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.