British public fear of violent crime fed by rise in robberies with guns: "Robberies at gunpoint increased by 10 per cent last year in England and Wales, according to Home Office figures published yesterday. The figures include armed robberies in the street, which rose by 9 per cent, and armed robberies in homes, which almost doubled. The figures, have been falling for the past four years and the sudden reversal will alarm the Home Office. The total number of robberies at gunpoint rose to 1,439 and the number of gun robberies at residential properties jumped by 46 per cent to 645, an increase of 204 and more than five times the level recorded when Labour came to power. Although firearms robberies at Post Offices, banks and building societies have fallen because of branch closures and tougher security measures at those that remain, the latest figures indicate that armed robbers are going for soft targets. Overall, gun crime fell last year and the number of killings dropped by 15 per cent if the victims of the July 7 bombings are taken out of the 746 total. But killings by strangers have almost doubled to 302 since Labour came to power.


Las Vegas: Jewelry Store Owner Shoots Robbery Suspect : "Three robbery suspects tried to hit a jewelry store Wednesday night, but the victim turned the tables on them. The owner of the jewelry store opened fire hitting one suspect. Two are still on the run. This is the third such incident this month. The first two in North Las Vegas were deadly. Just after 7 p.m., the suspects, two men and one woman, tricked the owners to let them into the secured store by posing as customers. Once inside they pulled out at least one gun and demanded jewelry. Both owners were forced to the ground but one of them was able to get a gun. It then became a shootout. Sgt. Rod Hunt, Metro Robbery, said, "The owners and the suspects exchanged gunfire. [It's] unclear who shot first. One of the suspects who was hit was taken to UMC." The owner was able to shoot one suspect in the spine. The other two got away. It's unclear whether they took any merchandise."