Alabama: Elderly Woman Shoots Homeless Man In Her Laundry Room: "Mobile police said an 81-year-old woman shot a homeless man this morning after finding him washing his clothes in her laundry room. Police spokesman Officer Eric Gallichant told the Press-Register that Ethel Sanders told people she heard noises in her laundry room. When she went to investigate, she found a man standing in his underwear near the washing machine. Gallichant said Sanders was carrying a handgun and shot the man when he came at her. He said Sanders fell to the ground and dropped the gun after firing. Gallichant said the man grabbed the gun, pointed it at Sanders and took his clothes from the washing machine. The man fled and Sanders called police just before 8 a.m. Officers caught the man at the nearby Plateau Community Center. James Penn, who is 25, was taken to University of South Alabama Medical Center. Gallichant said he is expected to survive. Upon release from the hospital, Gallichant said, Penn will be charged with first-degree burglary."


Kansas woman saved by good marksmanship: "Allen County Attorney Jerry Hathaway will decide whether to file charges from an incident that involved discharge of a firearm in a domestic setting a mile southwest of Iola Saturday evening. Sheriff Tom Williams said Don Hammer, when confronted by his wife, Geraldine, holding a handgun and aiming it at him, fired a single shot that struck her hand and sent the weapon flying to the floor. The confrontation came after the couple apparently had argued, William said. Williams said Geraldine Hammer, 68, riding a motorized scooter, retrieved a .25 caliber handgun from a cabinet just prior to the shooting. Don Hammer was armed with a .357 caliber handgun. “When she confronted him with the weapon, he shot it out of her hand,” the sheriff said. “He then called 911. Geraldine Hammer suffered a minor wound to a finger. She was taken into protective custody and was released to family after a screening by mental health authorities. Don Hammer also was taken into custody after Lee Roberts, a 911 dispatcher, convinced him to come from the house and give himself to officers, several of whom were waiting outside. Hammer later was released. “We looked at the scene and everything matched statements made by both of the Hammers” that it was self defense on his part, Williams said." [Could be an Alzheimer's case]


Missouri: Shots exchanged during KC home invasion: "An intruder who forced his way into a Kansas City home early this morning was chased off when a resident fired a shot through his closed bedroom door. Kansas City police were called to the house in the 4100 block of South Benton St. about 1:50 a.m. and found signs that the front door had been pried open. A 69-year-old man told officers that he was awakened by the sound of the door being forced open. The man said that as he heard the intruder approach his bedroom he fired a shot from a .40-caliber handgun. The suspect fired a return shot and fled. Another man was sleeping in the house, but neither resident saw the intruder, according to police reports. The residents were not injured and there were no signs that a bullet hit the intruder."