Illinois: No charges in fatal shooting following break-in: "State prosecutors say they will not bring homicide charges against a 61-year-old Harvey, Illinois man who shot and killed his 21-year-old stepson. Harvey police say the older man shot John Shedrich on Friday afternoon as Shedrich attempted to force his way into the home he had formerly shared. They say Shedrich had thrown bricks through a window and kicked down the front door to get in. Police said the stepfather, whom they declined to identify, fired only in self-defense."




Connecticut: Resident fatally shoots home invader : "Three home invaders were repelled in a shootout Sunday night with a homeowner that left one of the attackers dead and one seriously wounded, police said. [Bridgeport] Police said 47-year-old Edwin Vega was one of three people who broke into a DeKalb Avenue home. The homeowner opened fire on the assailants, killing Vega. The two others fled, but not before one was wounded. The homeowner was also shot and wounded in the attack."




New York: State deal muzzles toy guns: "A settlement with major national wholesalers has pulled thousands of toy guns that violate New York state law from shelves, many of them from a new target -- costume shops. The wholesalers were estimated to have distributed more than 12,000 toy guns in 2001 alone in violation of a state law that previously had been applied only to retailers. The settlement with New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's office is different from past actions in that it targets wholesalers and companies that specialize not in toys, but costume props and novelties. Spitzer said the distributors sold toy guns that violated a 15-year-old state law that bans realistic-looking toy guns unless they had permanent, usually inch-wide, orange stripes running down both sides of the barrel."