Gun saves another woman from a nutter: "A Wilmington woman got the scare of her life when a nearly naked intruder broke into her home, but she turned the tables on the man, who quickly turned tail and ran. According to police, Keith Simpson, 32, was wearing nothing more than a red T-shirt when he tried to break into her house Friday morning. "Somebody was ringing my doorbell and so I yelled, 'Who is it? Who is it?' They wouldn't answer," said Cheryl Pettaway. Pettaway grabbed her son and her gun and started to call 911. That was when the half-naked Simpson broke through Pettaway's back door. "The next thing you know, I just heard somebody in my house and I ran midpoint down the steps and I fired shots randomly," Pettaway said. She fired her gun at least eight times, but missed the intruder. He tried to flee through the garage, but that is where he was caught by police. Police said this was one of the oddest burglary cases they have seen. "This is definitely something we don't see every day. ... Breaking in half-clothed -- that's different," said Sgt. William Wells, of the Wilmington police."


Cabbie shoots rider: The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says a cab driver shot and killed a man who tried to rob him Thursday night. The fatal shooting happened as the cab driver dropped off two people at the Lighthouse Apartments. The shooting, coupled with Wednesday's shooting at a gas station in the same area, has police officers worried. "The convenience store clerk was brutally murdered and our hearts go out to people who have to make a living and they put themselves in harms way everyday just to make a living," said Sgt. Scott McLeod. The cab driver is an employee of Citicab. No word on whether he'll face charges.


Gun halts mental case: "A man who fled a mental health evaluation at Travis Air Force Base was found trying to break into a house, Fairfield police said Wednesday. Cole Richardson, a 21-year-old military dependent living on the base, alarmed a resident by banging on a sliding glass door to a bedroom around 1 a.m. Wednesday, said police Lt. Tony Shipp. The resident told investigators that he armed himself with a handgun and went to investigate. Shipp said that when the resident saw Richardson, clad only in a pair of underwear and still attempting to enter the house, he fired his weapon. He then went outside, fired additional shots and held the suspect at gunpoint until police arrived. None of the shots hit Richardson, but he was later treated for cuts to his head. Investigators did not know how Richardson suffered the cuts"


Safe hunting: "The stereotype of hunting as a dangerous activity in which participants regularly fall victim to unsafe use of firearms took another severe blow with the recent release of a report on Texas hunting-related accidents. This past calendar year saw fewer firearms-related hunting accidents in Texas than any year since 1966, when Texas Parks and Wildlife Department began maintaining detailed records. In 2004, TPWD wardens documented 29 hunting-related accidents, including four fatal ones, among the state's more than one million licensed hunters. Those 29 hunting-related accidents continue a long-term reduction of such accidents in the state. State hunting safety officials and hunter education instructors point to a concerted effort to teach firearms safety as part of a mandatory hunter education program in Texas as one of the reasons for the decline in accidents and fatalities".