Things did not go as planned for a North Carolina man allegedly intent on breaking into a home and robbing the place, starting with the fact that, as far as weapons go, a shotgun’s much better choice than an axe.

A news release from Burlington police says the suspect identified as 29-year-old William Lawrence Cowan tried to enter the house through a back door on Sunday morning, with an ax that belonged to the homeowner.

First off, that’s an extra level of stupid, or perhaps drug-addledness. He apparently saw an axe there and decided “Hey, I wonder if I could use that to break into this home that isn’t mine?” As it turns out, he could not. The homeowner came to the door to see what was going on, and when he realized a guy with an axe was trying to bash his way inside, he quickly retrieved his shotgun.

Police say the homeowner pointed the shotgun at Cowan, causing him to leave the ax behind and run away from the house. Cowan was arrested two blocks away without incident.

The presence of the shotgun in the hands of the homeowner was enough to cause Cowan to suddenly remember he had somewhere else to be. Weird how that works, isn’t it? And like the vast majority of defensive gun uses in this country, the trigger didn’t have to be pulled. No one ended up dead, though the suspect did end up behind bars facing charges of breaking and entering, instead of something like “axe murdering.” All in all, I’d say that’s the best possible outcome.

Yet, while gun owners will (and absolutely should) share this story on social media as an example of the benefits of gun ownership, none of the “commonsense advocates of gun safety” who swear they love the Second Amendment too will bother to spread this example of a responsible gun owner stopping an attack on his home with his legally owned gun. It’s almost like their idea of gun safety is “don’t own a gun” and not “educate yourself on how to be a responsible gun owner.”

Speaking of responsible gun owners, here’s one more armed citizen story for you from St. Louis, where a concealed carry holder held the man suspected of stealing his car at gunpoint until police arrived. Andre Tunstall got a tip about his Porsche being in an alley, and when he arrived discovered it was indeed his stolen ride.

Tunstall called St. Louis police, filed a report, and then the officers left the scene. He waited with his car because it had a flat tire and needed a tow. He believes that’s when a man who was the thief returned. Tunstall said the man went to a dumpster as if he knew something was there. He said the man pulled the car’s key fob out of the dumpster and then tried to take the car.

Tunstall said he pulled out his own gun and ordered the man to the ground until the police returned.

“He had his life spared and that’s not anything to brag about,” Tunstall told KTVI. “It’s just for him to move forward and be a good father to his kids.”

Police charged Samuel Jamar Harris with first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle. Tunstall hopes the man held at gunpoint learns a lesson and turns his life around.

“Hopefully, this will be a new beginning for you and your family,” Tunstall said.

It turns out this isn’t the first time Samuel Jamar Harris has been charged with tampering with a motor vehicle, but I bet it’s the first time he’s faced the end of a gun after he got caught. I’m with Andre Tunstall in hoping that Harris learns a lesson here and does turn his life around. Redemption is possible, but you’ve gotta work for it. This will likely be his second strike, which means Harris may be down, but he’s not out yet. As for Mr. Tunstall, based on his words and deeds in this incident, he sounds like someone who knows a great deal about real “gun safety” and responsibility. Many thanks to him for his words and deeds as a responsible gun owner.