The 21-Foot Rule predicts that a knife can beat a gun within…yes, 21 feet. But a deranged, machete-wielding intruder in Pocatello, Idaho might have forgotten that the 21-Foot Rule doesn’t apply when that gun is already drawn and aimed at your center of mass. For that slight miscalculation, he took three 9mm slugs to the torso . . .
According to the Idaho State Journal, defender James Cvengaros had been awakened by the sound of his deranged upstairs neighbor noisily breaking his own windows. Cvengaros had a bit of a history with this neighbor from hell, so when he heard him breaking into other apartments he grabbed his 9mm and called the police.
Cvengaros had actually bought the handgun because the same deranged neighbor had kicked in his door on an earlier occasion to complain about loud music. It’s a shame Cvengaros didn’t have a gun on him that first time, but Cvengaros figured things out in time for the next break-in.
When his door burst open and the crazed neighbor entered with a machete, Cvengaros warned him that he had a gun and repeatedly commanded him to leave. When that didn’t work, Cvengaros reluctantly switched to Plan B.
“I told him to stop. I told him, ‘I’ve got a gun, don’t make me use it,’ but he just kept coming at me. He had this crazy, glazed look,” Cvengaros said. “I thought a gun would deter him. It did not.”
Cvengaros said he fired the handgun twice, and the intruder kept coming. When he fired a third shot, the man went down.
The lunatic is recovering from extensive emergency surgery and is likely to survive to face charges of aggravated burglary. No charges are expected against the homeowner.
I’ve got to ask again: what is it with crazy people and machetes?