Oklahoma: Man fends off knife-wielding intruder during home invasion: "A Metro man takes on a man with a knife and wins. Maurice Johnson was catching up on some sleep Thursday afternoon when his burglar alarm sounds. He awakes to a man in his house in the 4300 block of North Blackwelder. "I see a guy in a big black jacket holding a knife about that size and he tells me basically turn the alarm off and give me money." Johnson, keeping his wits about him, tells the man to follow him to the back bedroom where there may be some cash. The suspect keeps the knife held tightly against Johnson as they walk through the house. Johnson says he pretends to rifle through his drawer to get money but got his gun instead and fires a shot at the suspect. The suspect takes off immediately. No word on if the suspect was hit."


FL: Teen robber killed at Burger King had lengthy juvenile record: "Long before Johnny Jean-Baptiste was shot dead trying to rob a Burger King on Tuesday, the Miami teenager was a familiar face to police... On Tuesday, Jean-Baptiste was out on bond awaiting trial for the carjacking charge when he walked into a Burger King at 5398 Biscayne Blvd. around 4 p.m. Wearing a ski mask and black gloves, say police, the teen pointed a semiautomatic Bryco .380 at the people behind the counter. Customer John Landers, armed with a 9 mm Glock and a concealed weapons permit, saw the teen and confronted him, telling him to put down the gun. Jean-Baptiste refused and fired his weapon. Landers, 45, fired back. Within moments, Jean-Baptiste lay dead on the floor of the fast-food restaurant, while Landers had bullet wounds to his chest, shoulder and arm. No one else inside the store -- which is usually crowded with children leaving a nearby school and adults getting off work -- was injured. [This story was posted here on 26th but no names were available at that stage]


IN: Father shoots son, claims self defense: "A Muncie man was airlifted to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis on Friday morning after being shot by his father following an argument. Muncie police released Michael L. Thomas, 61, after questioning about shooting his son, Andrew, 29, following a confrontation in their south Muncie home in the 2200 block of South Windpoint Drive around 4:42 a.m. "He is claiming self defense," said police detective Sgt. Mike Engle, about the father who told police he was afraid of his son. According to police, Andrew Thomas apparently confronted his father and mother, Mornie, as they lay in bed, following a dispute over a disconnected phone and the trash being taken out. As the son lunged at his father, the elder Thomas pulled out a handgun and shot his son in the stomach. Andrew Thomas underwent surgery Friday and was listed as a "no information patient." Michael Thomas, who declined to comment, put down his gun after calling emergency dispatch. Police Sgt. Jay Turner said the victim was conscious and talking before he was taken to the hospital. Engle said the case would be turned over to the county prosecutor's office to determine whether formal charges would be filed in the shooting. Police are looking into reports of whether the younger Thomas might have threatened his parents before."


Gun rights and the Constitution: Was Heller insignificant?: “Has the Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller … been of almost no significance? So claimed the New York Times in a recent article by Supreme Court reporter Adam Liptak. Unfortunately, Liptak’s article followed in a long New York Times tradition of credulously reporting the claims of one anti-gun professor, without conducting sufficient research to see if the claims hold up. Let’s start with the most obvious facts which the Times overlooked. On the day that Heller was decided, the citizens of five Chicago suburbs … were prohibited from owning guns. … Today … [i]n four of the five Chicago suburbs … the handgun bans have been repealed. Yet according to the Times, ‘So far, Heller is firing blanks.’”