George Karkoc will spend this Veteran's Day in a Los Angeles hospital, where he's recovering from a brutal attack last Friday morniing that ended when the 79-year-old shot and killed his assailant.
Karkoc says he was at his home in Studio City last Friday morning when he spotted a man walking down the sidewalk stark naked and muttering to himself. When the stranger tried opening the gate to a neighbor's yard, Karkoc dialed 911, but while he was on the phone he saw the man actually enter his neighbor's home and heard her "horrendous" cries for help.
At the sound of her cries for help, the veteran fetched his gun.
As the woman made an escape, Karkoc's son, Taras, says: "The guy came out after her and he tried to talk him off the ledge."
The language barrier between the two made that difficult and that's when the elder Karkoc says the man jumped on him.
"I don't know what he did, but he intertwined himself."
According to the LAPD the man picked up Karkoc and slammed him to the ground, breaking both of the elderly man's legs.
As Karkoc was pinned underneath the man, he managed to point his gun at his assailant and pulled the trigger three times.
"There was an older guy in the home and the naked guy was walking through their gate and shots were fired," a witness who asked not to be identified said. "I looked over and the naked guy was on the ground and the older guy was on the ground. And, he shot him two more times."
The veteran was hospitalized in serious condition.
[LAPD Captain Warner] Castillo said there did not appear to be any type of relationship between the intruder and the people inside the house.
Before the deadly altercation, security camera video from an apartment complex showed the man with no clothes walking on a sidewalk across the street from the property where the shooting occurred. He can be heard yelling as he approached an apartment security gate before turning around and walking across the street.
Karkoc's heroism has received a lot of media attention in Los Angeles, which is somewhat surprising given how many defensive gun uses don't receive media attention at all. Virtually all of the local news stations covered Karkoc's encounter with the violent stranger, and ABC 7 even conducted a bedside interview with Karkoc in his hospital room.
I suspect, though, that if Karkoc's assailant had been wearing clothes and wasn't captured on surveillance video that the veteran's bravery would have gone largely unacknowledged by the local press. Almost every headline plays up the nakedness of Karkoc's attacker, even though that's a relatively unimportant aspect of the incident. Yes, it probably does speak to the assailant's mindset at the time of the attack, but it also makes for good video, which in turn makes this story difficult to ignore.
Whatever the rationale, I'm glad that Karkoc's actions in defense of himself and others have been noticed by the local press, and even outlets like People. Defensive gun uses like this happen every day, even if they don't generally involve nude assailants, and the more coverage they receive the better.
Karkoc's injuries are extensive, and his son says despite getting veterans' benefits medical bills are already starting to mount up. The family has started a GoFundMe to help defray those costs, and as of mid-afternoon on Tuesday more than $16,000 has been raised for the veteran's medical care.
Karkoc is also slated for a visit by LAPD officers today, in recognition of his service in uniform and his more recent actions to defend himself or others. While Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon hasn't said whether Karkoc will face any charges, it certainly sounds like the investigating officers believe this to be a clear-cut case of self-defense, and hopefully the far-left D.A. will quickly conclude the same.
Editor’s Note: After more than 40 days of screwing Americans, a few Dems have finally caved. The Schumer Shutdown was never about principle—just inflicting pain for political points.
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