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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.

The UK is a very unfriendly place for the gun culture, yet compare this headline from the dailymail.co.uk with the old media in the U.S.: Hero doctor stops hospital shooting rampage: Psychiatrist uses his own gun to shoot patient who killed caseworker in front of him Here is the Washington Post:Authorities search for motive in gunfight between psychiatric patient and doctor Consider that the doctor had just witnessed a murder of a coworker in front of him, and was wounded in the head and hand while defending himself and others. It says a great deal when a British paper...

Long Beach resident Tom Greer, 80, told KNBC-TV that the burglar had said she was pregnant and asked Greer not to fire, but he shot her twice in the back anyway. An autopsy later found that Andrea Miller, 28, was not pregnant, said coroner's spokesman Ed Winter. Autopsy reveals Andrea Miller was not carrying a baby when she was killed Miller was allegedly working with robbery suspect Gus Adams, now arrested for 'taking part in crime that led to Andrea Miller's death' Homeowner Tom Greer claimed he discovered them attempting to rob them and shot Miller in self-defense Greer claimed...

Long Beach homeowner Tom Greer, 80, told a TV station he began firing after his collarbone was broken during an assault by the woman and a man that Greer discovered in his home. ... Greer said he fired at the burglars inside and outside his home, even though the female burglar told him not to shoot because she was pregnant. ... An autopsy has confirmed Miller wasn’t pregnant, Los Angeles County coroner’s spokesman Ed Winter said Friday. ... Under California law, homeowners have a right to protect themselves with deadly force inside their homes and in the immediate vicinity —...

RIVERSIDE (CBSLA.com) — A Southland United Parcel Service (UPS) driver was arrested Friday for allegedly stealing dozens of guns going through an Ontario shipping hub and providing them to an associate who sold the weapons in underground transactions, authorities said. Curtis Hays, 36, of Rancho Cucamonga, faces federal gun trafficking charges after he was arrested without incident by special agents with the ATF, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson Thom Mrozek. The associate who allegedly sold some of the firearms was identified as Dennis Dell White Jr., 35, of Moreno Valley, Mrozek said. White is expected to be summoned to...

The Pennsylvania patient accused of killing his caseworker in a psychiatric center shooting carried dozens of bullets — and he would have likely continued shooting if a doctor didn’t fire back, officials said. Richard Plotts, 49, is expected to be charged with murder for allegedly opening fire at Sister Marie Lenahan Wellness Center in Darby Thursday. After he killed his caseworker, 53-year-old Theresa Hunt, and shot his psychiatrist, Lee Silverman, the wounded doctor fired back, stopping the attack, District Attorney Jack Whelan said in a Friday press conference. Plotts had 39 more bullets on him. He intended a mass shooting,...

Massachusetts: This Wednesday, Boston Police Commissioner Bill Evans went on Boston Public Radio to discuss how he wanted the anti-gun discretionary provision restored in Senate Bill 2265 so that he could strip law-abiding gun owners of their rights to possess rifles and shotguns in Boston. Completely out of touch with reality, Evans stated: “For the most part, nobody in the city needs a shotgun, nobody needs a rifle, and I don’t know a lot of people who are into hunting who, being lifelong residents, would actually want that who lives in the city, but, especially here in the city I...

DENVER (AP) — A law expanding background check requirements on Colorado gun sales has been in effect for about a year, and an Associated Press analysis of state data compiled during that span shows the projected impact was vastly overstated in a key budget report.

The City of Philadelphia recently settled a class action lawsuit concerning people who had applied for a license to carry firearms (LTCF).   The City did not admit to any wrongdoing, but they agreed to pay 1.4 million dollars in settlement fees, and to change procedures.   The lawsuit stemmed from the city posting personal information contained in applications on line and available to the public. While the City did not admit to any wrong doing, what they agreed to do in the future is quite revealing.   The actual settlement agreement is available online here, in a PDF file. First, the...

What are the current "hot" gun discussion boards? I've been distracted by politics for a few years, and some of my favored places (SilencerTalk.com, NFATalk.com) have faded as the natural lifecycle of such places tends to. Surely others have popped up. Where to go?

“We have this irony. The Obama administration, which is asking for more in the way of gun regulations — in terms of increased background checks for private sales and at gun shows — is actually prosecuting less of the gun laws already on the books. For a lot of people, there’s more ideological cache harassing Bubba at the gun show than getting a handle on gun crime.” That’s George Washington University’s Robert Cottrol commenting at washingtontimes.com on the fun fact that the Obama administration’s federal law enforcement operation is on pace this year to prosecute the fewest number of gun...

Plotts had shot and killed a 53 year-old female case worker. He sustained several critical gun shot wounds himself from the gun of a hospital psychiatrist. The psychiatrist suffered a graze wound to his head. Plotts was taken into custody.

Armed Doctor Who Opened Fire on Active Shooter in Hospital Shooting Could Lose His Job July 25 2014 by Dan Cannon Share This Post As we reported yesterday, it would seem that an armed doctor in Pennsylvania prevented a possible mass shooting at the hospital he was working at. The doctor managed to land several chest hits on the suspect after he had shot another person and wounded the doctor. However, despite his heroic, likely life saving acts, the doctor (identified as Lee Silverman), may end up unemployed as gratitude. According to the Employee Code of Conduct for Mercy Health...

 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...

DARBY, Pa. (TheBlaze/AP) — A psychiatrist who was grazed by gunfire from a patient at a suburban Philadelphia hospital Thursday helped stop the gunman by apparently using his own weapon to shoot and wound him, but not before a caseworker was killed, authorities said. A patient opened fire after entering the doctor’s office at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital with the caseworker, District Attorney Jack Whelan said. Witnesses reported hearing yelling before the gunshots. A spokeswoman for Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital said the facility has a policy prohibiting anyone except on-duty law enforcement officers from carrying a weapon anywhere on its campus. It...

DARBY, Pa. – A doctor who was grazed by gunfire from a patient in his office at a suburban hospital on Thursday helped stop him by apparently returning fire with his own weapon and severely injuring him, but not before a caseworker was killed, authorities said. The patient opened fire after entering the office with the caseworker, District Attorney Jack Whelan said. Witnesses reported hearing yelling before the gunshots. Several hours after the shooting, investigators had only limited information on what happened inside the closed office but believe the doctor, a psychiatrist, "from all accounts, would have acted in self-defense,"...

A gunman opened fire inside Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Delaware County on Thursday afternoon, killing a female caseworker and grazing a psychiatrist in the head, police said. Officials believe the doctor then drew his own weapon and shot the assailant, hitting him three times and critically injuring him, said Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan. The psychiatrist , 52, is expected to recover. Donald Molineux, chief of the nearby Yeadon Police Department, said the doctor "without a doubt saved lives" by firing back.

In October of 2013, a Pennsylvania resident named Shaneen Allen drove into New Jersey’s Atlantic County and was pulled over by police for an “unsafe lane change.” When the detaining officer arrived at her car window, Allen informed him that she was carrying a concealed firearm, and presented her Pennsylvania carry license as proof of eligibility. Unbeknownst to her at the time, however, was that New Jersey is among the 20 states that do not recognize Pennsylvania’s permit. In consequence, she was arrested. If convicted of the charges that the state has elected to bring, she will be locked in...

Police say a resident of a New London home, armed with a handgun, stopped an early-morning attack on his roommate. A 15-year-old, whose name has not been released, was charged with breaking into the home on Crystal Avenue just before 3 a.m. on Wednesday. Police say the teen, who was armed with a knife and gun, assaulted a resident in a first-floor bedroom. They say that attack awakened the upstairs roommate, who came downstairs armed with a handgun and confronted the teen. Police say the attacker complied with an order to remain still until officers arrived. He faces charges including...

Animal attacks may not be recorded as defensive gun uses in most surveys, and they are never recorded as justifiable homicides.   But defensive uses of guns against animals occur frequently.   I was surprised to learn of the number of mountain lions that have been shot in defensive situations in Nebraska.   Here is the latest incident. A man in near Chadron, Nebraska shot a mountain lion that was menacing young children near his residence.  He grabbed a rifle and approached the animal, which refused to flee.   From a Nebraska Game and Parks press release: A man reported noticing the animal...