British gun stupidity knows no bounds

Sending unarmed police to deal with armed robbers! At least the police chief was "sexist", I suppose. But the robbers weren't! Is that a triumph for feminism?

DETECTIVES hunting a gunman who shot a policewoman in the leg have made a second arrest, Lancashire police said. The 37-year-old, from the Manchester area, was detained last night on a railway line close to where dog handler Katie Johnson, 29, was shot as she responded to a robbery in Bamber Bridge, near Preston.

A police spokesman said: "The man, and another man who was detained earlier yesterday, are being held at Leyland police station for questioning on suspicion of attempted murder and armed robbery."

PC Johnson had ordered the masked thug to drop his weapon but he fired at close range. She was hit by 12 pellets, which were removed in hospital. Armed cops caught one of the two robbers in a wood. A second was still at large last night. A chef at the raided Hospital Inn had been pistol-whipped and suffered serious head injuries.

Acting Assistant Chief Constable Jerry Graham paid tribute to unmarried Katie. He said: "It is a complete fluke she wasn't murdered. She showed incredible bravery in challenging that man and was callously shot. "The level of violence was extreme. This man is a threat to the public. It is sickening and a reminder of the daily risk police officers take. It disturbs me greatly that someone fired on a female officer."

The chef spotted two men walking to the pub's back door and putting on balaclavas at 8.15am. He dashed upstairs to the living quarters, warned his partner - who is the pub's female licensee - and their two women bar staff, then dialled 999. But the men barged in and dragged the man downstairs to show them where the Christmas takings were kept. They threatened to shoot the three women unless they all did as they were told.

Within minutes PC Johnson and a male colleague arrived, along with other officers. All were unarmed. She raced to the back door - to confront one of the men as he rushed out. Det Supt Neil Hunter said: "There was a stand-off, then he just blasted her out of the way." PC Johnson has six years' service.

Police suspect a red Vauxhall Vectra, reg N396 RHO, may be a getaway car. One robber was 6ft, white and wore a black padded jacket. [So the other robber was black?]

Norman Brennan, of the Victims of Crime Trust, said: "Criminals are not frightened to shoot anyone, including police officers. We have unprecedented lawlessness."

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Mississippi teen kills intruder: "A teen shot and killed a home intruder Sunday night, stopping a theft in progress and sending the intruder's accomplices scurrying, said Sheriff Martin Pace. Found dead in front of a mobile home in South Warren County was Jonathan Bruce, 21, 3341 Sunnybrook Drive in Jackson, said Coroner Doug Huskey. Bruce had been shot once with a .410 shotgun and had stumbled out of the mobile home, Pace said. The teen, who was not identified, was not arrested or charged. Pace said details of the investigation will be presented to the district attorney, but it appeared the shooting -- Warren County's first homicide of the year -- will be deemed justifiable. Pace said the adults who lived in the home where Bruce was shot made a living as street vendors. He said Bruce and two other men had forced their way into the mobile home at 25 Red Oak Drive about 7 p.m. after inquiring about purchasing shoes. The teen and several other juveniles were alone when the trio entered. Pace said after the men got inside, they started "loading up merchandise" until the teen got a shotgun and fired it at Bruce, who had a handgun in his pocket. After being shot, Bruce turned and walked out onto the lawn, where he was found when deputies arrived. The other men fled in a sedan."


Texas: Robber, Clerk Killed In Separate Store Shootings: "A robber and a clerk died in shootings at two separate convenience stores in the Houston area, KPRC Local 2 reported Friday. The latest shooting happened at the Tony's Express Store in the 4000 block of Synott in southwest Houston. Investigators said just before 3 a.m., a store clerk shot two robbers who were stealing money from the register. The robbers ran out of the store, drove around the corner in a pickup truck, and then crashed into the cab of a parked 18-wheeler, police said. The driver of the pickup died behind the wheel. "At that point, the passenger jumped from the truck and fled the scene, ran down the street to another apartment. He was later apprehended and he is currently at Ben Taub Hospital with unknown injuries," Houston police Detective Roger Chappell told KPRC Local 2."