British gun control at work. Teen shot dead in London is third this month: "A 15-year-old boy has been shot dead in south London, becoming the third teenage boy to be gunned down in the area this month, police said. London Police Chief Ian Blair has called a meeting with colleagues following the spate of murders, the Metropolitan Police said. "We would like to reassure the communities in south London that we are taking the current situation very seriously and are doing everything in our power to find those responsible," the police said in a statement. In the latest killing, officers were called to an address in Lambeth, where they found the boy with a gunshot wound. Paramedics also attended but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Cordons were put up around the area as a murder investigation got underway. Another 15-year-old boy, Michael Dosunmu, was shot dead at his house in Peckham, south London, on February 6. Three days earlier, James Smartt-Ford, 16, was gunned down a few miles away at Streatham ice rink. Despite the rising death toll, police insisted overall gun crime in London continued to fall. [How? The Times has more]


Oregon Woman fights off intruder: "An Oregon man is charged with attempted murder after a struggle inside a rural Ontario home. Malheur County Sheriff's deputies say 38-year-old Christopher Scott Hardy entered the home of a 33-year-old woman. She struggled with Hardy for control of his gun and she was able to fire all the rounds, escape and call 911 around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. Deputies say the victim knew Hardy. "Basically what she did is she saved her own life by deciding that she was going to fight and attempt to escape," said Brian Wolfe, Malheur County undersheriff. Hardy was tracked to another home north of Ontario and arrested. Back in 2000, he was convicted of attempted rape and several counts of sex abuse against two teenagers and served prison time. Hardy's being held in the Malheur County Jail."