Montana man answers punch with his gun: "A man who police said shot his Wal-Mart co-worker in a dispute over the length of a work break has been released from custody because his actions may be protected by Montana's recently enacted "castle doctrine" law. When police arrived at the Wal-Mart on King Avenue West at about 9:15 p.m. Monday, they found Daniel Lira, 32, inside the store's loading dock area with a gunshot wound. Billings Police Sgt. Jay Berry said that Lira hit co-worker Craig Schmidt, 49, in the face. Schmidt fell backward, then pulled out a .25-caliber semiautomatic Beretta handgun and shot Lira, police said. The single shot was fired at a range of 10 to 15 feet. Lira, 32, was taken to St. Vincent Healthcare and later released. Police Sgt. Kevin Iffland said the bullet grazed the side of his head from front to back. Paxinos said that prior to passage of House Bill 228 authorities would have had probable cause to arrest Schmidt for assault with a weapon. Now, he said, they need more details about whether there was a history of aggression between the two men, what they may have said to each other when the incident occurred and other information that will shape whether it was reasonable for Schmidt to believe his life was threatened. Other details such as the size of the two men - Schmidt weighs 150 pounds and Lira weighs 300 pounds - could also affect whether a self-defense claim is reasonable, Paxinos said."


Nevada: Liquor Store Clerk Wounded Would-be Robber: "Las Vegas police say a liquor store clerk gunned down during a botched robbery Friday night shot one of his assailants. The Clark County coroner's office identifies the dead clerk as 62-year-old Arthur Miller of Las Vegas. Police arrested his two alleged assailants - 24-year-olds Antonio Duenas and Michael Cruz - at a hospital where Duenas was treated for a gunshot wound to the abdomen. They're due in court tomorrow"


Australia: Toy gun bandit shot during break-in: "A Burglar armed with a Buzz Lightyear toy pistol was shot with the real thing by the occupants of a house during an attempted break-in, a court heard. George Humphries was attempting to enter a house in Fairbairn Drive at Corio when he was blasted in the left shoulder with a sawn-off shotgun. David Gray, for Humphries, told Geelong County Court yesterday his client was retreating when shot. Crown prosecutor Paul Darcy said no one was ever charged over the shooting because Humphries had declined to lodge a complaint. Humphries, 28, of Nixon Court, Corio, pleaded guilty before Judge Anthony Howard yesterday to a charge of attempted aggravated burglary". [drug-related]


DC: New gun rights suit tests 2nd Amendment limit: “One question left unanswered by the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Second Amendment ruling last year is this: When do law-abiding Americans have the right to carry firearms in public for self-defense? In a lawsuit filed against the city of Washington, D.C. on Thursday, the Second Amendment Foundation aims to find out. The plaintiffs are four gun owners who were denied licenses to carry firearms in public on their person … The District of Columbia is a special case. Its city code says nobody may carry ‘either openly or concealed on or about their person, a pistol, without a license.’ But a law enacted in December 2008 appears to have curbed the ability of the police chief to grant those licenses.”