Armed -

While taking groceries to her car, an 82-year-old woman was approached by a man who said something horrible to her: “This is your day. You are too old to be alive anyway”. According to police, he then grabbed the woman’s cane and beat her with it. Despite the savage assault, the elderly woman managed to reach into her purse, draw her gun and fire a shot. The man fled and upon hearing the shot, store employees quickly came to the woman’s aid. The self-proclaimed “stubborn old broad” is badly bruised but will fully recover. “If I go naturally or to a sickness or something, fine,” she said, “I’m ready to go, but I’m not ready to let some idiot like that take me out.” (KVOA-TV, Tucson, Arizona, 03/15/10)

Daniel Kaplan was parked in front of his business when two men sprinted toward his vehicle. One of them reached inside, punched Kaplan three times in the face and stuck a gun to Kaplan’s head. Then Kaplan’s instincts kicked in. Police say he grabbed the suspect’s gun with his left hand and kicked open the car door into his assailant. Kaplan then reached under the seat and grabbed his .45-cal. Glock pistol, “I got five shots off as quickly as I could,” he recalls. “I was fighting for my life”. At least one of the suspects was shot. Both fled the scene and are being sought by police. “I’m happy to be here,” said a relieved Kaplan. (Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, GA, 03/04/10)

A crazed, knife-wielding man attempted to stab people at random in a convenience store parking lot. Police said he’d already chased a delivery driver and others when he ran down a car leaving the lot. He lunged at the car’s driver with the knife, wounding him. That’s when the driver whose two young stepdaughters were in the vehicle, produced a handgun and fired about six shots, killing the attacker. The driver will recover from his injuries. “You’ve got to protect yourself”, said witness Byron Cook. “He had his two kids in the car and they were terrified.”

(WREG-TV, Memphis, TN 03/05/10

Michelle Cornelsen was working at her coffee shop when a teenager approached, drew a gun and demanded money. Cornelsen, a 31-year-old firearm enthusiast who’s been hunting since she was a young girl, was confident in her ability to defend herself. When another customer approached, the suspect hid his gun. Cornelsen took advantage of the opening, drawing a 9mm Kel-Tec, she aimed it at the suspect and said, “You leave now!” He quickly complied. Cornelsen phoned police, and a deputy who’d coincidentally just bought coffee from her made a quick U-turn and arrested the suspect.

 (Coeur d’Alene Press, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, 12/30/09)

Police said that shortly after midnight, three men broke into a home seeking money and drugs. There were no drugs in the home, but there was a .22 rifle - and an 11 year-old boy trained to use it. The boy leapt to the defense of his mother and sister. One of the intruders shot the boy, injuring him slightly. The boy returned fire, seriously wounding the suspect and causing the three to flee the home. Police found all three intruders nearby. The wounded man was air-lifted to a hospital and will be charged upon his release.

(San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, Texas 01/20/10)

Vernon Allen was watching television when an unknown male darted into his apartment. According to police, it was the third residence the suspect had unlawfully entered that evening. Allen asked the suspect, who mumbled unintelligibly, if he needed help. The suspect responded by raising his fist in a threatening manner. Allen retreated to the bedroom, got his 12-gauge shotgun and told the intruder to get out. But the suspect, instead advanced and tried to grab the shotgun’s barrel. “When he grabbed the barrel of that shotgun”, Allen recalls, “I had to make a choice so I pulled the trigger on him”. The suspect was killed.

Morris sun Tribune, Morris, Minn. 06/21/09

Gaylord Cox, an 82-year-old minister, was sleeping when a young man knocked on his bedroom window. The juvenile, who unbeknownst to Cox had recently escaped from a detention center, said he needed to use the phone because his car had broken down. Cox said he would meet him at the front door. As a precaution, Cox placed a .38-cal. Revolver in his pocket before letting the juvenile inside. Police say the suspect used the phone, then immediately turned and sucker-punched the older, weaker Cox in the face, knocking him to the floor. Cox sat up, drew his pistol and fired one shot, causing his assailant to flee. The youth was apprehended nearby.

Morning Journal, Lisbon, Ohio, 06/16/09

Hearing footsteps, a 50-year old woman assumed her mother had returned home from work. When she called out but received no answer, she investigated. The footsteps belonged to a convicted felon wielding a knife and a gun. He threatened the woman, who attempted to appease him with cash and liquor, but his threats only grew more violent. After 30 horrible minutes, the woman’s mother, 77-year-old Doris Gatchell, returned home.

She proved to be a woman of action. A”When someone comes into your house and threatens you, you don’t have to tolerate that”, Gatchell said. “I have taken a course in gun safety. I knew what to do”. Police say Gatchell got her gun and ordered the suspect to leave the house. He promptly ran out the front door. “ . . It is a good thing to take a gun safety course and I recommend it for everyone, particularly women in this day and age”, Gatchell added.

Calais Advertiser, Calais, Maine, 06/18/09