The Wikipedia story is a poor summary, and doesn't include what I recall about the event.
Here's more detail:
"In 1988, Rowan shot and wounded in the wrist an intruder who had trespassed on his property in Washington and used his swimming pool. Rowan said he had fired because the youth was trying to break into his house and refused to stop when ordered to do so. He also said the pistol he used was exempt from the District's strict gun-control laws because it belonged to his older son, a former FBI agent. District officials disagreed and charged the columnist with violating those laws. A highly publicized trial ended with a hung jury." Source: "Columnist Carl Rowan Dies at 75", The Washington Post, 24 September 2000
Initial press reports (IIRC) were that the kid had actually broken the patio door window and was inside the house when Rowan came downstairs. Later I think the story came out that the kid was trying to break into the house and he kept telling him to get away or he would shoot.
Of course, given all the politics of the situation, he knew they wouldn't be able to convict him. I was surprised it even went to trial. But this didn't change any of his stance on gun control; he was a good liberal and didn't let the facts get in the way of his opinion.
And not the AR-15 semi-auto versions, either, but the selective-fire fully-automatic M-16 assault rifle.