Mississippi: Armed resident surprises thieves: "Three suspected burglars fleeing an angry and armed Jackson homeowner were arrested and charged Tuesday night, police said today. Precinct 2 Cmdr. Jesse Robinson said the west Jackson homeowner who lives in the 2300 block of Powers Avenue came home late Tuesday to find his front door kicked in. The owner found three strangers hiding in a rear bedroom and fired several shots. He missed, and the intruders fled, according to Robinson. However, a police officer later arrested and charged Corey Husbands, 20, Ceola Washington, 18, and Brandon Carter, 25, with house burglary. They are being held at the Hinds County Detention Center on $25,000 bond each."


California: Robber shot during coin shop heist dies: "An armed man attempting to rob a North Park coin shop Friday morning was killed after he and at least one of the store's employees exchanged gunfire, police said. The man and an accomplice went into the Old Coin Shop on El Cajon Boulevard, just east of Texas Street, at 9:16 a.m. and confronted two employees who were both armed with handguns, said San Diego police homicide Lt. Terry McManus. About the same time police received a 911 call about the robbery and while en route, shots were fired inside the business, McManus said. Officers found the would-be robber lying on the ground just east of the front door of the shop. McManus said his accomplice had picked him up from inside the store and brought him outside to a nearby parking lot before fleeing with the handgun. The man had been shot in the left leg and in the lower back, and he died at Mercy Hospital at 9:54 a.m., the lieutenant said. He has been identified as Michael Anthony Watkins Jr., 26, of San Diego. Witnesses said they saw the second man running from the store. He was described only as a young black man, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a thin build and was last seen wearing a gray sweater and dark pants, McManus said. Officer searching the area found clothing and a handgun in an alley behind a building on Hamilton Street near Howard Avenue, McManus said."


Are churchgoers' lives less worth defending?: "In several states, one of the fronts on which the battle between gun rights and citizen disarmament is being waged is over the right of worshippers to carry a defensive firearm in church. For me, the controversy is a little difficult to understand--why should going to church necessitate surrendering the ability to defend oneself and one's family? Churches may be sanctuaries, but going to one is clearly no certain defense against people bent on evil--with the killings at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church last summer being just one example. Some religious people might prefer to trust their faith to shield them, but personally, I much prefer the results of relying on a courageous, armed, private citizen. This debate has returned to the forefront in light of passage in the Arkansas House of Representatives of a bill to repeal the state's church gun ban."




The supergun that kills from a mile: "British Army snipers call it 'the Silent Assassin' and it is the weapon the Taliban fear the most. It is the British-made L115A3 Long Range Rifle which, in recent weeks, has killed scores of enemy fighters in Afghanistan. In a new initiative on the front line, the Army is using sniper platoons to target the Taliban and 'The Long', as the snipers call it, can take out insurgents from a mile away. The L115A3 Long Range Sniper Rifle - based on a weapon used by the British Olympic shooting team - weighs 15lbs, fires 8.59mm rounds and has a range of 1,100-1,500 yards." [Sounds a lot like the Barrett M107]