Texas Homeowner Shoots Suspect After 2 Break-Ins: "A southeast Houston homeowner shot a burglary suspect Thursday afternoon after he was victimized twice in a week, officials told KPRC Local 2. Thomas Williamson lives in the 6000 block of Bois D'arc. He said he stayed home from work on Thursday after a burglar hit his home twice in a few days. Williamson said he looked out his window at about 1 p.m. and saw a man walk across his back yard. The man went into Williamson's garage and tried to steal an air compressor, worth about $400, he said. When the burglary suspect walked out of the garage with bolt cutters, Williamson said he grabbed his shotgun. "He came to the door and I went, 'Get on the ground. Get on the ground.' He got on the ground and I told him, 'Do not move,'" he said. "I was shaking. I had him on the ground with my shotgun and I told him, 'Do not move.' I was even yelling. I fired one shot in the ground just to show him I meant business." Williamson said he shot the man when he tried to run. The burglary suspect was taken to Ben Taub Hospital with a gunshot wound. His condition was not released. The District Attorney's Office said charges would probably not be filed because Williamson was protecting his property.


Texas: Clerk shoots, kills suspected thief: "Houston Police still have some questions about an overnight shooting that left a reported thief dead. Police say the apparent victim, a store clerk, pulled the trigger. It happened at a store on Broadway and Glover just after 11 p.m. in southeast Houston. Police say two suspected thieves went into the Colony Express Market and robbed the clerk inside. It happened at closing time. When the two were leaving, police say, the clerk shot the men. One of the suspected thieves was killed and the second man got away. The search is on for that suspect. Police are also looking into to see if there is surveillance video of the crime.


Obama is anti-gun: "Clinton and Obama favor some kind of ban on assault weapons, something McCain opposes. "I ... think we should reinstate the assault weapons ban (that expired in 2004) in order to give our police officers a fighting chance against the criminals on the street with these military-style assault weapons," Clinton said Tuesday. All three candidates oppose creating a national handgun registry. Rather than create a national registry, "I do think we have to do a better job sharing information between local and federal officials," Obama said yesterday. He differs with McCain and Clinton about whether people should be allowed to carry concealed guns. Clinton and McCain oppose outlawing it. "I am not in favor of concealed weapons," Obama said. "I think that creates a potential atmosphere where more innocent people could (get shot during) altercations." Obama and Clinton agree on most issues, NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandom said. McCain, however, "was good on our issues for a very long time. ... For a brief period of time, from 1999 to 2003-04, he wasn't as good. But since 2004, he has voted with us 100 percent of the time."


SC: 18-year-olds can now buy guns: "People as young as 18 can now buy and own handguns in South Carolina. Governor Mark Sanford signed a bill into law Wednesday to lower the minimum age from 21. 'People who are old enough to fight and die in the military should be able to purchase handguns, and the bill will put our laws more in line with those of other states,' Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said. The law went into effect immediately. South Carolina is one of 18 states -- and the only one in the South -- that had set 21 as the age for hndgun ownership, according to the National Rifle Association. The group says Wyoming has no handgun age requirement. In Montana, it's set at 14; in Vermont, 16."