Armed Citizen

A long-running feud between two Nevada families came to a head when a participant in the feud entered a bar and grill and began shooting into a crowd of 300 patrons. Police say the gunman killed two brothers and wounded two other people. When he stopped to reload, a patron with a concealed carry permit saw a chance to intervene. The patron drew his pistol and fired, killing the gunman and preventing further bloodshed. (Reno Gazette-Journal, Reno, NV, 05/26/08)

When the burglar alarm woke Jon Sokol’s wife, she figured her husband had yet again tripped it while fetching the newspaper. But Sokol was sleeping at her side. “I think there’s somebody in the house,” Sokol remembers his wife whispering. Despite his reluctance to believe his house had been invaded, Sokol walked to the stairs to investigate. Then he saw someone move. Quickly he went for his gun. “As I stepped around the corner, he hit me ... right between the eyes. And I fired the gun. Down on the ground he went, and I insisted, in a not very nice way, that he not move. I held him at gunpoint until the police arrived.” Police say the intruder, who was armed with a knife, has a lengthy criminal record. (Star Tribune,
Minneapolis, MN, 05/02/08)

According to White County, Tenn., Sheriff Oddie Shoupe, a man was leaving a home he’d just burglarized when he encountered the homeowner, Keith Gurtley, on the front porch. The sheriff explained, “This burglar coming out of the house asked Mr. Gurtley, ‘Can I help you?’ and Mr. Gurtley said, ‘Yes, you’re in my house, bud.’” That’s when the intruder reached for the stolen pistol in his waistband. “Don’t do it,” Gurtley said, drawing his 9mm. When the suspect failed to comply, Gurtley, who holds a concealed-carry permit, shot and killed him. “I’m afraid that if Mr. Gurtley had not been armed, he would be the one dead,” the sheriff said, adding he’s seen an increase in residents with carry permits. “They’re tired of having to be afraid of all the criminals out there.” (Herald-Citizen, Cookeville, TN, 05/16/08)

Eugene Johnson was away when burglars first struck his home, trashing it and stealing money. But he was home less than two weeks later, when his wife heard someone kick in the back door. Johnson, who spent nearly three years in a North Korean P.O.W. camp, quickly got his pistol and intervened. The burglar said, “Don’t move, I have a gun,” Johnson recalls. “I said, ‘Buddy, I’ve got a gun, too, and it’s [aimed] right on you. Things got quiet then.”
Police say the suspect had fled. “The home owner acted appropriately,” said District Attorney David Freed. “
Criminals who break into occupied homes assume the risk of being shot by the home owners.” (The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, PA, 05/31/08)

Jim Hale was chatting with his friend, Tammy Arnold, in a park when he noticed some men eyeing Arnold’s motorcycle. Hale greeted the men, then, unbeknownst even to Arnold, opened his vehicle and holstered his handgun just in case. The hunch was well founded. Police say one of the men ran out of a nearby wooded area, stabbed Hale in the upper back and tried to throw Arnold off the motorcycle. Hale’s adrenaline pumped so hard he didn’t realize
he’d been stabbed. He struggled with the larger assailant, then pulled his handgun as they wrestled on the ground. “Within just a matter of seconds, truly, I had him on the ground with a gun to his throat and just held him until police arrived,” said Hale. (The Dahlonega Nugget, Dahlonega, GA, 05/21/08)