Armed Defense- At Home and in Public
Firearms Instructor David Cole brought us four new stories of armed defense. Across the United States, honest citizens defend themselves with a firearm thousands of times a day. Were these gun owners lucky or were they doing the safest thing they could do? How did everyday defense demand such skill?
Here is what happened and what we can learn.
The longer discussion of what we should do and what we should avoid is on the Self Defense Gun Stories webpage. For now, here are the stories and the links to the original news sources.
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Chicago, Illinois- Are you armed in public?
You’re sixty years old. You are out before dawn to get some money from an ATM in your neighborhood. You turn to a noise behind you. A man throws his bike on the ground and walks toward you. He pulls a gun from his pocket and tells you to give it up.
You have your firearms owners ID card and your carry permit in your wallet. You have your firearm on your hip. You shoot at your attacker and he shoots at you. You’re wounded on your back and on your arm. You run to a local gas station and ask for help. They call 911 while you put pressure on your arm.
You give a statement to the police. They take your firearm from your pocket. EMS transports you to the hospital. You are listed in stable condition. Your attacker was declared dead. You are not charged with a crime.
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Reading, Pennsylvania-Are you armed at home?
You and your roommates are at home. It is six in the evening when you’re surprised to see a stranger enter your apartment. You don’t know him. Your roommates don’t know him. You ask him to leave. He gets offended and attacks you and your roommates. You grab your gun and shoot your attacker. Now he runs from your apartment. You and your roommates call the police. You put your gun away before they arrive.
Everyone stays at the scene and gives the police a statement. They find your attacker. They transport him to the hospital to treat his wounded leg. Your attacker is charged with criminal trespass and several counts of assault. You are not charged with a crime. It looks like your attacker was looking for a drug dealer and got the wrong address.
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Atlanta, Georgia- Are you armed in public?
It is just after midnight. You’ve asked your daughter’s ex-boyfriend to leave. He continues to shout and to threaten your family outside your home. The ex-boyfriend threatens you again and draws a gun from his pocket. He shoots it into the air. You present your own firearm and shoot him until he runs. You and your family retreat inside the home and call the police.
Police arrest your attacker and he is now in the local jail. You are not charged with a crime.
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Española, New Mexico- Do you have a firearm nearby at night?
You and your wife are at home in bed. It is just after four in the morning when you both hear something in your garage. Given that you’re both in your seventies, it was quite a noise to wake you up. You grab your gun and both go to see what is happening. You see an intruder in your garage. You tell him to leave. He attacks your wife and knocks her over. You shoot the attacker. You both retreat into the home and your wife calls 911.
You put your gun away before police arrive. You both tell the police where you saw the attacker. EMS declares your attacker dead at the scene. Police know your attacker. He has over 11 prior arrests for burglary and drug charges.
You are not charged with a crime.
These stories give us a lot to think about. Sure we want the right physical tools but we need more than that. We can buy a gun in a few minutes but it takes time to learn what to do with it. What we would do at home alone at night is very different from what we’d do on a job site or in a store parking lot. Your safety plan is probably different than your neighbors’. Those plans become a menu of best practices that fits you and your situations.
When was the last time you walked through one of your plans? Like these armed defenders, I want you to be safe at home, as you drive, and at work.
SlowFacts 