I’ve ran across a lot of self defense stories involving people using firearms today and instead of starting a new thread for each one I’ll compile them all here.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20100430/NEWS97/100439997/1071
After a man was shot and critically injured in front of a west Omaha house early Friday, his father fired back at the assailant.
Bullets flew, blasting through the walls of a house across the street and narrowly missing a woman’s head.
Bryan J. Hall, 30, was shot at least twice in his abdomen while talking with a man on the porch of the house where Hall lives with his father and grandmother.
Hall was rushed to Creighton University Medical Center with critical injuries, though it appeared he would survive, Omaha Police Sgt. Pam Volk said. He had at least two wounds to his abdomen.
The shooting was reported at 12:06 a.m. at 1605 S. 168th Ave., in the Rose Garden Estates subdivision.
After Hall was shot, his father, Richard Hall, then fired off some .22 caliber rounds from a rifle at the assailant as he ran off, Volk said, but there were “no indications that he hit the suspect.”
A number of rounds hit a house across the street. One missed Jennifer Hiner’s head by just over a foot.
The Hiners had relatives in from out of town and were playing cards when shots started slamming through their home.
Jennifer Hiner was upstairs, bent over by the master bedroom closet getting a blow-up bed ready for some of the children in the home.
“We were playing cards and all of sudden everyone is on the floor and bullets are flying through the house,” said Fred Hiner.
Hiner ran outside and saw a dirty white or tan Honda parked up the street tear off. The car, possibly a Civic, had a loud muffler and roared off north on 168th Avenue.
Volk said there appeared to be at least one other person in the car.
According to Lt. Darci Tierney, a police spokeswoman, Hall was talking with a man on the front step who reportedly said he was having car trouble and needed help. Eventually, Hall told the man that he needed to get to bed. That’s when the man shot Hall.
Hall’s father, Richard Hall, had retrieved his .22 rifle earlier because he was suspicious of what the man truly wanted. When Richard saw the suspect pull a gun, he fired the rifle at the suspect. It is unknown if the suspect was hit.
Police did not know motive early Friday morning and there had been no arrests. Tierney said the investigation is continuing and police are trying to determine the connection between the shooter and victim.
Richard Hall was not arrested or cited in connection with the shots he fired. The Douglas County Attorney will determine whether charges are warranted.
Fred Hiner, 38, said the bullet holes in his house are a reminder that violence happens all over the city.
“I don’t even own a gun but now I’m thinking about buying one and getting registered and learning how to use one properly to protect my family,” Hiner said.
Hiner said he isn’t angry with Richard Hall for the bullets that hit the Hiner home. “I can only imagine someone shooting at my son. The anxiety we felt and we didn’t see our son shot. We have complete compassion and are praying for the family,” Hiner said.
La Vista police pulled over a Honda matching the description of the vehicle in the shooting about 12:40 a.m. near 81st Street and Park View Boulevard about 12:40 a.m. The driver ran and no arrests were made but a .12 gauge shotgun was found in the back seat.
http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_3104423a-5635-11df-9ed6-001cc4c002e0.html
A man shot at a person breaking into his home in the 500 block of East Highway 1416 near Box Elder on Saturday night, according to Lt. Marty Graves of the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office and Box Elder police responded to the homeowner’s call reporting the incident about 10:30 p.m. He told police he fired two shots at someone forcibly entering his home, Graves said. The homeowner also told police he was not trying to hit the intruder but force the person out of his home, Graves said.
No items were stolen from the home; but law enforcement received a call of a nearby burglary in the 400 block of Line Road in Box Elder, which happened before the 10:30 break-in, Graves said. Law enforcement believes the two incidents are related because items taken from the residence on Line Road were found near the East Highway 1416 residence, Graves said. No suspects were found, however.
Law enforcement also believes Saturday night’s events are related to other area burglaries that happened over the past two weeks, Graves said.
The sheriff’s office and the Box Elder Police Department are investigating the burglaries.
The Rapid City Police Department assisted the Saturday night by bringing out a search dog, but the dog lost the scent trail.
ORLANDO – An Orlando man refused to be a victim when two armed men broke into his home Monday night.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office reports the suspects forced their way into the man’s home on Epson Oaks Way.
News 13 was told the homeowner and his family ran to a bedroom, where he pulled out a gun and fired a warning shot.
That was enough to scare off the two suspects, who fled the home empty handed.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/crime-scene/montgomery/jewelry-store-owner-may-have-s.html
A jewelry store owner in Kensington who tried to defend himself from armed robbers Tuesday afternoon fired at least one round from his own gun, and could have hit one or both suspects, according to Montgomery County officials
The store owner is in his mid-70s, officials said. As of 6:40 p.m., the suspect or suspects had not been apprehended, a police spokeswoman said.
By 3:15 p.m., officers aided by police dogs were searching the area around Sandro Jewelry Boutique, in the 3700 block of Howard Avenue along “Antique Row” in Kensington, said Sgt. C. Thomas Jordan, a police spokesman.
“We’re trying to find these guys,” Jordan said – both because they are suspects and because they may need treatment.
“They may be injured,” Jordan said.
Two suspects reportedly entered the store. At least one of them showed a handgun, Jordan said.
A scuffle followed.The store owner also was armed with a gun, according to police. He received non life-threatening injuries during the scuffle, and was taken to a local hospital, said Capt. Oscar Garcia, a spokesman for the county’s Fire and Rescue Service.
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2010/04/lapeer_county_homeowner_shoots.html
DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP, Michigan — One home invasion suspect was shot in the leg and two others were arrested following an incident Friday morning in Lapeer County.
The Lapeer County Sheriff’s Office was called to a home on Castle Road in Deerfield Township shortly after 6 a.m. Friday after the 73-year-old homeowner told police three suspects were in his house.
One of the suspects approached the man, who brandished his shotgun, according to the sheriff’s office.
The suspects believed the home was unoccupied, and after encountering the homeowner, they fled. One suspect was shot in the leg by the homeowner.
The homeowner fired his gun into the ground in an attempt to keep the suspects from fleeing before sheriff’s deputies arrived, according to police.
One suspect made it to the getaway vehicle parked behind a barn and was able to drive around the barn, across the yard and toward the homeowner, who fired his shotgun at the vehicle’s tires, according to police.
The suspect was able to flee east on Castle Road in the vehicle. The other two suspects fled on foot.
An investigation led deputies to an address on Castle Road where they arrested two suspects. The third suspect, who was shot, will be arrested after he is treated for the injury.
This was the third break-in at the residence, which is usually unoccupied and is for sale.
The case will be turned over to the Lapeer County Prosecutor’s Office for warrants on the three suspects.
A 30-year-old Maryland man had his tire shot out as he was fleeing from a Millsboro area home he had allegedly broken into.
State police charged Brad Donaway, of the 8700 block of Gumboro Road, with second-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools, agency spokesman Sgt. Walter Newton said.
The incident occurred about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at a residence on Bethel Road.
A neighbor saw activity at his next-door neighbor’s home and called the neighbor at work to make sure no one was supposed to be there, Newton said.
When the victim told his neighbor that no one was supposed to be in his home, the neighbor retrieved his shotgun and went over to the house and confronted the burglar.
Donaway ran out of the house and got into his car and was trying to drive off when the neighbor fired a round into his left tire, Newton said.
Donaway continued driving and headed back to Maryland.
Troopers contacted him and he returned to Delaware and surrendered, Newton said.
Police said you should never trying to confront any suspect during the commission of a crime.
“Immediately calling 911 and being the best witness possible provides police with invaluable information and keeps the good Samaritan out of harm’s way,” said state police Sgt. Brian Conlin.
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20100429/VALLEYNEWS/100429843/1083&ParentProfile=1074
A 19-year-old midvalley man allegedly picked the wrong neighborhood to try to burglarize Sunday night.
Two homeowners in the Willits neighborhood drew pistols to defend themselves against alleged intruder Nahum Obed Herrera of the Aspen-Basalt Mobile Home Park, Basalt police Sgt. Roderick O’Connor said. One homeowner used a .38-caliber pistol to scare Herrera off when she heard him trying to get in her house, O’Connor said. The other homeowner used a 9-mm pistol to capture and subdue the suspect until police arrived a few minutes later.
O’Connor said Herrera is lucky the incident ended peacefully.
“If he had threatened them, he would have been shot,” O’Connor said. “You go busting into a house, they don’t know what your intent is.”
Homeowner Avi Manges said she became suspicious that there might be someone outside her house around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, when one of her dogs got agitated. She got up to investigate and realized she wasn’t hearing her daughter, who lives in an upstairs apartment. She retrieved her .38-caliber pistol and returned to the area where she heard the sounds.
“I hollered, ‘Who’s there? I’ve got a gun,'” Manges said.
After her warning, the intruder raised his face to peer in the glass pane of an outside door, Manges said. He fled after spotting her and the pistol.
Manges said she kept the gun pointed up with the safety on and didn’t want to use it except as a deterrent. She said she learned how to fire rifles at an early age while growing up in Texas but only learned how to handle a handgun a couple of years ago. She took lessons from an instructor and practiced at the Basalt shooting range.
Manges’ daughter called police, and the first officer on the scene, Mike Taylor, determined that the intruder took a purse from the unlocked car of Manges’ daughter.
After fleeing when confronted by Manges, Herrera allegedly ran to another street in Willits and entered the garage of another house. He took several items from a refrigerator and freezer, including popsicles and a frozen chicken, O’Connor said.
By that time, several officers were looking for him. Basalt had a grant to run DUI saturation patrol that night, so four officers responded to the scene, along with deputies from Eagle and Pitkin counties.
After allegedly stealing items at the second house, Herrera proceeded to a third house and attempted to get inside, O’Connor said. The homeowner heard the commotion and got his 9 mm pistol to investigate. The man, while his wife called authorities, said he saw the intruder run next door. The man saw the intruder flee when officers arrived, and he went in pursuit, O’Connor said. The armed homeowner snuck up on the intruder, who was crouched behind a tree. The man pointed the gun at the intruder’s head and warned him to stay put, O’Connor said.
Another man, described as a rugby player who is about 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, came to the aid of his neighbor and sat on the intruder until police arrived a short time later, O’Connor said.
Herrera was arrested for second-degree burglary and first-degree criminal trespass for allegedly entering the home and the car. He faces two charges of attempted first-degree criminal trespass for allegedly trying to enter two other homes. He was also charged for minor in possession of alcohol. Herrera had a blood-alcohol reading of 0.156, or nearly twice the level considered drunk while driving.
Herrera was taken to Eagle County Jail and later released after posting a $2,500 bond. The suspect, who is a Roaring Fork Valley native, allegedly told officers he was too intoxicated to realize what he was doing.
“All he remembered was, ‘Those guys pointed guns at me. They should be arrested,'” O’Connor said. No charges were filed against the pistol-packing homeowners who pulled the guns.
O’Connor said he believes this was an isolated incident and that the Willits area is safe. Nevertheless, it’s wise for residents to lock the doors of their homes and vehicles even while they are home, he said. He is also strongly encouraging homeowners to establish a neighborhood watch program to look after one another.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_858d41dc-5679-11df-a258-001cc4c03286.html?mode=story
A pizza delivery man was attacked and injured Sunday night by two assailants, but he fought back, firing a pistol at them, according to a news release by the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to a call of shots fired at 1980 Country Road about 10 p.m., where they found Scott Parsons, 28, who reported he had been attacked while making a pizza delivery in the area.
Scott’s injuries were not life-threatening, and he was taken to Rapid City Regional Hospital.
Authorities say they have no confirmation that anyone was hit by Parsons’ gunfire.
The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office and Rapid City Police Department are investigating the incident.
All done 
[QUOTE=irishluck73;646348All done :)[/b][/QUOTE]
You should rest. 
The Omaha story has me asking some questions.
Sounds like the father was shooting at anything and everything. Have to wonder what is the whole story behind this. Although, I hate being that guy. Especially since the suspects came to the house and shot someone.
OTOH, it would be nice to have a sticky where you could place all these stories. Dare I say, kind of like the American Rifleman’s “The Armed Citizen”.
I used to do one looooong continous thread but that got to the point of being unreadable due to so many articles and comments. I’ve requested a separate sub-forum on several occasions to different mods but have never heard anything back so I continue to post articles in the General Discussion area. I know it’s not a “self defense” forum but it’s the only gun forum I participate in regularly and the only one I’d take the time to post this stuff on. Only time will tell…
The Omaha incident sounds like the guy was way jacked up on adrenaline after seeing/hearing his son get shot and was trying to shoot a moving armed target without much success. This is where training comes into place and he was probably a typical .22 owner who likes to go plinking and never thought he’d be plinking bad guys.
You’re most likely correct about the lack of training. And, I need to be careful about what I read in the press.
Plus I need to be careful about criticizing someone’s actions in a situation like this. Especially when I don’t know all the facts. There are too many people out there who would criticize him for the mere fact he had a gun.
The story is a little vague, but I wonder if the stray rounds could have been shallow deflections off the roof or hood of a fleeing vehicle and been in the ballpark of decent shots (accuracy wise, not necessary legality wise). It isn’t clear from the story if he was firing at the suspect fleeing on foot or in a car or both. Please post a follow up if you come across it on if he gets charged with anything.