Good Samaritans slain while interrupting attack, police say

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A couple found a man raping a young woman in their driveway and tried to flee with her but were shot to death by the attacker, police said.

The teenager was also shot and was expected to recover, police said. A suspect was arrested.

The couple came upon the attack when returning to their home in the Fern Rock neighborhood from a night out late Wednesday, police said.

Many years ago my girlfriend and I were much in the same postion. Some dirtbag decided he was going to abduct and rape some girl. We saw the poor girl's clothing literally come flying out of the truck she was in with the lowlife. She was in obvious distress and trying to jump out of the moving truck. I pulled up alongside him and let him know that we knew we had ID'd him. he pulled over and came after me with a screwdriver. Stupid dirtbag NEVER bring a screwdriver to a gunfight! My trusty old Ruger .45 Long Colt convinced him to wait patiently until the police came and took him to his new home- jail. He pled guilty and a we never even had to go to court and of course this was not his first time for this type of thing. This all happened about 1985 and thank God I did not have to shoot him , but I would not have hesitated and lived with no regrets. I bet he is still in jail today- at least I hope so.
Everytime some liberal anti gunner uses the tired old "why do you need to have a gun"? I tell my little story and inform them that if they or anyone they cared about was in a sitiuation similar to that poor girl they would be glad to have an armed civilian to help them.

God Bless you for your courage and unselfish actions. While I am glad to hear you didn't have to shoot the dirtbag, I understand why you would be able to sleep peacefully if you had. Most of the Ill-Liberals who have forced these anti-gun laws down our throats don't worry about being confronted by these dirtbags as they have armed body guards. They will never be able to understand what you are trying to tell them.

I'd love to read that. The "classic" work on the Pine Barrens was written many years ago by John McPhee. I don't know if it's still in print.

When I was a little kid I was entranced by the many stories about motorists (unfamiliar with the Pine Barrens) who would have auto problems on Rt. 70, pull over and wander into the woods looking for assistance they were sure could not be far away. They were never heard from again.

Part of the reason for this is that many were coming from nearby Philadelphia or were from other parts of urban NJ and couldn't possibly conceive that such a wilderness could exist in one of the most densely populated states in the nation.

We were also entertained (and scared!) by tales of the "Pineys".

I agree. I guess I'm still a "flatlander" living in FL. Although I was born in Philly and eventually did graduate work at Penn, I was raised in nearby Collingswood, NJ.

I know well the towns you referred to. Now that I'm a true conservative southerner I refer to all outside "invaders" as carpet baggers. We have one such here in Palm Beach County as our congressman.

He's Bob Wexler who's from NYC and one the WORST of the Democrats. And that takes some effort! Perhaps he thinks I'm a carpet bagger too but from the wrong side! Oh well...
I can always move a couple miles and be out of the 19th CD and be in the 16th where Mark Foley is a great congressman and an ardent defender of the Second Amendment.

you can go to packing.org to see what states are shall issue states. I also go to keepandbeararms.com everyday to read the latest gun rights news.
That Tracker guy , Tom Brown has a school in NJ and has designed a pretty wild survial knife. There was a movie out not too long ago based on some of his exploits . I can't remember the name of the movie right now but it had Tommy Lee Jones in it.
The way i decide who to vote for above all else is what the candidiate's position on the 2nd ammendment is. If they are the type who is anti-gun in the least I do not vote for them.period. It is my first criteria for deciding who to vote for. It is funny in this election that the democrats still have not gotten the message that being anti-2nd loses elections for them . They will just not face the fact that they cannot ignore the US Constitution and blatantly ignore and negate people's civli rights and get elected. What kind of politician in these times of crime, terrorism and invasion from Mexico can reasonably think that disarming the American populace is a winning strategy?

Hi T.L.Sink-

It took you thirteen months to receive a permit? Was this solely for longarms or did you also obtain a handgun permit at the same time? You should have called the Attorney General long before that to report the intentional delay by the local police. Telephone calls to state and federal representatives/senators wouldn't have been out-of-line either. That kind of abuse towards a decent citizen is outrageous.

~ Blue Jays ~

Hi Blue Jays, It's not for hand guns. I'm looking at my "State of NJ Firearms Purchaser IDENTIFICATION CARD" right now and it reads as follows, "Is hereby granted permission to purchase and carry rifles and shotguns pursuant to provisions of NJS 2C:58-3 and 2C:39-5 with amendments and supplements."

The rest gives my complete physical description, social security number, address, etc.

You're probably right about trying to expedite things by making calls to state officials but I was the victim of a certain mind set that we had in NJ. I spoke to other firearms owners and they all said I'd be wasting my time because they'd all gone thru the hoops and were stonewalled by vast bureaucracies. Remember -- we're talking about local, state, and federal agencies. I was also told that if any bureaucrat in the vast, amorphous, impersonal, anonymous, Kafkaesque world thought I was being a pest -- I'd be deliberately ignored and put in limbo.

So I capitulated. But circumstances like that mean that all people who really need a firearm for self-defense or imminent danger are imperiled by the government. Thus, a government which is supposed to promote public safety actually does the opposite!

Talk about the law of unintended consequences!!

Hi T.L.-

Wow, that is quite a story. The really sad part is that local police chiefs appear to have lots of power to "misplace" paperwork in order to cause massive delays. It almost would have been easier to ask a buddy in a friendlier jurisdiction to obtain the valid permit, purchase the firearm, and then subsequently sell it to you in a perfectly legal person-to-person transaction.

~ Blue Jays ~

I agree with all you said but since I now live in FL which has concealed/carry it's not a problem. I have a firearm but not C/C.

You're absolutely right about gun control. One of the first things Hitler and the Bolsheviks did was to disarm the public.

The thing that really burns my hide is that it's been PROVED that when law-abiding citizens possess firearms violent crime of all sorts declines.

Dr. John Lott did the most exhaustive sociological analysis of firearms and public safety that's ever been done -- but some people just won't be confused by facts!!

Actually, it wasn't so much the local police chief as those faceless, nameless, anonymous bureaucrats in state and federal agencies. He was ultimately as much at their mercy as I was -- he couldn't issue a permit untill they were also on board.

I hope you live much longer - being 60-something is young these days. When you mature at 90 you could even be appointed judge in one of our courts! At any rate, your firearm may prolong your life the way things are in these times.

Hi T.L.Sink-

My bet is the local, anti-gun, New Jersey police chief was conveniently placing the blame on the "faceless, nameless, anonymous bureaucrats in state and federal agencies" to get the heat off of him. Why would those identical background checks be processed so quickly for Florida, but be so "slow" in New Jersey, your previous residence?

My guess is that the local rulers/powerbrokers didn't want guns in their fiefdom and simply erected barriers wherever they could get away with it. Many people without your tenacity simply would have given up and thrown in the towel. You did a good thing by holding their feet to the fire.

~ Blue Jays ~

Hi! That's precisely the problem when your dealing with multiple layers of entrenched bureaucracies -- you never know WHO or what is at fault.

I don't know what the feelings of the local chief were. If he was anti-gun he could pass the buck and blame the state or federal bureaucracies. On the other hand, maybe we were both victims of the process.

It's just proves the old adage about vast, anonymous bureaucratic systems: When ALL are accountable, then NONE is.

Even today when computerized verification is readily available, many anti-gun states erect sufficient other barriers to stall or impede the process. And just who is involved at the federal level? The FBI? Alcohol, Tobacco,and Firearms (ATF)? And just what other data do they have on us that may improperly influence their decisions?

It's important for individuals to realize that we're not dealing with transparent, accountable entities.

In NJ I had a fellow gun owner who knew someone in the state legislature (he was in the Assembly) and even he was astonished at the bureaucratic quagmire and had great difficulty getting answers!

In another post I described this procedure as Kafka-esque. I still think that's the best description.

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