) the facts keep coming in, and they continue to be very bad for the gun control industry’s agenda. Not only does Greenwood Park clearly demonstrate that permitless carry (a.k.a. constitutional carry) saves lives, but one of the key arguments against permitless carry was also destroyed.

Constitutional Carry Allowed Lives To Be Saved

Recent reporting from WRTV News sheds light on an important detail in how this mass shooting was stopped . . .

According to [Greenwood Police Chief James] Ison, [Eli] Dicken did not have a permit for his handgun, but due to the passage of the “Constitutional Carry” bill in Indiana, he was legally carrying the weapon.

“I am 100% certain that many more people would have died last night if it wasn’t for his heroism,” Ison said.

If there’s a more devastating message for the forces of gun control, I don’t know what it would be.

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Houston would-be robber shot and killed by victim: report
The victim pulled his own weapon upon the suspect attempting to rob him near an ATM Saturday night, authorities said

A suspected robber was shot and killed over the weekend by his intended victim who had his own weapon, Houston police said.

The robbery occurred around 10:30 p.m. when a man was leaving an ATM. Another man tried to rob him and the victim pulled out a gun, Fox Houston reported.

Both men fired their weapons.

The suspect was struck once and authorities pronounced him dead at the scene. The news outlet said the shooter remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.

In case it slipped anyone’s mind, I’ll reiterate that I’m not ‘anti-cop’, I’m anti stupid, and in this case, coward cops.

Uvalde Shooting Report Undermines Calls To Ban Guns and ‘Back the Blue’
Only you can be relied upon to protect you and your loved ones.
Ignore anybody who claims otherwise.

If you really need further evidence of how foolish it is to surrender your right to protect yourself and defer to government employees who are supposed to assume that responsibility, the record of police non-response during the Uvalde mass murder should do the job. Those who, in the future, continue to insist that we disarm ourselves and venerate government enforcers who are tasked to protect us should be unceremoniously kicked to the curb.

“At Robb Elementary, law enforcement responders failed to adhere to their active shooter training, and they failed to prioritize saving the lives of innocent victims over their own safety,” finds a devastating report published July 17 by the Texas House of Representatives Investigative Committee on the Robb Elementary Shooting. “The first wave of responders to arrive included the chief of the school district police and the commander of the Uvalde Police Department SWAT team. Despite the immediate presence of local law enforcement leaders, there was an unacceptably long period of time before officers breached the classroom, neutralized the attacker, and began rescue efforts.

That delay (73 minutes in the report, or 77 minutes according to news stories) was documented in excruciating detail in video of police response published last week in both edited and full form by the Austin American-Statesman and KVUE before it was formally screened by authorities.

“We know now…that some students quietly called 911 from inside the classrooms for help, a critically wounded teacher could hear officers just outside the classroom, and that 911 dispatchers were fielding their calls of desperation,” Manny Garcia, executive editor, wrote for the Austin American-Statesman in explaining the decision to publish the video. “We also know that exasperated parents, family members and bystanders standing outside the school begged authorities to do something. After 77 minutes, the video shows the officers breach the classroom.”

Before the release of the Texas lawmakers’ report documenting failures not just by police, but by school officials who ignored their own security measures, some Uvalde families and government officials criticized the media for publishing the video before a carefully planned screening by Texas lawmakers.

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Sen. Chris Murphy Strangely Silent After His ‘Good Guy With a Gun’ Theory Goes Down in Flames

As we previously reported, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) appallingly declared in a tweet last Tuesday that the fact that it took the Uvalde police so long to respond to the horrific Robb Elementary School mass shooting “puts to bed, forever” the “good guy with a gun” scenario often cited by Second Amendment defenders in their arguments.

“We’ve always known it was a gun industry created lie, designed to sell more guns,” he also wrote. “Now we just have the gut wrenching proof”:

While the chilling 77-minute police response video from Uvalde was indeed gut-wrenching, it in no way proved Murphy’s point – in fact, it proved just the opposite for reasons I and thousands of others explained to him in response to his remarks.

In the aftermath of the deadly Greenwood, Indiana mall mass shooting Sunday where three were killed and two were injured, Murphy has gone silent on his “good guy with a gun” theory – perhaps because Greenwood Police Chief James Ison noted in a press conference that the shooter was shot dead “almost as soon as he began” by a “good Samaritan,” a 22-year-old unidentified man who Ison said was “lawfully carrying” his firearm:

“The real hero of the day is the citizen that was lawfully carrying a firearm in that food court and was able to stop that shooter almost as soon as he began,” Ison told reporters during a press conference on Sunday night.

Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers also confirmed that the suspect was “shot by an armed individual,” whom he called a “good Samaritan.”

“This person saved lives tonight,” Myers said in a statement late Sunday. “On behalf of the City of Greenwood, I am grateful for his quick action and heroism in this situation.”

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Silence from Gun Prohibitionists After Armed Citizen Stops Mall Shooter

Once again, gun prohibition lobbying groups are locked in silence after a legally-armed 22-year-old intervened quickly to fatally shoot a would-be mass killer who opened fire at the Greenwood Park Mall in Greenwood, Ind., in an action police are hailing as heroic.

“The real hero of the day is the citizen that was lawfully carrying a firearm in that food court and was able to stop the shooter almost as soon as he began,” Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison told a press briefing Sunday evening.

Reuters quoted Greenwood Mayor Mark Meyers, who said in a prepared statement, “We do know that someone we are calling a ‘Good Samaritan’ was able to shoot the assailant and stop further bloodshed. This person saved lives tonight. I am grateful for his quick action and heroism.”

It is not the first time an armed private citizen has killed a killer. According to the FBI, last year armed citizens stopped six “active shooters.” In four of those cases, the perpetrator was killed. In each case, the gun ban lobby was mum.

CNN noted in its coverage of the shooting, “It’s rare to have an armed bystander attack an active shooter, according to a data analysis published by The New York Times.”

“There were at least 433 active shooter attacks in the US from 2000 to 2021, according to the data analysis,” CNN added. “Active shooter attacks were defined as those in which one or more shooters killed or attempted to kill multiple unrelated people in a populated place.”

“Of those 433 active shooter cases, an armed bystander shot the attacker in 22 of the incidents. In 10 of those, the ‘good guy” was a security guard or an off-duty police officer, the Times reported.”

Three people were killed and two others wounded before the unidentified armed citizen intervened. However, authorities have suggested things could have been much worse if the killer had been able to continue his mayhem.

There is a small bit of irony reported by Reuters, which notes the mall is owned by the Simon Property Group, and they have a “no guns” policy. Here is the mall’s Code of Conduct found online:

While visiting this mall, the following general activities will not be accepted:

Violations of the law

Any activity that threatens the safety of our guests, tenants and/or employees

Any activity that threatens the well-being of the property

Any activity that disrupts our pleasant, family-oriented shopping environment

Any activity inconsistent with the general purpose of the property, which is shopping, dining, visiting theaters or offices for business purposes

Any activity that would disrupt the legitimate business of the property and its tenants

Examples of specific activities that are prohibited include but are not limited to:

Disruptive profanity, vulgar or threatening language

Unnecessarily blocking walkways, roadways or storefronts

Running, horseplay or disorderly conduct of any nature

Excessive loitering

Operating unauthorized recreational and/or personal transportation devices in the shopping center

No firearms or illegal weapons

“The center is a privately owned property. Guests who do not act responsibly may be asked to leave. If they refuse to leave the property, they may be arrested and prosecuted for criminal trespass.”

Clearly, the dead gunman violated virtually all of these rules, while the armed citizen apparently violated only the last tenet.

Greenwood Park Mall posted this statement on its website:

“We grieve for the victims of yesterday’s horrific tragedy at Greenwood Park Mall. Violence has no place in this or any other community. We are grateful for the strong response of the first responders, including the heroic actions of the Good Samaritan who stopped the suspect.”

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The attacker was a male with a rifle and several magazines. But what stopped him almost immediately, according to the police, was a good Samaritan with a handgun who saw the shooting and responded, shooting the attacker and killing him. The hero is a 22-year-old man who had a legal permit and is cooperating with the police. They have not yet identified who the shooter is or what his motive was.

Man shoots, kills robbery suspect during ‘violent crime spree’ in St. Charles

ST. CHARLES — A St. Louis man on a bathroom break at a QuikTrip here shot and killed an armed robber early Saturday.

Police said the robber was on a “violent crime spree” across three St. Charles gas stations.

The QuikTrip customer, identified only as a 26-year-old man from St. Louis, stopped around 3:20 a.m. at the gas station at 2260 First Capitol Drive to use the restroom and make a purchase, St. Charles police said in a release. The man was on his way back to his vehicle in front of the store when he saw a black SUV pull up abruptly.

St. Charles police on Sunday identified the deceased man as Lance M. Bush, 26, of St. Louis. Police said Bush was homeless.

Police would not release the name of the customer who killed Bush, saying St. Charles County prosecutors will review the case first to determine if the killing was justified.

The customer watched Bush get out of the SUV, run into the QuikTrip carrying a backpack, and approach a clerk by the coffee pots, police said. Bush then grabbed the clerk and dragged her to the front of the store while she was screaming.

The customer saw Bush inside the station holding a knife to the clerk’s throat. The customer got his 9 mm handgun from his vehicle, entered the store, and confronted the suspect, police said.

Bush grabbed his backpack, told the man, “I have something for you,” and walked toward him, police said.

The customer then fired several times. Bush fell to the floor. The customer and the clerk, who were uninjured, both called 911, police said.

Bush was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Police said they believed Bush was responsible for two other crimes just prior to the QuikTrip incident.

Just before 3 a.m. Saturday a suspect entered an On The Run convenience store at a Mobil gas station at 1401 South Fifth Street and announced a robbery. He held a knife to the throat of a clerk, 43, while she opened the cash register, according to police.

The suspect then pushed the clerk to the floor, stole money from the cash register and dragged the clerk toward the rear of the store asking where the safe was. When the clerk couldn’t open the safe, he dragged her back to the front counter to open a second register. This suspect also fled in a black SUV.

The clerk had knife cuts on her left wrist, right hand and neck, and was taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Around 3:15 a.m., with officers en route to the On The Run, a call came in for an alarm at Midtown Phillips 66, 524 First Capitol Drive. Officers found broken glass and began investigating it as a burglary.

Investigators determined the black SUV was a 2013 Toyota Highlander, reported stolen in an armed robbery on July 15 from the 13500 block of Riverport Drive in Maryland Heights.

Items believed to have been stolen from the burglary at Midtown Phillips 66 were located in the vehicle, police said.

Police declined to release surveillance video from the three gas stations.

Bush’s criminal history includes a pending felony property damage charge in St. Louis County. Charges said Bush was a former employee of the Applebee’s restaurant at 11077 New Halls Ferry Road and that on March 30, he began smashing several stacks of dishes and tossing frozen food when the restaurant’s manager told him his final paycheck wouldn’t be available for several days. Police said he caused an estimated $6,000 in damages.

Bush also had citations in St. Charles municipal court earlier this year for driving on a revoked license, trespassing and stealing. The address listed on the trespassing and stealing tickets is for the Ameristar Casino. In addition, Bush had a March 2 larceny citation in St. Louis County at a convenience store in Earth City.

For those morons who might ask: “Why would any one need a semiautomatic rifle for protection?” Direct them to this.

Video Shows Florida Homeowner Open Fire on 4 Home Invaders With a Semi-Auto Rifle.

Safety tip: don’t mess with an armed Florida Man. Video captured aspiring criminals knocking on a homeowner’s door in Escambia County, Florida last week. When he opened the door, two of them pushed him back inside while a third pulled a gun. As he was being pushed, the homeowner dropped a handgun he was holding when he opened the door and one of the attackers picked it up.

That’s when the homeowner grabbed a rifle.

From wtvy.com . . .
“The homeowner went and got an AK-47 style gun and he started shooting for his own protection to get them out of his house and to protect himself,” explained Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons.

Here’s video captured by a Ring doorbell camera that Sheriff Simmons released . . .

Faced with a determined defender, the home invaders made a hasty retreat into the night.

Investigators are still trying to figure out who one of the guys is (they have him circled in the Ring cam). Three others have been identified:

Arrested is 20-year-old Da’Torrance Hackworth for use/display of a firearm during a felony, possession of a firearm by a felon, larceny, grand theft of a firearm, and robbery/home invasion with a firearm.

Antonio Dewayne Dean Jr., 19, is wanted for use/display of a firearm during a felony, possession of a firearm by a felon, larceny, grand theft of a firearm, and robbery/home invasion with a firearm.

Joseph Roman Sanders is wanted for home invasion with a firearm.

As for the defender firing at his attackers, Sheriff Simmons made it clear that the armed self defense situation in question happened in a home in Florida’s panhandle, not in a New York City bodega.

“So those of you who might ask the question — is the homeowner going to be charged for shooting at these people? — Absolutely not. The homeowner is protecting himself and in Florida — in Escambia County — you can protect yourself,” said Sheriff Simmons.

For the parents that don’t like this new policy; If I were on the school board, I’d suggest the district have one school with no armed security at all, and send all their children there. Then make sure that it was widely known that all the schools, except for that one, did have armed teachers as well as armed security officers.

Cobb school board approves measure to create new position that will allow some employees to carry guns
The school board approved the measure with a vote of 4-2.

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The Cobb County School Board approved a measure Thursday evening during its meeting to create a new position for some employees to carry guns on school campuses. The measure, however, does not include teachers.

The school board approved the measure with a vote of 4-2. Teachers or anyone who oversees a classroom will not be allowed to carry weapons.

The moves comes weeks after a gunman walked inside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas and killed 19 students and two teachers.

However, even with the mass shooting in mind, Thursday night’s vote in Cobb County didn’t come without controversy.

A group of protests delayed the meeting as some chanted “delay the vote.” School board member Dr. Jaha Howard tried to get a motion passed to move the vote to next month, but the board voted against it.

Some parents were outraged over the policy. Laura Judge believes the move could be dangerous.

“You have younger kids that are curious and they’re looking for different things, I don’t want them to happen upon a weapon and then you have older kids that are bigger than some of these individuals and I don’t want them to wrestle a weapon away,” said Judge, who is a parent.

Alisha Thomas Searcy, running for Georgia’s state school superintendent, said the language in the policy is too vague.

“We’re talking about the lives of children, the lives of educators, that deserves the time and attention and thoroughness to sit down with professionals, law enforcement in particular to make sure the right policy is in place,” Searcy said.

With the new measure, employees carrying a gun would be reporting to public safety and would also have to be trained in judgment, pistol shooting, marksmanship, and have a review of current laws relating to the use of force and self-defense. There will also be psychological screening and a background check conducted.

The superintendent can waive the training requirements if the employee has already received law enforcement or military training. The superintendent also has a say in what types of weapons can be used.

Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said the armed employees would not be identified; he said keeping that part a secret will help prevent would-be attackers.

Church Pastor Sees Crime, Offers Gun and Self Defense Class

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) — The recent crime wave is pushing a local pastor to organize a series of classes to keep churchgoers safe.

Church is typically the place you attend to find peace. But there is a lot of unrest nationally and locally with pockets of criminal activity. So, the leader of one faith facility wants to make sure that his congregation and the community are ready.

“This is my family and I will do everything to protect them,” said Macedonia Church of Augusta Pastor Gregory Fuller.

He may teach people about how to guard their faith each week. But he will soon offer three classes focusing on how to escape the trials of life, an unlikely encounter with crime.

“Hearing about the lady who was attacked at the Augusta Mall. The elderly lady attacked, robbed and then hit. That really let me know that we need to do something to protect our women, in particular,” he explained.

Pastor Fuller said some of his members were harassed and threatened in town. And with the increase in other crimes, Macedonia is rolling out Gun Safety, Women’s Self Defense and Fire and Fellowship gun range style classes, teaching people how to use a weapon, store it and thwart off an attacker without one.

“Most of my calls are from the local gun club that I teach at,” said Amontre Adams, Black Marshal Precision, LLC. Firearms Instructor. “They help me promote my classes. But now, I’m seeing a bigger increase of people outside of the gun club contacting me.”

While there is a big interest in firearms, Adams told us people need to seek out classes to know exactly what they are doing. But despite preparation, when the time comes, it could all backfire.

“When it hits the fan, you will devolve back to your lowest level of training,” Adams said.

The three free events:

Gun Safety – Macedonia Church of Augusta – July 23rd – 10:00 am
Women’s Self Defense Class (FLAG “Fight Life A Girl”) – Macedonia Church of Augusta – July 30th – 9:00 am- 12:00 pm
Fire and Fellowship to practice shooting firearms – Name and directions provided upon registration – August 6th – 9:00 am – 11:00 am

Largo Homeowner Shoots Intruder That Police Say Invaded Two Homes Wednesday

LARGO, Fla. – A homeowner shot a man in Largo after two home invasions early Wednesday morning, according to police.

On Wednesday morning at around 6:21 a.m. Largo Police patrol responded to a call for service involving a man that had been shot. The injured man has been identified as Jeffrey Smith, 29.

Officers say the initial investigation showed Smith entered the residence of the man by forcing his way in through the front door as it was opened up by the victim.

Smith then entered the residence acting in an erratic and paranoid state and scaring the man as he ran outside to get help.

As the man attempted to gain the attention of neighboring residents, Smith followed behind and kicked the door of another house attempting to gain entry, but did not.

The man was able to make contact with a nearby neighbor, as Smith continued to follow him.

While the victim was at the residence of the neighbor seeking help, Smith approached the residence acting in a suspicious manner before he ultimately ran up to the front door and illegally entered after both victims retreated inside.

“Smith was shot during this incident and is presently receiving medical treatment where he is currently listed in critical but stable condition. Alcohol and or narcotics appear to be a factor in this case,” said Largo Police.

Smith is being charged with two (2) counts of burglary to an occupied dwelling.

Self-defense motivated fatal gunfire targeting two brothers, shooter tells police

An Anchorage man involved in a fatal shooting in a Russian Jack neighborhood Monday night told investigators he feared for his life before firing at two brothers, court documents show.

Killed was Joshua Austin, 19, Anchorage police said Wednesday. Austin was shot twice in the chest at Third Avenue and Klevin Street on Monday night and died at an Anchorage hospital.

His brother, 20-year-old Justin Austin, was arrested on charges including evidence tampering and third-degree assault.

The man who shot the younger Austin was identified in charging documents as Eric Hicks-Lundy. As of Wednesday, he had not been charged with any crime.

Hicks-Lundy and Justin Austin told investigators different versions of what happened, but police found Hicks-Lundy’s story was supported by surveillance video and evidence, the document indicates.

Hicks-Lundy said he was at a wake barbecue gathering in the neighborhood when he spotted Justin Austin holding a pistol and acting “like he was looking for trouble,” according to a statement of facts filed with the initial complaint by Anchorage police detective Troy Clarkin. He called 911 and reported what he saw, but police didn’t find the man when they arrived.

Hicks-Lundy said the other man followed him to the gathering and they exchanged words in front of the apartment building before the other man left, according to the document. But then the man and another man — the Austin brothers — “returned to his location and began shooting at him,” Clarkin wrote.

Hicks-Lundy said he tried to run away and fired back at the two men as they shot at him, the complaint states. He fired two shots as he ran down an alley and two or three more in front of a house before circling back to the wake location.

Shells and surveillance video were consistent with Hicks-Lundy’s interview, the detective said.

He told investigators “he was in fear for his life when (he) saw the male with the gun,” Clarkin wrote. “He was in fear that he and his family would get killed or injured when the male started shooting at him.”

A witness saw Justin Austin burying a gun in the sand at a park near the shooting scene, the complaint said. Police found two guns there.

Austin told investigators he was riding his bicycle in the area when he saw Hicks-Lundy starting at him, the document said. He turned around and confronted the other man, he said, at which time Hicks-Lundy pulled out a gun and fired two rounds in the air.

Austin said he went to his nearby home and got his gun so he could “safely” get a photo of the other man’s vehicle, the complaint said. Then he and his brother went to take the photo and Hicks-Lundy started shooting at them.

Austin told investigators he returned fire but his brother didn’t, the document said.

As of Wednesday, Austin remained jailed at the Anchorage Correctional Complex.

Zaz Hollander

You Y-O-U are your own ‘first responder’.
You Y-O-U are the only one that you can depend on to defend yourself.
No Policeman, or any other Law Enforcement officer, in fact any of the school staff -by Supreme Court decisions Deshaney v. Winnebago County and Castle Rock v. Gonzales – have any responsibility, or are required, to do ANYTHING to defend, protect, or save you or your children who still happen to attend public schools.

No Law Enforcement doctrinal change makes one bit of difference. If some officers happen to do the ‘right thing’ and immediately advance on an active shooter and take him out, all to the good. But there’s nothing, besides an officer’s internal morality and sense of personal duty, that can make them do anything other than make sure they’ve used some hand sanitizer.