Around 7:00 a.m. on September 7, a 16-year-old girl and her mom from Spanaway, Washington, stopped by a neighbor’s house following a domestic abuse incident that they’d overheard that morning. The neighbor’s 34-year-old ex-boyfriend had reportedly gotten into an argument with her, threatened her with a knife and slashing her tires before leaving the home.
In exchange for that act of neighborly goodwill, the daughter got the scare of her life. The girl returned home (the mother may have gone on to work) to find that the power had been shut off. She immediately grabbed a .22 pistol.
She heard a noise in the back yard and, moments later, saw the ex-boyfriend standing in the doorway, telling her that she was going to die, the man attacked the girl with his knife, cutting her shirt and breaking the skin on her arm. That’s when she managed to give him a hard kick and fire one shot, after which the attacker ran off.
Shortly afterward, deputies saw a man who the description the woman had given earlier walking around the area. He was carrying a knife, a black airsoft gun, black gloves, and, somewhat strangely, 35 rounds of hollow point 9mm ammunition. He has been arrested on charges of burglary and first degree assault, as well as several other lesser charges.
Many gun owners believe .22 is an inadequate self-defense caliber, and in some states (i.e. Texas) it’s too small to use for a CCW licensing proficiency test. However, in this case as well as many others, a .22 repeatedly proves to be better than nothing at all.
The “good guy with a gun” narrative is a myth meant to scare people into buying guns for self-defense.
The truth? People rarely use guns for self-defense. Read more: https://t.co/JiRK3zkvkl
— Giffords (@GiffordsCourage) July 6, 2018
That she had the presence of mind to notice the cut power and arm up,…tears of joy, good girl! 10 rounds of Mini-Mags will still kill you dead, good news hope she’s OK.
“… to find that the power had been shut off….
Kudos to the girl!
Needs more mag dump though.
“Why did you shoot him 13 times?”
“Because my extra magazine was in the other room.”
John
I 2nd the mag dump and further encourage head shots with 22lr!
While I am extremely glad the 16-Y.o. is physically safe, not so sure how well she is doing mentally …
Neighbor or not, why can’t people mind their own business? That teenager could have been seriously hurt/killed. Under normal circumstances, one 16-Y.o. female is no match for a 34-Y.o. regardless of gender.
Had the 16-Y.o. stayed at home until the neighbors domain was clear, or, if she absolutely had to have a face-to-face, invite the domestic abuse victim over the her house; now there are two of them against this knuckle-head.
Stupid-places the neighbors house that was possibly the scene on a domestic violence encounter, stupid-people, the knuckle-head with the knife who appears to have followed the 16-Y.o. back to her –no longer safe place– of abode.
I, too, am confused as to why you would introduce your 16 year old child into such a dangerous situation. I’m not saying everyone should ‘mind their own business’ (maybe go over and offer to loan the neighbor a gun in case the bastard comes back) but leave your kid out of it. Domestics are bad juju, how do people no understand this yet?
Hannibal says: September 11, 2018 at 16:59 …
I may not have been clear, or more to the point, I.E. every civilian that see’s an altercation between two other non-biological family people, would do well to mind their own business or be prepared to, at the very least, donate a good amount of their assets toward bail and perhaps legal counsel.
Minding ones business is really not that challenging.
I saw your point and only agreed in part (regarding having a kid get involved) because I disagree with it as a whole. I see such a broad injunction against helping your neighbors, friends, whomever as a cowardly way to live. Situations matter and we don’t know everything about this one.
@ Hannibal says: September 11, 2018 at 20:22 …
Your comments are well pointed. my version of remaining out of other peoples business Comes from both the street and domestic issues. People will flip on you in less than a heartbeat.
One minute/second it is, –help! oh please make him/her stop, get him/her off of me!
Then after you intervene, the victim is like …
–what have you done? that’s my boy-friend (or whatever), You did not have to do that. ‘That’ being whatever it was you did to neutralize/calm the attack.
We have –been there, –done that and witnessed others experience exactly what is posted above. These are people that grew-up together, in some instances they were biologically connected, as a result the family was torn in two; one side agreeing with the level of intervention, the other side not agreeing.
While I understand ‘you’, Hannibal, does grasp the gravity of domestic violence, There is no way I would intervene other than orally from a distance, –to suggest they stop– and/or document the event. Even without worrying about the legal aftermath, weapon or not; one of those people involved, hopefully not adolescents, is being physically attacked.
Rhetorically speaking, exactly why would I (anyone), want that conduct/behavior re-directed toward their direction?
It’s hard to judge the situation well when looking thru an internet peephole. Seeing how the power was off, and the boyfriend was in the backyard, my guess is there is a lot more backstory than this article provides. I do not know why she went back to the house alone, but I’m glad she is ok and sad it seems the boyfriend is too.
@ Joel says: September 11, 2018 at 17:20 …
I’m not engaging you in a one-on-one, or trying to change your Point of View (POV), please go back over the article.
Never-mind –“going back to the house alone”, why did the 16-Y.o., or any reasonable person, leave the supposed safe home, and go next door to the recent scene of a possible domestic-violence incident?
That is the exact concern I have about the entire episode.
Let’s suppose you and your neighbors know each other well and have helped each other in the past — and you’ve just witnessed domestic violence against your neighbor, who is also a friend.
What would you do then?
@ Ing says: September 11, 2018 at 18:11…
If the neighbor is in good graces with me, I would use my cell-phone camera, until the violence is directed at me and my biological camp.
Make no mistake, I will not get involved ‘in’ or ‘with’ anyone else’s affairs who is not known to be biologically connected to me and/or a –defenseless adolescent.
While I understand your position, I will personally always do the right thing, even if it isn’t the ‘safe’ thing. And while I discourage running recklessly towards danger, I have taught my children to stand up for the poor, oppressed, and downtrodden.
Domestic disputes are nasty though. I would have to know both parties involved VERY well before walking into that situation.
In the instance above, the home hardly seems safe, if the aggressor can so easily gain access to the backyard. It seems the daughter would have been safer with the victim or her mother than alone at home.
I have to agree with Joel. Not enough info. to understand the situation. Maybe the mother and daughter went to see if the neighbor was hurt and needed help after the BF had left but he returned. Only they know.
And for you guys who are so quick to say “mind your own business” I say how would you like it if an intruder attacked your wife or daughter while you were at work and your neighbors just turned up their TVs and “minded their own business”. I sure as hell wouldn’t want neighbors like you.
The daughter was attacked in her own home, not at the home of the neighbor who was the abuse victim. Leaving the daughter behind during the visit to the victim would have changed nothing. This was retaliation by the abuser against anyone who dared to support his victim.
@ Kendahl says: September 11, 2018 at 17:29,
–Quote
The daughter was attacked in her own home, not at the home of the neighbor who was the abuse victim. Leaving the daughter behind during the visit to the victim would have changed nothing. This was retaliation by the abuser against anyone who dared to support his victim.
–End Quote
How can a person have retaliation directed towards their person, if they did not introduce themselves onto the domestic-violence scene?
Unless of course this 34-Y.o. knuckle-head had prior knowledge of the relationship between his ex-girl and the neighbor.
Head shots with .22 are damned effective
.22lr can be very lethal. Here is an old article about it:
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/06/foghorn/ask-foghorn-22l-for-self-defense/
“So, in short, what’s the answer? Is a .22 a good self defense round? According to the numbers, it looks to be among the best in terms of stopping the threat. Add in the fact that it’s lightweight, low recoil and uses firearms that are ridiculously easy to conceal and you can see where a .22 caliber firearm for concealed carry might be a winner.”
I agree. The question is not; “is the .22 lethal?” The question is: “how many times to I have to shoot you in the eyes before you stop being a jerk?” Any decent .22 pistol is capable of such accuracy and if you practice often, one should be able to empty a mag in just a few seconds to the location of one’s choice. This is why I think that .22lr is a fine self defense round for anyone willing to practice. I wouldn’t want to go into combat with it, but if it’s all I have…
.22 long rifle with hollow points are effective
There is a story about a British woman in British East Africa(now Kenya) who owned a Colt Woodsman. She used to practice with it by shooting golf balls in her yard. One day, while her husband and the farm hand had gone to town, 7 to 10 Mau Mau savages attacked. She shot each one in the head and they all died.
That’s my point exactly!
A .22lr beats a sharp stick almost every time.
A 22 is better than an air soft…
A 22 lr is better than any gun, if it’s the most gun she can handle.
Stupid guy… he brought a knife to a gunfight..
You, sir, win the internet!
You can in fact qualify with a .22lr handgun for a Texas license to carry. The change happened last year along with a decrease in cost for the license.
a 22lr snake shot load will stop anything with eyes two rounds in the face and he is done. if it will stop a 10foot rattler it will stop a skinny doper .two shots in the face and one in the nuts will stop a bull elephant.
I carried 1st round snake shot in my black widow for a while. I decided I was already way too under gunned with the BW So I went back to 5 WMR pills…
Seems like more than a few blame the incident on the victim.
This is not about blame, its about ‘Avoidance’ …
— Stupid places = scene of a possible and recent domestic violence.
— Stupid people/person = the 34-Y.o. knuckle-head with a knife and what seems to be some emotional/mental issue.
I could be wrong.
Anon. The comments you’ve made in this thread are why we, indeed, need cops in our society.
@ jwm says: September 11, 2018 at 19:42 …
I do agree, but you know how that goes –how far away is the LEO during an attack, or in a time of need; other than taking a report?
As secretaries and historians. I’d say janitors too, but we all know they leave the clean-up to the victims family.
Spanaway is one of those tweener places, not a great place, not a ghetto, but they have more than their fair share of this kind of activity. A little odd that the Lakewood K-9 unit was used, Lakewood is a not exactly next door, there’s an Air Force base and I-5 between them.
“…in some states (i.e. Texas) it’s too small to use for a CCW licensing proficiency test.”
Not anymore. That part of the law was changed in 2017, there is not minimum caliber anymore.
Current: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/GV/htm/GV.411.htm#411.188
Changes: https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/85R/billtext/html/SB00263F.htm
Should upgrade to at least a KelTec PMR 30 in .22 WMR…30rds is hard to beat…Plus, the extra sting of much more zippy .22 WMR HP rounds!
…All actions within this article would most likely be “ILLEGAL 🚫” in the People’s Republic of M–Assachusetts…Per order of the AG. Maura Healey, and the DemoCommie Legislature…With the support of RINO/GOP Gov. Charlie “The Barker” Baker.. Because according to most corrupt politicians and police within this 3rd world country-state…A MA resident DOESN’T have a 2nd amendment here, ONLY a barely tolerated Local/state police issued Privilege….
“No she didn’t. The bullets didn’t phase him since they’re so slow and small and he went on a rampage. She couldn’t even get off more than a few shots because most didn’t even go off because rim fire ammo sucks.”- Response from every gun forum with guys that act like they know better
And this is why 16 year olds should never have unsupervised access to firearms.
If you’re a good enough marksman, .22 rimfire will work.
I know of a case where a guy took down an Alaskan moose with a .22 LR out of a Nylon 66.
A friend of mine carries a .22 mag derringer because he can pack it even in his workout clothes while out biking or jogging.
A square on head shot at bad breath range would be plenty effective.
Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement….
A little extra research – komonews.com – gives a more complete story. The neighbors were there after the dipstick had (theoretically) left. Here’s a young woman who will probably be a member of the POTG for the rest of her life. Kudos to her for maintaining her presence of mind, arming herself and using the weapon in a Defensive Gun Use (just one of millions that have / will take place in the USA this year).
There is a great message here.
This is the state that is trying to pass an initiative that would
Ban anyone under 21 from having access to a firearm
Make it mandatory that the firearm be locked up and unassailable to this girl.
In other words, let the 16 year old die because we know whats best for you.
ONE SHOT, that’s how you get yourself killed.
Shoot until the threat is stopped. With a .22LR you can shoot quite a few in rapid manner to ensure the threat is stopped.
One NJ woman was killed when she shot her attacking ex with one gun, it jammed, so she dropped it and ran while having another gun? The killer followed through.
With no training and total lack of knowledge, coupled with life time of lefty propaganda brain washing, this young lady did right!
Good for her. That phony giffords gang is full of lefty progressive BS. Funded by Bloomberg and Sorros.
I hear gun some gun folks throwing off on .22 as a self defense round and I guess in the abstract they have a point. However, I would not like to get shot by a .22, a .308 or any other round. Even if it did not kill you it would hurt like a SOB. Use what you have available at the time, I say.
This goes to prove that the age for an adult to legally purchase a firearm should be 18. I have two daughters age 11 and 13, I want them to be well armed at 18 under good adult supervision.
I am watching this story closely.
Comments are closed.