FL: Store clerk thwarts armed robbery: "A store clerk thwarted an armed robbery attempt late Tuesday night when he pulled out a weapon of his own, according to Tampa police. The two armed robbers fired back at the clerk as they ran out of the store, police said, but no one was hurt. The attempted robbery took place at the Friendly Meat 'N Grocery at 1910 N. 34th St. around 9 p.m, according to police. Two men wearing ski masks and gloves entered the store. One man pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the clerk. But the clerk, Mohammed Abu Sayed, 49, also had a gun. Realizing he was about to be robbed, police said Sayed quickly armed himself. Then the two men ran out of the store, police said, and the robber with the gun fired off a shot behind them as they ran. The bullet shattered a store window, police said. The men jumped in a dark-colored SUV and took off in an unknown direction. Police said no one was injured in the attempted robbery."


Texas: Homeowner Shoots, Kills Armed Man Angry Over Being Refused Entry To Party: "A homeowner in the Providence neighborhood shot and killed an armed man who may have been seeking retribution after being kicked out of a party on Saturday night. The name of the dead man hasn't yet been released, "pending forensic confirmation," the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office said in a statement issued Monday morning. However, a law enforcement source with knowledge of the case said the dead man is believed to be "a pretty high-ranking member of a gang," whom the homeowner appears to have shot while "defending his property and his family." According to the sheriff's office statement, deputies responded to a disturbance and possible shooting incident at 10:48 p.m. Saturday at a home in the 8700 block of Warrenford Drive, between Bellaire Boulevard and Bissonnet St. west of State Highway 6. "Upon arrival, Fort Bend County deputies found an unidentified male lying in the street, the victim of an apparent fatal gunshot wound." The sheriff's office didn't name the homeowner or reveal details of the shooting incident. But the law enfocement source familiar with the investigation said the dead man and one or more companions had approached the homeowner's house and tried to enter, because one of his children was having a party there. But the dead man and his companions were told to leave, and initially did so, the law enforcement source said. But then they came back. "One of them approached the man" who owned the house "and threatened him." Both the homeowner and the alleged gang member were armed with handguns, the source said. At least one shot was fired, and the man who tried to crash the party was killed."


South Carolina: Homeowner holds suspect at bay in pool: "A Lexington County man suffered cuts - but still was able to detain a man police say was caught breaking into his home Thursday. The homeowner held the man - at gunpoint - in his swimming pool. Ruben Silva-Aguilar, 19, of Lexington, was arrested on charges of first-degree burglary and assault and battery with intent to kill in connection with the incident, the Lexington County Sheriff's Department said. Silva-Aguilar is being held at the county detention center, awaiting a bail hearing. Reports indicate a homeowner on Gilbert Springs Court near Batesburg-Leesville arrived home Thursday as a burglary was taking place. According to reports, items were being carried out of the home's back door when the homeowner was cut on the arm with a knife. The homeowner managed to throw the man into the pool. Deputies responded at about 3:35 p.m. to a call about a burglary in progress, Metts said. A neighbor directed them to the home's backyard, where they found the homeowner - armed with a rifle - had forced the suspect to stand in the middle of the in-ground pool, reports say."


What is wrong with guns in churches? : "The Arkansas state legislature recently passed a law which makes it legal for holders of concealed-carry permits to carry their guns in church, and Brown is upset about that. “I don’t know about you,” he writes, “but that sounds like something we would expect from Arkansas.” I beg to differ. Recall that Arkansas’s former governor, and recent presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, wanted a nationwide ban on smoking. A state whose former chief executive happily promotes such Nanny State ideas seems an unlikely place for libertarian sensibility on firearms policy. But it is precisely that kind of sensibility that is being attacked by Brown. “I understand that about 20 states already allow people to carry guns to church, which really seems strange to me.” Really? A church is a publicly accessible piece of private property, like Wendy’s or Wal-Mart. I don’t wish to trivialize the experience; ours is a nation of churchgoers, and clearly the event is quite important to each and every one of them, different from grabbing a burger. My point is that, as far as risk assessment goes, there is no reason why a person who carries a gun for self-defense would arbitrarily draw a line at his church’s door."