Ohio: Tenant kills would-be robber: "A gunman who police say kicked in the door to an East Side apartment was shot to death by one of the tenants early today. Jermaine A. McCrary, 19, of Ashville died of a single gunshot wound to the head after breaking into an apartment at 2936 E. Fifth Ave. at 1:47 a.m. Sgt. Dana Norman of the homicide squad said McCrary intended to rob the occupants, a man and woman who told police that they didn't know him. McCrary pistol-whipped the man before he was shot by one of the tenants. Terrified, the residents ran out of the apartment and several blocks west before finding someone to call police. Norman wouldn't say which tenant fired the shot, and he would not release their names. He said the case will be presented to a grand jury but appeared to one of self-defense. Neither tenant has been charged with a crime.


Pizza driver: 'There was no way out': "A Des Moines pizza driver who was suspended from his job after he shot an armed robber said today he has been overwhelmed by support from people who cheered what happened. "But no one had contacted me directly about a job offer," said James William Spiers III, 38, who was sent home by Pizza Hut managers after he fired multiple shots at a man who put a gun to his head Thursday and demanded money outside the Sutton Hill Apartments, 2100 S.E. King Ave. The suspect, Kenneth Jimmerson, 19, was arrested when he later called for medical help. Jimmerson, who police say suffered at least three gunshot wounds, survived his injuries and faces a first-degree robbery charge. Melanie Stout, 18, who allegedly called in the pizza order, is charged with conspiracy. Spiers, who has a valid handgun permit, said he's been "pretty much in the dark" about his job since the incident. Vonnie Walbert, vice president of human resources at Pizza Hut's corporate offices in Dallas, said last week that employees are not allowed to carry guns "because we believe that that is the safest for everybody."


PA House votes against requiring lost, stolen handgun reporting: "A proposal to require handgun owners to report to police when their weapons are lost or stolen was defeated Tuesday in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The 75-128 vote was a defeat for gun-control advocates who said it would have helped prevent criminals from using straw buyers to circumvent Pennsylvania's gun sales regulations. "Seventy-five is great, on one hand," Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, said afterward. "The reality is, we want to have a law on the books." Twenty Republicans voted for the measure _ all from Philadelphia or its suburbs _ and 81 were against it. Fifty-five Democrats supported it and 47 voted no. The measure would have given owners 72 hours after they learned a weapon was missing to report it. Police who encountered an unreported lost or stolen handgun in a criminal investigation would have been able to charge a first-time offending owner with a summary offense. A second offense would have been a misdemeanor, and a third offense would have constituted a felony. Backers said it was needed to help reduce gun violence that has been particularly devastating in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and many of the state's other cities."


Gun sales on the rise: "Octavia 'Tavia' Bowers felt like a prisoner in her home. A knee injury keeps the York woman from running or walking fast. If someone tried to attack her, she couldn't escape, she said. So she led a restricted life. And she was scared. 'I don't go nowhere,' Bowers said. 'I go straight home from work and lock the doors. I feel like a prisoner.' Now, she's emancipated. Eight days ago, Bowers completed an eight-hour class to qualify for a concealed weapons permit, allowing her to carry a handgun in a holster or purse. ... A Davidson College professor who studies gun issues said initial fears about people carrying concealed weapons have proven unfounded. 'The litany of horrors has not happened, and it's not surprising,' said Lance Stell, an authority on gun topics related to Constitutional law, ethics and self-defense. 'The evidence has proven that since the legal permission has spread across the country, the prediction that it would be a very bad thing and increase violence is proven not correct.'"