A Houston, Texas, gas station’s security video shows a dark vehicle pulling into its parking lot at 11 p.m. on Sept. 8. A man reportedly got out of the vehicle’s passenger side and approached another man walking in the parking lot, then lifted his shirt to reveal a gun, threatening the victim and demanding valuables. However, the man he had approached quickly drew his own firearm and shot the aggressor once in the face. The wounded suspect was taken to a nearby hospital in serious but stable condition and remained in police custody. Police indicated no charges would be brought against the victim who acted in self-defense. (news4sanantonio.com, San Antonio, Texas, and abc13.com, Houston, Texas, 9/8/21)
Early in the morning of Aug. 31, a couple at a bus stop in the Capitol Hill area of Seattle, Wash., was approached by two armed men who attempted to hold them up at gunpoint. The couple was also armed, however, and one of them shot one of the would-be robbers—a 24-year-old man—in the abdomen. Witnesses said the second suspect fled the scene in an F-150 pickup, which law-enforcement authorities were still seeking. The wounded man was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. (capitolhillseattle.com) Seattle, Wash., 8/31/21)
A masked 24-year-old Palm Bay, Fla., man was shot in the hip at the New York Hair Barber Shop on Aug. 28, after he entered the barber shop and allegedly pointed a gun at several people in the business. The shop’s owner was also armed and shot the suspect, then disarmed him and helped keep him on the scene until help arrived. The attacker was transported to the hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Upon further investigation, it turned out the suspect was not happy with a prior haircut or transaction that occurred in the business. He has been charged with aggravated assault with a firearm. (floridatoday.com, Viera, Fla., and clickorlando.com, Orlando, Fla., 8/29/21)
A usually quiet Webster Groves, Mo., neighborhood became the scene of a shooting in the early morning hours of Aug. 13, when a homeowner protected himself and his family during an attempted break-in. Police were called at 3 a.m. for a burglary in progress, after a 43-year-old man entered via a rear door of the home. The suspect ignored the homeowner’s repeated verbal commands to leave the property. The resident was armed with a shotgun and fired on the intruder. Authorities had the intruder transported to the hospital where he later died. Prosecutors determined that the homeowner acted in self-defense and no charges would be filed: “These cases are never easy in the sense that any death is tragic. But based on the facts as we know them, this is clearly a case of an individual protecting his home (and family) from an intruder,” Wesley Bell, a prosecuting attorney, told reporters. “There has been some speculation in the media as to the mental state of the intruder, but even if true, this would have little weight on the homeowner’s ability to protect his family." (fox2now.com 8/13/21 and kmov.com, St. Louis, Mo., 9/3/21)
During the early morning hours of Friday, Aug. 20, an unidentified male allegedly broke into a Toledo, Ohio, home where two adults and multiple children were sleeping. The suspect was able to break through the front door of the home, but a female resident was armed and shot the intruder multiple times. The 34-year-old wounded man was found on the front lawn by paramedics who performed life-saving procedures and rushed him to the hospital with critical injuries. However, he ultimately succumbed to his injuries. The woman who fired the gun was taken in for questioning as per standard protocol. No one else in the home was injured. (wtol.com, Toledo, Ohio, and fox13news.com, Tampa Bay, Fla., 8/20/21)
A frantic 69-year-old female homeowner called police from her Cleveland, Ohio, residence during the night of Sept. 19, after shooting a home invader in defense of her husband. A 21-year-old woman had knocked on the door, then forced her way into the home and got into an altercation with the 72-year-old husband. While they were distracted, the wife was able to retrieve her firearm and shoot the suspect in the right abdomen and chest area, ending the fight. The home invader was taken to the hospital, where she later died. The homeowners, who did not know the woman, are not expected to be charged with any crime. (wkyc.com and cleveland19.com, Cleveland, Ohio, 9/20/21)
