base image: ruger.com
Studies indicate that firearms are used more than 2-million times a year for personal protection. The following are firsthand experiences of armed citizens who displayed or used their firearm for personal protection…
Hazel Poole, 85, was at home playing with her puppy around 8:30 p.m. when there was a knock at the front door. Little did she know that she would open the door to two masked men wielding knives. Poole wasted no time and dashed to her bedroom where she kept her .38-cal. handgun. With confidence she pointed the gun at the men and ordered them to leave her home or she would shoot. Both men fled without hesitation.
-The Star Press, Muncie, IN.
A man in his early 40s entered a nail salon at about 5:30 p.m. and began asking a female employee about purchasing diamonds. When the confused woman told the man she had no money to buy diamonds, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pistol. When a customer getting her nails done saw what was happening, she reached into her purse and pulled out her own firearm. Upon seeing the woman’s gun, the man quickly fled the salon.
-Casper Star-Tribune, Casper, WY.
Two men targeted the home of Jerry Stremovihtg, 62, and Kenneth Conley, 53, one evening. Conley was having a meal on the front porch when the two men approached him. They beat him and repeatedly used a taser to subdue him. After gaining entry to the home, the suspects entered Stremovihtg’s bedroom. Stremovihtg met the intruders with a .38-cal revolver. He fired several rounds causing them to flee the home. One suspect, a 35-year-old male, died in the front yard from a gunshot wound.
-The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Holly Hill, FL
Gary Cherry was driving at approximately 8:30 a.m. when he noticed two vehicles on the side of the road. Cherry pulled over to help when he saw there was a man holding a woman to the ground face down and stabbing her repeatedly. Cherry, a concealed carry license holder, quickly retrieved his firearm and ordered the man to get on the ground as he dialed 9-1-1. Crystal Ward was traveling the same routed when she spotted Cherry holding the perpetrator at gunpoint at the side of the entrance ramp. Ward stopped to assist and discovered a crying baby boy in one of the vehicles. The suspect was later taken into custody and the victim was flown to a nearby hospital with multiple stab wounds.
-Montgomery County Police Reporter, Plum Grove, TX
Two teenage boys were spotted by a neighbor as they loaded items from the cabin next door into a vehicle parked outside. The youths wore what appeared to be blood-spattered clothing. The neighbor retrieved a firearm and confronted the interlopers. They were held at gunpoint until police arrived. The teens had run away from a juvenile rehabilitation camp just two days before. They had broken into the cabin and brutally murdered the elderly couple staying there before the armed citizen was able to stop them.
-The Kansas City Star, Springfield, MO
A man in his early 30s entered Armen’s House of Music one afternoon, looked around and left. He returned just a few minutes later with a wooden club and began attacking the owner’s wife, Sylvia Armen, who was working in the store at the time. The owner, Alfred Armen, heard the commotion and ran to his wife’s aid. He tried to defend his wife and fought with the suspect before shooting him to death.
-WTAE.com, Bethel Park, PA
After confronting a man lurking in his front yard the previous morning, Clint Lowery called police a second time when the same man tried to gain entry by forcing open the door to his home. With his 2-year-old daughter sleeping inside, Lowery did what he had to do to ensure his family’s safety. Lowery met the intruder on the front porch with a 12-ga. shotgun and held him there until police arrived.
-Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA
A pregnant Texas woman was home alone when she heard someone banging loudly on her front door. She didn’t answer the door. While the first suspect was banging on the front door a second was breaking in through the back door. The woman grabbed her husband’s .40 S&W handgun and called 911. When the intruders saw she was armed they fled to their car.
-Gunssavelives.net, Palmview, TX
Richard Duffy, 48, and his son were watching TV when an intruder broke down their front door. After a brief altercation the intruder was fatally shot, according to a spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. Another man waited in a car, but fled after he heard the gunshots.
-TheBlaze.com, Rome, ME
At approximately 11 p.m., a resident responded to the sound of an intruder entering his home. A 21-year-old man had used a shovel to break through a back window and enter the residence. The resident retrieved a firearm and shot down a hallway toward the intruder. The intruder, who already had a long list of previous offenses, was struck and later pronounced dead. The homeowner was reportedly not injured during the home invasion.
-The Post & Courier, Orangeburg, S.C.
A 56-year-old man heard the doorbell ringing at his home just before 1 p.m. When the homeowner failed to recognize the man outside his door, he ignored it. A few moments later, the suspect threw an object through a glass front door and entered the home. The homeowner responded to the sound and the two men struggled. The homeowner pulled out his handgun and fired twice, striking the intruder in the shoulder. A delivery truck driver saw the scuffle from outside, heard the shots and made the initial 9-1-1 call. The intruder was arrested after receiving medical treatment.
-The Issaquah Press, Issaquah, WA
Four teens on a crime spree forced their way into the home of 72-year-old Morris Reaves. Two of the teens wore ski masks and one wielded a rifle. Reaves heard the break-in take place and met the youths with his own firearm. Reaves fired two shots at the intruders causing them to flee to a nearby car and drive away. The four suspects were later identified from images taken by Reaves’ security camera. They were each arrested and charged with one felony count of kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit burglary, breaking and entering a motor vehicle, larceny after breaking and entering, and misdemeanor assault by pointing a gun.
The Charlotte Observer, Lenoir, NC
In the main-stream media, when we hear about firearms, they are always in a bad context. The media seemingly salivates over reporting horrible tragedies when there is a gun involved because it helps them to demonize the gun rather than the psychopath that fired the gun. I hope that the personal accounts listed above will shed some light on the beneficial uses of a firearm.
Consider this… Some of you may be living in a bubble whereby you may feel that you do not need to protect yourself with a firearm — because you have never had an experience with a dangerous threat and you do not expect one. You will simply dial 9-1-1 if you ever need to. Here’s the thing…
When you are jerked awake at 2 a.m. by glass shattering of the window breaking (or door being kicked in) while a burglar enters your home… will the police get to your bedside before the burglar might?
0 (today) 4 (week) 8 (month)
I certainly pray that I am never forced in to confrontation with a thug or scumbag, but I am prepared to do so. No one ever knows how theyu will react in a situation like that, but I’m fairly certain I will not hesitate to do what needs doing. My daughter and I belong to the best outdoor range in our state, and I believe the only one with a 600 yard range in the entire southeast. We go all the time because we both enjoy target shooting, trap and skeet. First and foremost, I would highly encourage and recommend that anyone owning a handgun, rifle or shotgun seek out a local range and practice with your weapon. If you are unaccustomed to firing it, and/or clearing jams, reloading it or even lack familiarity with the sound it makes, it could be fatal for you.
If you go regularly, you can make a sort of a game out of it, perhaps like a contest. You and a friend can set up targets and compete for best shot in a variety of situations so you can become proficient with your firearm. Practice makes perfect. If you are unfamiliar with your weapon and have to actually pull it out and fire it, you could make a mistake that gives your assailant an edge which could cost you your life.
Nothing hotter than a cute girl with a gun.
This reminds me of the regular column in the NRA magazine about such incidents.
I used to be a Deputy Sheriff in Jones County,Mississippi,now retired,I carry concealed and always will.If I didn’t think I could use a firearm to protect my family,myself or others,I would not carry said firearm.If need be I would despatch a bad person in a heartbeat,better that good people live than bad people who would take advantage of good people in any way that they think they could.Myself I carry two snub nosed revolvers,one a Charter Arms 9mm Pitbull,the other a Charter Arms DAO Undercover .38 Special,with loaded speed strips with each caliber in my pocket.I do not feel undergunned at all,as these two firearms calibers have a pretty good reputation as a stopper.Be prepared and ready.Keep your powder dry.
“When you are jerked awake at 2 a.m. by glass shattering of the window breaking (or door being kicked in) while a burglar enters your home… will the police get to your bedside before the burglar might?”
–Or will it be the Police at the WRONG house? as seems to be happening more and more frequently lately.
Indeed… that is a scenario that could potentially be horrible for both or either parties. Even worse, can you imagine if a home invasion involved the perpetrator calling out something like “Police! We are the police!”, in an attempt to cause confusion by the victims and/or delayed action by a victim’s potential defense? Potentially tragic for the victim…
I think it’s also important for every gun owner to realize the effects of your actions too. Be aware of your local laws (stand your ground, castle doctrine, etc) and think about your actions. Be smart about bringing a firearm into any situation because unfortunately, should you have to fire it to protect your family, you will be faced with your day in court and potentially HUGE legal fees just to prove something that should be clearly self defense.
We’ve all heard the phrase “better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6” but I personally know people who have acted in self defense only to have the victim’s family drag out lawsuit after lawsuit for over 5 years now forcing him to pay legal fees and relinquish his firearms while it’s still be resolved. He has had to tap into his son’s college fund to help cover his expenses.
Only if it’s life or death folks. The macho “get off my lawn” attitude will ruin your life.
Cheers.
I agree entirely with your comment. There are significant differences from state to state and it is imperative to know your gun laws. Consider the scenarios that you hope you’ll never be in, and find out ahead of time what would happen to you in your state. Learn the right things to say (and not to say) after an event, etc. This is no small matter. If you carry, or own a gun, you are responsible to know the laws and know what to do…
I know the laws in my area but when it’s life and death of me or my family, i shoot first ask questions later, even if it means using the back hoe to bury a thug redneck who don’t play fair. I’m glad that you advise people to learn the gun laws and the use of lethal force laws. You are a responsible gun owner my friend.
You are quick to throw words around!! Now just because they’re thugs don’t mean they’re Red Necks. I am a Georgia Red Neck and damn proud of it. I am Also a Law Enforcement Officer. Now I very much would like to meet you face to face and we can discuss our pending agreement on what constitutes a Red Neck, or a thug. It is Big Mouthed S*&t talking idiots like you that create all the ethnic tension we deal day after day. Saying that I hope you don’t call the Officer saving your sorry ass a Red Neck thug. You might trip and fall straight up.
I agree better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6 even if it means covering up my dead. the swamp is a big place.
I agrre that the macho get off my lawn will get you killed but stand and shoot will make em think twice
I had a few thugs kick in my door. i had all my lights off. i met them at my second door with a loaded shotgun. they saw the barrel in their face and ran away scared. I don’t play fair. The second amendment is our right and privilege. Don’t let the government try to take it away from us. Remember a gun is not a toy, but a tool for hunting and protection. don’t abuse it or the government will use that to try to take our rights away.
Great article. We use what I call a two stage system. Big dog in the house, which I tell the wife and kids is just a 15 second delay for the bad guy. Plenty enough time to allow one of them to make it to boomstick.
This just happened a couple days ago in my area. A man called 911 and reported that he had a prowler on his property. When the police arrived the owner of the property had already shot and killed the intruder. The man that was prowling was a mental health patient and was reported missing for over a week. The prowler had dementia and was on his old street evidently looking for his home. We have a right to protect out property with extreme measures if we chose to do so in my town. This really touched a nerve on me as I would be beside myself if this happened to me. Not so much the actual shooting but knowing that this person was not in the right state of mind and was not trying to steal anything but trying to get back home. This is the problem with “protecting” your property. Just because someone is in your yard does not give warrant to shoot to kill, although some would argue that fact. I think this happened to let people know that a lawnmower, car radio, tools or any other possession you have is worth protecting but at what cost to you and your family. I’m sure the guy that shot the intruder is upset knowing he killed a man only because he was on his property and was looking for his home.