Free Republic

A Florida father had to use deadly force to defend himself and his 11 year old son from an early morning home invader this week. Just before 6:00am, Chris Bane heard glass breaking inside of his Sarasota home. He armed himself and went to investigate. According to My Fox Tampa Bay, “The burglar fired a shot and the homeowner returned fire, striking and killing the intruder,” said Wendy Rose, a spokesperson for the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. “Apparently the homeowner has been the victim of burglary recently so he was on alert, he was on edge, and as soon as...

After being shot, one robber dropped the stolen money. An armed citizen in Arizona has stopped a bank robbery in a dramatic and effective fashion.   It appears that he determined what was happening, took action, and fired on the armed robbers when they resisted.   One robber was killed, the other is in custody.   It reminds one a bit of the famous Arkansas bank robbery that was thwarted by armed citizens in 1922.  From abc15.com: "He took the keys out of the car because they left the car running. And so he took the keys out of the car and...

Gas Station Clerk Kills Two during Robbery Attempt (Canton, OH) *I found this through a video on Youtube, via Colin Flahety. I want to read his book. From the news article: CANTON -- Police in Canton are investigating an armed robbery Monday night that ended with two people dead. It happened at the Marathon gas station at 2201 Ninth St. S.W. A store employee told police that three masked robbers came into the station and shot him. The employee told police he returned fire and hit the suspects, who then fled on foot. Police found one person with gunshot wounds...

In close range gunfights with handguns, it is not uncommon for both participants to fire several shots without anyone being hit.   In this article From wcpo.com, it is written that no injuries were reported: Police say the suspect pulled out a gun and demanded the victim's wallet.Once the wallet was turned over, the victim pulled out his own gun and both men pointed the firearms at each other. Officials say the victim fired about six shots after the suspect refused to put his gun down. (snip) No injuries were reported and no arrests made. In the video for the...

Yesterday Panera Bread became another restaurant establishment asking customers to leave their guns at home, joining eateries like Chilis, Starbucks and stores like Target after pressure from anti-gun groups. Like other restaurant chains, Panera's official policy hasn't changed to an outright ban, but they've made clear customers carrying firearms for self-defense aren't welcome. This "please leave your guns at home" policy is catching on, but as more restaurants join Panera and others like it, it's important to remind them of the horrifying Luby's Cafeteria massacre. In 1991 Texas residents were banned by law from bringing firearms into restaurants. That same...

WICHITA Police are still looking for the men who threatened a youth football league coach with a gun and then began beating him before the coach’s wife pulled out a gun and fired it in the air to scare the attackers away. The incident occurred at about 7:45 p.m. Monday at Linwood Park in south Wichita, Lt. James Espinoza said. A man watching the practice at the park at 1901 S. Kansas confronted the coach about his son’s lack of playing time, lifting his shirt to display a handgun tucked into the waist of his pants. Moments later, five or...

The Border Patrol has had strict policies about the firing of weapons for decades.    In the most famous recent case, Border patrol agent Brian Terry was killed in a firefight in which the Patrolman used less lethal "bean bag" rounds.    Border Patrol agents I have talked to have always said that the mere presence of a weapon is not enough to justify shooting at someone.   This makes sense, because most people in the United States can legally possess weapons, and because the law is clear on what is required to justify the use of deadly force.   The mere...

Woman Uses Her Gun To Ward Off Abduction An Ohio woman who is licensed to carry a gun but had only recently started carrying one for protection put it to good use earlier this week. Dinah Burns was out walking her dog, Gracie, on a path near an elementary school in Lancaster on Monday when two men approached her with a baseball bat and threatened to abduct her.

Dinah Burns is licensed to carry a concealed gun, but she'd only recently started taking her weapon while walking her dog. It was Monday when Burns was on a footpath near Sanderson Elementary School. "Two gentlemen came out of the woods, one holding a baseball bat, and said 'You're coming with us'." The men weren't deterred by Dinah's dog Gracie. "I said, 'Well, what do you want?,' and as I was saying that I reached in to my pocket and slipped my gun out, slipped the safety off as I pulled it out. As I was doing that the other...

An armed woman in Denver chased two intruders from her home, only to have them drive off in her SUV.  From kdvr.com: About 2:30 a.m., two burglars broke into a woman’s home, then stole her blue Toyota Highlander, last seen going east on Exposition Avenue. She got in a gunfight with the intruders as they took the vehicle.  From cbslocal.com: The woman apparently got scared and fired at them while they were still outside. “Obviously she felt threatened so she took some measures,” said Sonny Jackson, Denver police spokesman. The suspects fired back, and one of the bullets ended...

A man trying to rob a South Valley ice-cream shop was shot and killed by an employee Thursday evening, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy had just stopped a driver nearby when he heard the shots around 6 p.m. He rushed to the Dairy Queen at 427 Isleta SW, south of Bridge Boulevard, and found a man outside the restaurant with gunshot wounds, according to BCSO spokesman Sgt. Aaron Williamson. “It does appear at this point it was a robbery gone wrong,” Williamson said. Williamson said the man went to the Dairy Queen’s window with a gun...

A decorated WWII veteran, who never fired a shot while overseas, won a battle with a robber half his age on Saturday.   The hand to hand combat lasted until Arthur M. Lewis and the robber were both exhausted.   Lewis had shot the robber six times, four times in the chest, once in the arm and once in the wrist and leg.  Lewis himself was wounded with a graze to his left arm. Lewis' girlfriend says that people think of him as frail, but he is anything but frail. The alleged robber, Lennard Patrick Jervis, has been arrested...

The  intruder broke in the back door, which had a deadbolt lock.  He then chased the wife, and started fighting with the husband, who was still in bed when he heard the wife's cries for help.   The intruder, Marquise Trevel  Yates, had a gun, but initially used it as a bludgeon.  It is unclear exactly how many guns were involved, or who fired how often.  From news4jax.com: According to the police report, Coker retrieved his personal firearm and exchanged gunfire with Yates. Coker's wife, Pam, also fired her personal handgun at Yates, who died at the scene. Later, this...

LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — A burglary suspect was shot and killed by a resident of the home he was trying to break into early Sunday morning, according to Long Beach police. Officers responded to the 2800 block of East Third Street at 2:24 a.m., arriving with paramedics who pronounced the suspect dead, police said. When CBS2’s Greg Mills visited the street on Sunday afternoon, he found a handful of concerned neighbors. “I’m scared, because I live with my son. He’s petrified,” said Dina Milonas, who lives next door to the home where the attempted burglary took place, at Third Street...

A New Haven convenience store owner shot and killed a man suspected of trying to rob his store and another store owned by his brother at gunpoint on the same night, police said. According to police, the owner of Congress Mini Market at 750 Congress Avenue called 911 to report that a man armed with a rifle had tried to rob him Tuesday night. While detectives were interviewing him, the store owner's brother called to say he had just shot a man who tried to rob his store, Nino's Mini Market at 659 Washington Avenue, according to police. Police arrived...

An armed citizen in Bradentown, Florida stopped an attempted carjacking when he fired a round at his own vehicle during the attempt.   Apparently there were two suspects.  One was in another car.  When the victim showed that he was armed by firing a shot, one carjacker took off in another vehicle, abandoning his accomplice, who fled on foot.   From bradenton.com: The victim said he was carjacked at gunpoint while sitting in front of the CVS Pharmacy at 4302 Cortez Road at 4:26 a.m. Wednesday, according to a release. The victim said he obtained a gun and fired at...

A Twin Cities man, already bloodied from one home invasion in far northern Minnesota, repeated the crime down the highway minutes later and attacked a 72-year-old woman before the victim’s son stepped in — saying he “did what had to be done” — and fatally shot the suspect, authorities said Monday. The shooting occurred about 6 a.m. Saturday outside the house along Hwy. 53, roughly 4 miles east of Ray, Minn., according to the Koochiching County Sheriff’s Office. “I’m the son who did what had to be done,” said Brad Himes, 48, who came to the rescue of his mother,...

Psychiatrist Lee Silverman worked in a gun-free hospital, but pulled out a gun in his desk to subdue an armed patient, who had just shot his caseworker. The case renews the issue: Should doctors and teachers be armed? A mental-health caseworker is dead and a doctor and his patient wounded after a bizarre gunfight at a gun-free-zoned hospital in Yeadon, Pa., near Philadelphia, Thursday. As police prepare murder charges against the wounded patient, focus is shifting to the gun-toting psychiatrist who stopped the mayhem, likely saving other lives.

 by Gina Cassini | Top Right NewsIt's not a good year for anti-gun nuts to make their case against concealed-carry handguns.First of course we have the businesses who stupidly banned such guns from their establishments, from Jack In The Box to Target to local restaurants -- and immediately were victimized by armed criminals who knew they would face no resistance. Then we saw the bar owner who openly welcomed customers packing guns, and saw a huge boost in her business. Now comes the incredible story of a concealed carry permit holder in Iowa who helped police nab five men who led officers on...

MOBILE, Alabama -- On Friday afternoon a tense scene played out in front of the Rouses Supermarket on Theodore Dawes Road. Three people drew their guns after a reported theft, a Mobile Police Department spokesman said. Donnie James Moore, 60 had shoplifted steaks from the grocery store before officers arrived at 12:20 p.m., according to MPD. When a loss prevention officer tried to stop him, Moore shoved past him. Moore made it to his car, where he grabbed a gun. He pulled it on the officer, MPD spokesman Officer Terence Perkins said. The loss prevention officer stepped back and pulled...