Woodbridge, Virginia

From the Manassas Journal Messenger of September 29, 2008

Mother fends off robbers with handgun

Three would-be robbers, one armed with a pair of scissors, walked into a Woodbridge store on Saturday morning with criminal intent.

They left empty-handed and apparently more than a little frightened.

About 11:30 a.m. the three walked into Tienda Hispana Esperanza. One rushed to the counter and pointed the scissors at the owner’s neck and another grabbed her son?s arm, the family that owns the store said Monday.

But the owner, Esperanza Salazar, 36, reacted immediately.

She leaned back and reached for her handgun and pointed it at the three unknown males, the Salazar family said.

“It kind of looked like ‘The Matrix,’ ” said 14-year-old Julio Salazar, who was

working at the store with his mother that day.

One of the would-be robbers immediately ran out of the store, located on PR Business Center Drive. A second robber, who wielded the scissors, tried to run out of the store but tripped on a clothes rack and fell. He finally crawled out the front door.

The third robber paused and sat down in a folding chair, putting his hands in the air. When Esperanza Salazar told her son to call 911, the third man ran for the door and momentarily got tangled in the clothes rack before running out of the store.

All three eventually ran toward the back of the business center off Smoketown Road, according to police.

Esperanza Salazar, with her son translating for her, said that while she was nervous, she wouldn’t have let anything happen to her son.

The investigation revealed that the three had been loitering outside the store before the robbery attempt, but it was unknown for how long, said police spokeswoman Officer Erika Hernandez.

“Based on the witnesses statements, it appeared they were staking out the business,” Hernandez said.

Officers, including a K-9 unit, searched the area and surrounding businesses for roughly 2 1/2 hours but found no one, Hernandez said.

Police said the first would-be robber was described as a Latino man, 30 to 35 years old, collar-length straight hair, with a medium build and a mustache. He was wearing a green sweater with a white T-shirt underneath, a black baseball cap, black sneakers and glasses.

The second robber, who was armed with the pair of scissors, was described as a Latino man, 20 to 21 years old, with a medium build and shoulder-length curly hair, police said. He was wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans and a black cap with letters on the back.

The third robber was described as a Latino male, between 17 and 18 years old, collar-length straight hair, with a medium build and unshaven chin. He was wearing a light brown shirt and blue jeans.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Prince William County Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS. Callers don’t have to give their names, just the information, and could earn up to a $1,000 cash re-ward.

Phoenix, Arizona

From the AZFamily of September 8, 2008

Man killed after armed woman with restraining order opens fire

A man is dead after trying to break into a woman’s home and she opened fire on him.

According to police the woman had a restraining order against the man although their exact relationship is unclear.

Investigators say around 2:30 Sunday morning that man forced his way into the woman’s house near 40th Avenue and Thunderbird and she was prepared

A police spokesperson tells 3TV, ?The victim basically armed herself and when the suspect broke into the house the victim fired several rounds.?

Police said the woman will most likely not face any charges. The suspect’s identity has not been released.

Houston, Texas

From September 27, 2008 KHOU channel 11:

HOUSTON — One suspect is dead and two others are on the run after a deadly home invasion on Friday night.

Houston police report that the armed group pushed their way through the front door of the home on Wycliffe.

According to witnessed, the group got into a scuffle with the homeowner’s boyfriend, who had a gun. The boyfriend fired shots, killing one of the suspects.

Police said robbery was the motive.

The authorities do not plan to charge the boyfriend.

Kansas City, Missouri

From KCTV of September 24, 2008

Security Guard Shoots Man At Liquor Store

A man was shot by a liquor store security guard on Tuesday night, police said.

Officers said the guard told them a man, who he thought had a gun, was causing problems at the Royal Liquor Store on Southwest Boulevard about 9 p.m.

After telling the man to leave, the guard said the man became violent and during a struggle, the security guard shot him.

The man ran off, and police later found him in an alley about a block away. They did not find a gun.

The man’s injuries are considered life-threatening, police said.

Tuscan, Arizona

From KMSB of September 24, 2008

Sheriff’s deputies say shooting death the result of self-defense

A 49-year old man was shot to death outside of a residence in the 4100 block of North Soldier Trail in what apparently was a case of self-defense.

According to witnesses, the shooting victim entered the home of another man at about 9 p.m. on Tuesday, September 23, and made threats against the man. The victim was shot when he grabbed the other man and began to drag him out of the residence, according to Pima County Sheriff?s investigators.

The name of the shooting victim has not been released, pending notification of next of kin.

Kansas City, Missouri

From KCTV of September 24, 2008

Police: Would-Be Robber Shot

A clerk at a 7-Eleven stood up to a robber, police said, and shot him dead.

An 18-year-old man was attempting to rob the convenience store near East 27th Street and Van Brunt Boulevard at gunpoint when one of the two clerks in the store pulled out his own gun and shot the man, police said.

When officers arrived at the store, which is across the street from a police station, they found the teen dead behind the counter, shot once in the neck.

“It is fairly unusual for us to have problems here, but convenience stores are one of those targets of opportunity, especially late at night. There were two clerks working at the time. One had on a uniform, one did not. The one that actually ended up doing the shooting was the one who was not in a uniform, but it is rather ironic to have something like this happen in such proximity to a police station,” said Capt. Rich Lockhart of the Kansas City Police Department.

The man who was shot was carrying a gun, police said. And they said the clerk who had a gun had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Cleveland, Ohio

From the Plain Dealer of September 23, 2008

East Side homeowner kills break-in suspect

A man was shot in the chest and killed about 2:45 this morning by a homeowner who said the man had broken into his house.

Police said it happened in the 13400 block of St. Clair Avenue.

Lawrence Hanson, 65, said he was awakened by the sound of someone breaking into the house. When the Hanson went downstairs to investigate, he saw signs that his house was being burglarized. He went back upstairs, got dressed and grabbed his gun.

Hanson said he had no intention to shoot and kill a burglar morning. Hanson confronted the man, whose name has not been released, and ordered the intruder to stop.

The man approached Hanson. The gun went off, and the man fell to the ground, Hanson said. “I can’t believe I shot somebody,” he said, standing next to his garage.

Hanson was not arrested, but police seized the gun. The case is under investigation.

Omaha, Nebraska

From the Omaha World Herald of September 10, 2008

Omaha man who shot another man to death won’t be charged

TeThe Omaha man who shot another man to death on Saturday will not be charged in the shooting, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said today, because the man’s account of what happened aligns with the evidence at the scene.

Robert J. Muckey, 41, shot Domingo Gutierrez Jr., 25, of Bellevue, about 5:45 p.m. Saturday at Muckey’s house, 5629 N. 29th St.

Muckey told police that Gutierrez had broken into the house through a window and threatened him.

Kleine said Muckey gave this account:

Muckey grabbed a rifle when he heard Gutierrez trying to break in. Muckey said he told him, “Don’t come in, I’ve got a gun,” and Gutierrez replied, “I’ve got something for you, too.” Gutierrez came in, lunged at Muckey and Muckey fired.

Muckey was booked into the Douglas County Correctional Center on suspicion of criminal homicide and use of a weapon to commit a felony. After reviewing the evidence, Kleine said, he decided not to charge Muckey.

“We can’t show that it wasn’t justified,” Kleine said. “That’s part of our responsibility here.”

Muckey was to be released today, Kleine said.

Kleine said Muckey told investigators, “‘I was fearing for my life. He was threatening me. I warned him. He said he had something for me, and I felt I had to shoot him.’ It matches up with the forensic evidence from the scene.”

Muckey also told police that Gutierrez had something in his hand as he lunged at him. Investigators, Kleine said, think Gutierrez was carrying a pair of sunglasses.

Muckey’s girlfriend is the mother of Gutierrez’s girlfriend, and Gutierrez and the daughter have a child. Kleine said that at one point several months ago, the couples lived together in the house. Gutierrez is listed as the owner, according to Douglas County property records.xt

Dawsonville, Georgia

From the Dawson News and Advertiser of September 17, 2008

One dead in Big Canoe domestic dispute

A 44-year-old man died Tuesday morning from gunshot wounds related to a domestic dispute inside the gated Big Canoe community, Dawson County sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Tony Wooten said.

The shooting on Columbine Road apparently involved a domestic dispute between business partners, Wooten said.-Mail N

The dead man, Howard Lynn Moreland, and his female business partner allegedly became embroiled in a heated discussion inside the female business partner’s home after 9 a.m., Wooten said.

“The husband of the female business partner observed the male victim and his wife in a physical altercation,” Wooten said. “At this time we’re being told that (Moreland) pulled a knife and the husband of the female business partner had a firearm (rifle) and he shot and killed (Moreland).”

No charges have been filed at this time, Wooten said.

“We’re still early in this investigation,” he said.

Investigators have been told that Moreland, who has a Canton address listed on his driver’s license, was living with a Big Canoe resident at the time of the shooting, Wooten said.

The names of the female business partner, and the name of her husband, who admittedly shot Moreland, have not been cleared for release as of yet, Wooten said.

“If there are no charges, there’s no reason to release their names,” Wooten said.

Dawson County originally received a 911 call just after 9:30 a.m. that someone had broken into the home in Big Canoe. While deputies were en route, they were notified that the intruder had been shot to death.

Wooten said authorities have been told that the shooting stemmed from a domestic dispute between Moreland and his female business partner. Apparently Moreland went to the home to confront his female business partner. Investigators have been told that the verbal exchange led to an alleged physical altercation with the woman’s husband admittedly shooting Moreland and fatally wounding him after Moreland allegedly threatened physical violence his wife with a knife.

The couple has told investigators that the fatal shooting was in self-defense.

Jackson, Mississippi

From the Desoto Times of August 26, 2008

Clerk shoots robbery suspect to death

Jackson police say they won’t charge a gas station clerk in the shooting death of a robbery suspect.

Police spokesman Lt. Jeffery Scott says a man wearing a clown mask and carrying a gun entered the gas station just after 9 p.m. Sunday.

The man took money from the register and ran from the store.

Scott says the clerk followed the man outside and shot several times, hitting the suspect as he ran behind a storage shed.

The suspect was brought a hospital, where Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart says he died shortly after 10 p.m.

Scott says the clerk, whose name wasn’t released, was defending himself.

Forrest Park, Georgia

From the First Coast News of September 20, 2008

Robber Disarmed by Employees

Police are praising four employees of a Forest Park, Georgia furniture store for a bold stroke of self-defense, for turning the tables on an armed robber, for risking their lives to disarm and capture the masked man, who had invaded their store Tuesday morning.

“I was basically praying,” during the robbery, said the general manager of the business, Carlus Burndette. “And I guess God gave us the power to get an opportunity to get the weapon.”

On Thursday, Burndette and the other employees were able to watch the surveillance video of the entire confrontation, and they were thanking God they’re alive.

“I was pretty much scared, we didn’t know what to do,” said Carlus Burndette. “The only thing I was feeling was a bullet, a bullet to hit me” or the others, which. he says, thankfully never happened.

Tuesday morning a man wearing a green mask stuck a handgun in the back of one of Burndette’s employees as the employee was entering the front door.

The surveillance video shows the gunman marching the employee inside the store, across the furniture showroom, straight into the office, and then forcing all four employees onto the floor, face down.

Burndette said the gunman threatened to kill everyone.

“At the time he pointed a gun to my face, the only thing I could think of is, you know, just life or death.”

The surveillance video shows the man forcing one of the employees to scoop out all of the money from the cash drawer and hand it to him.

“It seemed like he wanted to harm somebody,” Burndette said, so they all cooperated at first.

“At the time he got the cash, he did not leave, he just stayed in there. He wanted to shoot someone at that time.”

Burndette said the gunman demanded that one of the employees disable the surveillance cameras and give him the video tapes to take with him. And, for a split second, the gunman turned away.

“That’s when we had the opportunity to grab the suspect,” Burndette said. “The opportunity was that when he actually turned his back, when he asked for the camera, when he approached the guy, when the associate approached and said the tape was not in the camera, in the VCR, that’s when he turned his back and was getting ready to, I guess, fire.”

Darren Marshall, the store’s accounts manager, was the first to grab for the robber’s gun.

“Yeah, that’s the hero,” Burndette said as he watched the video. “This dude here had the heart and the guts to grab that wrist with that weapon inside of it. He was brave enough to approach the guy with the gun still in his hand. Anything could have went off with him trying to reach at that gun.”

The video shows the employees finally getting control of the gun and falling in a heap on the gunman, keeping him on the floor until police arrived a few minutes later.

“What the [police] officers said was, ‘Oh, Man, job well done,’”

Burndette said with a smile. “I’m glad all my associates are still here, I’m glad we’re doing well.”

Marshall ended up with a gash and 16 staples in his head from the struggle, but Burndette said Marshall will soon recover and return to work.

Forest Park Police said the gunman is 21-year-old Shawn Henderson of Jonesboro, GA. Henderson had to receive treatment in a hospital for injuries he received in the struggle. He’s now in jail, charged initially with: ? Armed Robbery ? False Imprisonment ? Kidnapping ? Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony ? Aggravated Assault ? Carrying a Pistol Without a License ? Battery ? Unlawfully Wearing a Mask or Hood in Public

Muncie, Indiana

From the Star Press of September 17, 2008

Clerk?s shots miss robber

Indiana law allows Hoosiers to defend themselves, even with deadly force, and Tuesday morning a woman working behind the counter of Zipp’s Deli did just that.

Police said she fired shots at a teen who jumped the counter and tried to take money from her cash register. Even though the black male suspect never showed a weapon, he and the clerk struggled before he eventually got away, said Muncie Police Department Lt. Al Williams.

Police are continuing their search for him, as well as for another young black man who was waiting across Madison Street. Witnesses said the two fled on foot to 613 E. Fifth St., an apparently abandoned home just a block away from the store.

By the time Williams and other officers arrived there, all they found was a disheveled home. The front and back doors both were knocked off their hinges and standing open, and the house was full of junk and trash. The attempted robbery suspect is described as a young black man, likely in his teens, between 5′, 6″ and 5′, 8. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt.

The clerk was not injured.

Williams declined to say how many bullets were fired. And though there’s a bullet hole in the front door of the convenience store, it’s unknown whether the suspect was hit.

Zipp’s is a frequent stop for local police. Since Oct. 10, 2000, police have been called to the store at 425 E. Willard St. 360 times. Many of those calls are for traffic problems or minor infractions, but records indicate Tuesday’s attempted robbery was the third of 2008, and the eighth of the past eight years.

This isn’t the first time a Zipp’s clerk has fired a gun at a robber. A convicted bandit was shot by a clerk in March 2002 after he robbed the store. He was later found, injured, in a home, along with cash that had been taken from the store.

And while prosecutors are leery of making comments that could sound like an endorsement of violence, there are laws, here in Indiana and elsewhere, that allow victims of crimes to protect themselves.

When Gov. Mitch Daniels signed new legislation in 2006, it didn’t bring a massive change. Instead, it clarified that a person can defend himself with a weapon and doesn’t have to run away from the suspect first.

West Valley, Utah

From the Desert News of September 18, 2008

Intruder shot by homeowner in West Valley

An estranged husband who was shot after breaking into the home of his wife’s male friend remained at University Hospital Thursday.

Robert Hunter, 50, was shot in the chest and arms with a 12-gauge shotgun after police say he broke into the home of Joe McIntosh Wednesday night. West Valley Police Capt. Tom McLachlan said Hunter’s injuries were not believed to be life threatening.

The incident began just before 9 p.m. near 3700 South and 6000 West. Hunter allegedly parked his truck a street away and walked to McIntosh’s home. Hunter, who had been separated from his wife for several months, had been served divorce papers earlier that day, McLachlan said.

His estranged wife was in the house with McIntosh. Hunter went to the back sliding glass door and allegedly entered the house after shattering the glass, McLachlan said.

There had been previous incidents between Hunter and McIntosh, including some threats, McLachlan said.

“Those threats may have made (McIntosh) quite leery,” he said.

McIntosh fired a shotgun at Hunter almost as soon as he entered. Hunter was hit and retreated. Investigators later learned that Hunter was carrying 9 mm and .22-caliber handguns with him that were loaded. Police said whether Hunter pointed his weapons at anyone, whether he fired a shot or whether McIntosh even knew he was armed, were all questions being addressed in the ongoing investigation.

Vero Beach, Florida

From the Treasure Coast Palm of September 19, 2008

Home invader fatally shot in Vero Beach

Last week Thomas Thompson II, 24, was charged with taking copper from a Home Depot store.

Early Thursday, the Vero Beach resident was fatally shot breaking into the home of a woman his pregnant girlfriend knew, said Indian River County sheriff’s Detective Chris Cassinari.

Around 5:20 a.m. Thompson, armed with two knives, crawled through a window in a small home south of Vero Beach at the intersection of 47th Avenue and First Street Southwest.

A family dog awakened occupant Francis Hornsby, who found an armed man at the foot of her bed when she turned on a light.

Her screams woke her two sons, 19-year-old Austin Hornsby and 20-year-old Robert Hornsby. From what Cassinari surmises, Thompson apparently didn’t know the sons were inside the home.

One son scuffled with Thompson. Finally, the other son, “in defense, fired a shotgun, killing the subject,” said sheriff’s Lt. Leroy Smith. Investigators haven’t yet identified which son fired the shotgun.

Thompson was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was at the doorway to a porch. He is survived by a 3-year-old child, officers said.

The investigation is continuing. No charges have been filed in what sheriff’s investigators consider a burglary.

“We are not sure what he (Thompson) was after,” Cassinari said. So far, investigators said nothing unusual or of great value has been found in the home.

“We do not believe it was a personal vendetta,” Cassinari said. “He was after something in the home. He did come there armed.”

Neighbor Brandon Hughes said Austin Hornsby talked of someone breaking into the home two days ago. No report was filed.

“There has always been problems at that end of the street,” said retiree Don Dupuis, who has lived a block away for 23 years.

Thompson, of the 2400 block of First Place, apparently walked a mile to the home where he was shot, Cassinari said.

Thompson was released Sunday from the Indian River County Jail under a $5,000 bail following his arrest Sept. 12 on a charge of grand theft. Authorities say he took $2,200 in copper wire from a Roseland Home Depot store.

Arrested with Thompson was Anna Stasia Martin, 22, who also was charged with grand theft. She lived with him in the 2400 block of First Place, reports show.

Anyone with more information about the fatal break-in should call the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office at (772) 978-6124 or the Crime Stoppers at (800) 273-TIPS (8477).

Tucson, Arizona

From the September 18, 2008 Tucson Citizen:

PHOENIX – Phoenix police say one of their officers shot and wounded a man who had been holding a burglar at gunpoint inside his home.

…

Arriving officers found a screaming woman who had fled the last home with two children while her mate confronted the intruder.

Thompson says officers went inside, ordered everyone out and saw the armed resident coming down a hallway. One officer shot the 35-year-old man several times, but he’s expected to survive.

Officers then detained the intruder.