Armed Victim Shoots Home Invading Criminal

Gun Sales Rise After Cheshire Home Invasion

Security Company Says Phones Ringing Off Hook

NEWINGTON, Conn. -- State gun sales have shot up in the days after the wife and two daughters of a prominent Connecticut physician were killed, according to a local gun shop owner.

Scott Hoffman runs Hoffman's Gun Center on the Berlin Turnpike. In the past few days, following the triple homicide in Cheshire, Hoffman said that people have been rushing to his store to buy guns for themselves and their homes.

"They're scared," he said. "They're scared for their own personal safety and their family's safety, their children's safety and they want a way to protect themselves."

Hoffman said that the most popular weapon for both men and women looking to defend themselves is a defense-grade shotgun. Hoffman credited the gun's popularity to the short waiting period -- it can be obtained in two weeks as opposed to waiting 90 days for a pistol permit.

"We sell about 8,000 guns a year, and I'd say a majority of them are for self-defense," he said.

Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Jessica Schneider reported that residents questioning their sense of safety following the home invasion have also been calling companies that install security systems.

Joe Mitchell of Associated Security Corp. said his company's phones have been ringing off the hook.

"I had 15 phone calls on my phone by 9:30 in the morning," he said.

He said that security systems aren't meant to protect valuables anymore, that many people use them to protect their lives.

(Yet another reason I carry a gun. I'm not saying that they would have been able to save themselves, but the odds would have been more even. Follow the links at the bottom of the linked page to read more about this senseless tragedy. -Yuri)

Senior Couple Saved by Gun

Cape Coral, Florida

From the Bonita Daily News of May 29, 2007

Cape Coral couple tries to cope after attack at their home

Jacob Seckler keeps a gun in his pocket when he mows the lawn. He keeps a gun in his pillowcase when he tries to sleep, but the shadows dancing across the bedroom walls keep him awake.

“I’m strictly against guns. I never wanted them in the house,” said Seckler. “Now I wouldn’t be in the house without a gun.”

Seckler’s stance on guns changed the morning of May 16. He was mowing his lawn when he turned around and saw two 20-year-old men standing behind him. Seckler said one of the men was pointing a gun at his head.

After Seckler, 50, raised his hands to the sky, the two men pushed him past the garage toward the front door of his home in northeast Cape Coral. They held him at gunpoint and said they were getting into his house no matter what.

A struggle ensued at the front door. Seckler refused to let the men inside and they beat him over the head with the pistol and their elbows and fists. One of the men bit Seckler’s back. Seckler’s fiancée, Elizabeth Kachnic, 37, said she heard screaming and the door slam repeatedly.

“I don’t know what happened to me,” said Seckler. “I was so scared. I’m not crazy like that, but I knew I had to do something.”

The gun was pressed against Seckler’s temple. He said he pushed the assailant’s hand down and the gun fell to the ground. Seckler said he screamed for Kachnic to call 911 as he and the two men scrambled for the weapon.

“I got the gun. I just turned around and shot,” said Seckler. “If they did not come here with a gun, they would be alive. It’s their fault.”

He fired every bullet in the clip. One of the men, John Patrick Moore Jr., was hit as he sprinted across Seckler’s driveway. He stumbled to the edge of the street and died.

Police say Moore’s accomplice, Damion Jordan Shearod, fled when they lost control of the gun. Seckler said Shearod was hiding in the garage or the side of his home and appeared after the gunfire ceased and ran to a car parked in the street outside Seckler’s residence.

Police say Moore’s 19-year-old girlfriend, Jazzmyne Carrol-Love, was waiting behind the wheel and the two sped away.

Seckler had just killed a man. He hadn’t held or fired a gun since he was 18 years old and serving in the German Army. Even then, he was only aiming at practice targets.

“I was crying, screaming and hurting,” said Seckler, a large man who became tearful while recounting the shooting. “If they would have gotten in they would have killed us both. Everybody says I did the right thing, but it feels so bad. I killed another person.”

(Much More)

Found at Civilian Gun Self Defense Blog

Man with Gun Saves Womans Life

"Woman claims double murder suspects broke into her home
May 23, 2007
By ERICA ESTEP 6 News Reporter

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- There is a new twist in the January murders of Christopher Newsom and Channon Christian. An East Knoxville woman says the suspects in the case broke into her home just a day before the couple was carjacked.

The single mother is afraid for her safety, so 6 News is protecting her identity. She lives less than a mile from the crime scene of the gruesome double murder on Chipman Street.

Her home was invaded by armed men a day before Newsom and Christian were carjacked. She says they are connected.

"I heard a big boom...they kicked...they kicked the door in."

The scuff marks are still visible where her front door was kicked in. She couldn't believe what happened next.

"I ran back into the room and they start shooting my door down," the woman says.

She says the suspects tried to get inside her bedroom. The door to the room is now ripped at the bottom.

The young mother's 13-year-old son and two friends were just a couple rooms away.

"I was screaming... ya'll stay down," she says.

But there was someone else in the house. A male friend who had a gun of his own. He shot back and the suspects took off.

Knoxville police responded and took pictures of the damage. Two weeks passed and then she says police returned.

"They brushed it off. Until these people get killed, then they take stuff serious," the woman says.

According to the woman, the police asked to come back and remove the bullets. She says they wanted to look for fingerprints and determine if the suspects were connected to the double murder.

She says police cut a panel from her wall and showed her photos of the double murder suspects. The victim says she recognized at least one of them as the man she saw that night.

"Actually at the door, I knew that big face. I knew one of the faces, the one that kicked the door in," she says.

While the victim says a detective told her the crimes were connected, Knoxville police will not confirm or deny that. They only say the investigation is still open.

When asked about national speculation that the double murders were racially motivated, the woman says, "I don't think it's a hate crime because I am a young, single black person, an African-American and they came after me."

The Merced, CA Pitchfork Murders

Presented without comment...

Deaths in Merced
The Mary Carpenter Letter


Mary Carpenter in her own words.
Part 1



Part 2

Civilian Self Defense - Episode 1

Monday, February 26, 2007

Newberry County, South Carolina

From Columbia’s WLTX.com of February 26, 2007
Prosecutors: Woman Killed Her Husband in Self-Defense

Prosecutors have decided that a fatal domestic shooting in Newberry County last month was done in self-defense.

Eighth Circuit Solicitor Jerry Peace determined that the female victim in the case, 59-year-old Cynthia Franklin, took appropriate actions to save her life, and that no charges will be filed in the case.

Deputies say Cynthia Franklin shot to death her husband, 63-year-old Dennis Franklin, back on January 26. Officers say the two got into a domestic dispute.

Investigators say they found the woman suffering significant wounds to her head, face, and upper body. They say there were obvious signs of a violent struggle in the home and that Cynthia was struck multiple times with a large stick.

Cynthia also told authorities she was trying to get away and made it to the bedroom where the pistol was kept, then shot her husband as he tried to attack her.

"This was a tragic situation," said Sheriff Foster in a written release. "While we certainly agree with the decision not to prosecute Mrs. Franklin, she and her family are left to deal with the devastating effects of this incident."

***

Friday, February 23, 2007

National City, California

From NBCSanDiego.com of February 23, 2007
Police: Victim Turns Gun On Home-Invasion Robber

A suspected home-invasion robber was shot and wounded by one of his alleged victims according to police in National City.

Officials said three men, wearing masks, forced their way into a home at 2032 E. Seventh Street Thursday night. Four people were inside the home at the time.

The men, armed with shotguns and other weapons, ordered the residents to the floor, according to police.

Officials said one of the residents managed to wrestle the shotgun away from one of the robbers. A struggle followed and the gun fired, hitting a wall.

Police said a second resident picked up the shotgun and fired two rounds at the robbers, striking one of the men, identified as Marc Wideman, 19, of Spring Valley.

All three robbers fled the scene. Wideman was later found by police at a local hospital. He was taken into custody. Police said his wounds are not life-threatening.

Police are still looking for the two other men in this case.

***

There are many more that I didn't post here. If you would like to read more about citizens using guns to protect themselves, go to Civilian Gun Self Defense Blog. Many thanks to them for allowing me to post some examples from their web site.