When a 79-year-old Jefferson County, Alabama man woke to find two uninvited guests in his home early yesterday morning, he did what a lot of gentlemen his age would do. He went for his night stand gun.
According to wbrc.com,
Preliminary investigation indicates that the homeowner woke up when he heard a noise coming from his basement after two suspects entered his home through a window, according to a news release from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office. The suspects went upstairs where one of them told the man, who was still in bed, not to move.
You know that advice about not f-ing with an old guy? These two apparently hadn’t learned that in crook school.
The homeowner then grabbed a gun that he kept by his bed and shot at the suspects. One suspect fled the house as the homeowner chased him. The fleeing suspect shot the homeowner in the leg as he was running across the yard.
So the homeowner dropped Thing One right there inside the house. Normally that would have made this one of our Defensive Gun Use of the Day posts. And as such situations go, this one could have ended up a lot worse.
Fortunately, the old gentleman sustained what the report terms “non-life threatening injuries.” So all’s well that ends (mostly) well. Given his age, where he lives and the circumstances, we doubt the gentleman’s in any legal jeopardy (if he managed to get a shot off at the escapee). But when you’ve already downed one bad guy and the other one is busy making a hasty retreat, it’s good practice to just let him go.
1 suspect out of 2 fled. What happened to the other?
Suspect #1, dead in the house:
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2017/03/79-year-old_jeffco_homeowner_s.html#incart_most-commented_news_article
According to this post, “the homeowner dropped Thing One right there inside the house.”
I feel sorry for the elderly homeowner. Dropping his Thing One in the house must have been quite embarrassing.
It’s just unfortunate that he wasn’t able to get both of them. I know, not wishing death and all, but these assholes need it. Wait for the next old folks home he breaks into and those people aren’t armed. Better to just remove the problem rather than pushing it away.
… wait, there’s a lesson for everyone there …
Good for him…
But, but, but, he didn’t have any training. He doesn’t shoot thousands of rounds per year. He doesn’t shove multi-thousand dollar pistols into plywood until failure, he doesn’t use ear pro, he doesn’t have a suppressor, nor an SBR, etc, etc etc… how can this possibly have happened???
What makes you assume he doesn’t have many decades of training?
I know you think your gun is a magical Talisman that automatically shoots on its own and will protect you no matter what. Those of us who live in the real world like the get a Quality Tool and learn how to use it. Luck is not a sound survival tactic.
the reply to someone making fun of ‘beard commandos’ shouldnt sound like its coming from a beard commando
know your gun, practice, dont be stupid. go F yourself with that strawman BS you just wrote
I don’t think strawman means what you think it means, princess.
Not to mention he was old, likely on Social Security and as such insane and should not have even had a firearm. //SARC!//
Lol, are you mad that you can only afford a XD and one box of Wolf ammo?
Well he showed them! He may have been waiting 70+ years to really fix some scumbag!
“When a 79-year-old Jefferson County, Alabama man woke to find two uninvited guests in his home early yesterday morning, he did what a lot of gentlemen his age would do.”
First, I would’ve soiled myself, and I’m half his age.
Note to self, sleep in my brown pants.
And your red shirt…
Note to self: sleep in pants. 🙂
Proof, if you needed more, that just because a felon is fleeing doesn’t mean he’s not an imminent threat.
Guy drops a gun and runs- alright, see you at the lineup.
Guy is holding the gun and running- I’m shooting till he drops or drops the gun. I’m not letting him get to cover and open fire on me, I’m not letting him turn and give me a the ol’ Parthian (‘parting’) shot either. If he makes it far enough away maybe I’ll take cover instead since I don’t want to put rounds near my neighbor’s house.
The argument that a fleeing felon is not a threat is kinda destroyed here, isn’t it? Sounds like justification to shoot the mofo until you are certain he no longer has a weapon, like you saw him drop it, and of course if you shot him in the back that did not happen.
Feel good story of the day!
Chasing the fleeing, armed intruder is a no-no
Shooting at him is even worse
By chasing him you are seeking revenge and that makes it not a defensive gun use
And he is still dangerous as shown here as he managed to shoot the homeowner who was chasing him
As the article said, it is a good it was in Alabama as they are unlikely to prosecute the homeowner
Letting bad guy #2 is good enough, unless he decides to come back. If I were the old guy, “you broke into MY house and threatened MY life.” Why does the law require I give you a second chance ? I practice with my firearm regularly so I will hopefully not have to chase bad guy #2 out into the yard where bad guy #3 might be waiting.
Silver lining to the home owner getting shot by suspect #2 is it’s beyond a shadow of a doubt the suspects were armed and his life was in danger. Doubt there’s any state that could make a case against the home owner after that.
He’s probably too old to care about Ayoobian court-jitsu and just wanted revenge for a good night’s sleep lost. Kudos , old chap!
Getting shot while armed and committing a burglary will do more to ‘rehabilitate’ a criminal than the inevitable prison sentence (and early release due to overcrowding).
I noticed in several recent DGUs reports, the stress & anguish of homeowners forced to defend themselves; they certainly don’t sound like bloodthirsty paranoid gun-owners who have been just waiting for the opportunity to shoot people (or pretend to be a cop).
From a follow-up story:
“For 21 years, John Croft lived in his Center Point virtually problem free until last summer….. Croft, who is 79, says the burglaries began last June. Since then, he says his house has been broken into 13 times.”
Deputies were also still searching for the two other suspects. Croft believes they are friends of a young man he knows.
“I have three bedrooms. I think they checked the other two bedrooms out and then he came over there and said, ‘Don’t move!’ He heard the bed squeak. I was getting my gun. He said, ‘Don’t move’ and he used the ‘N’ word and I shot,” Croft recounted later Wednesday.
“I hate that boy dead, but I don’t hate I shot him. I just hate to meet his mother because it was a teen. And there’s nothing as precious to a mom as a son. And you know what’s been happening to black boys today. For another black man to shoot one don’t look good. But like I say, I had no choice”
Glad the homeowner was black. If not, you know the REAL racists (BLM, etc) would be rioting. To them, it’s OK for blacks to shoot anyone, even innocents. But, if a black violent criminal gets shot by a white man, they REAL racists create lies ( He good boy, dindufuffin, hands up/don’t shoot) and try to create a riot, and profit by any means necessary.