The national news media has no use for armed citizen stories, since it cuts against their narrative that guns are bad and no one should own them, but thankfully local news is still pretty good about paying attention when a firearm is used in self-defense.
In California, radio station KHTS covered the story of an elderly woman in Santa Clarita County who ended up holding a would-be burglar at bay thanks to her firearm. The woman was home alone when a stranger came calling, and though she told the man to leave, he tried to get into the home instead.
The woman called 9-1-1, but the man gained entry into the home while she was talking to dispatchers. She managed to shut herself in an interior room, but the stranger followed, and eventually forced his way inside.
The victim had a firearm, and told the suspect to leave, according to Miller.
After the suspect exited the house, the woman fired one shot in the air and told the suspect to get on the ground, according to Sheriff’s officials.
“He was on the ground when deputies arrived,” Miller said.
Collin Keoshian, 29, from Valencia, was arrested on felony burglary charges, Miller added.
No injuries were reported, according to Sheriff’s officials.
Keoshian was arrested and transported to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station’s jail with bail set at $50,000, according to arrest records.
I’m not a big fan of warning shots into the air because what goes up must come down, but it sounds like this was a fairly rural and isolated area. It also seemed to get Keoshian’s attention, since he was still on the ground when deputies showed up.
Like the vast majority of defensive gun uses, no one was injured in our first story. The same can’t be said for the next couple of armed citizen stories. Unfortunately for the suspects, their bad decisions had fatal consequences.
In Chicago, a 55-year old man was shot and killed after he walked into a gas station on the city’s south side just before 10 pm, armed with a shotgun.
..another individual shot the would-be robber in the back and face before the shooter left the store, according to police.
The man who was shot was transported to University of Chicago Medical Center, where he later died. The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified him as 55-year-old Tyrone Smith. He lived in Park Manor.
The shooter has not yet been found, police said.
This is an odd story. Not only was the armed robber a little older than most violent criminals, it doesn’t sound like the store employee was the person who shot the would-be robber. The most likely scenario might be a case where someone who was carrying a gun without a license (perhaps because of the backlog of FOID card and concealed carry applicationsat the Illinois State Police) shot and killed the robber in self-defense, but didn’t want to be charged with illegal gun possession themselves. At the moment, police haven’t released many details or even a description of the individual who shot the armed robber.
In Roseville, Michigan another would-be armed robber, this time just 16-years old, was shot and killed after attempting to rob a man at a local car wash.
Chris Fowler lives nearby and heard the incident from inside his home. He’s a Concealed Pistol License holder who said he always makes sure he’s armed.
“I don’t leave home without it,” Fowler said.
Just outside his front door Tuesday was a deadly example of why he carries a gun.
“I was sitting there, watching TV,” Fowler said. “I heard five shots. One, two, three, four, five — right in a row.”
The shots were coming from the Wash Pointe Car Wash nearby. Police said a 30-year-old man was vacuuming his SUV when he was ambushed by two people. The driver — who had a pistol on his hip for protection — had a gun stuck in his face.
“He is a conceal pistol license holder for the state of Michigan,” said Deputy Chief Mitchell Berlin. “Everything was legal.”
There was an exchange of gunfire, according to Berlin, but the armed robber missed his target. The concealed carry holder did not, shooting the 16-year old twice. As the neighbor, Chris Fowler, said in response to learning that the suspect was only 16-years old; “A life wasted for what?”
The chance for a few bucks and a stolen car? Doesn’t seem worth it, does it?
There are some armed citizen stories that leave you cheering, but this isn’t one of them, at least not for me. I do think it’s tragic that this 16-year old lost his life because of his bad decisions. I’d like to believe that this young man wasn’t irredeemable or unreachable but we’ll never know, because he decided to point a gun at a stranger’s face and demand their money.
