Oregon: Oldster shoots intruder: "Authorities say a Chiloquin man shot and wounded a neighbor who tried to enter his house. Sheriff Tim Evinger of Klamath County says 24-year-old Calvin Lee Brown used a pair of 18-inch wooden handles to break Monte Rompal's bedroom window, prompting the 77-year-old man to fire a shot. Evinger says deputies later found Brown at a nearby house - asleep and drunk with a bullet wound to his left upper arm. Chiloquin Ambulance took Brown to Sky Lakes Medical Center, where he was in stable condition Thursday. Evinger says Brown will likely be charged with attempted burglary and criminal mischief. District Attorney Ed Caleb says it's unlikely Rompal will face charges.


Florida: Aggressive drunk shot dead "Charles Podany wanted to protect his neighborhood from speeders. On Feb. 29, 2008, he bicycled through Thonotosassa's Bay Hills Circle community and asked a fast-driving man in a pickup truck to slow down. The encounter turned deadly after the driver's drunken friend began beating Podany, 49. As Casey Landes, 24, landed on top of Podany and readied his fist to strike again, Podany shot him in the head with a .40-caliber Glock. Hillsborough Circuit Judge Robert Foster agreed Tuesday to toss out Podany's manslaughter charge after his attorneys argued Podany fired in self-defense under Florida's "stand-your-ground" law and deserved immunity from prosecution. The law allows people to meet force with force when they feel threatened. Defense attorney Stephen Romine said Podany's case met the stand-your-ground test: Podany wasn't engaged in unlawful activity; he had a right to be there; and if he hadn't acted, he may have been seriously injured or killed. Foster heard testimony on the defense motion two weeks ago, including from Evin Aguayo, the pickup driver and Landes' best friend. Aguayo, 21, told investigators that Landes was the aggressor in the confrontation and that Podany never hit back. "It wasn't even a fight, it was one-sided," Aguayo said. Podany is 5 feet 8 and weighs 180 pounds. Landes was 6 feet 1 and weighed 192 pounds. "He's outsized, outmuscled," Romine said. "It's not going to be a fair fight in any capacity and the guy is just relentless trying to beat him." Aguayo told deputies his friend thought it was "cool to beat up an old man."


Texas: 2 teens killed trying to break into home: "A man shot and killed two teenagers and wounded another when they tried breaking into his home early Friday, police said. A fourth teenager was arrested and is expected to be charged with aggravated robbery. Three of the four male teenagers who tried breaking into the home were armed, one with a handgun and two with pellet guns that looked like more powerful weapons, San Marcos Police Chief Howard Williams said. One of the three college-aged people who lived in the rental home opened fire on the teens with a .40-caliber Glock pistol, killing two 16-year-olds and wounding another suspect. A 17-year-old suspect fled the scene but was captured and arrested after returning to the scene to check on his friends, police said. He's expected to be charged with aggravated robbery, Williams said. The wounded suspect was taken to Brackenridge Hospital in Austin with non-life threatening injuries, Williams said. Officials say the wounded suspect is also expected to be charged. Police did not identify the suspects or those who lived in the home. None of the residents were injured. One was a Texas State University student. Williams said the shooter appeared to be acting in self-defense and "there doesn't appear to be a crime" related to the shooting. The suspects are from Luling, about 20 miles southeast of San Marcos, Williams said. It does not appear they know those living at the home, he said."


Gun-toting rabbis in New York are going on synagogue defence courses: "The self-defence classes are run by the International Security Coalition of Clergy, a group set up by Gary Moscowitz, a Queens rabbi and former police officer. Practising with toy pistols, fellow rabbis and other worshippers are taught basic techniques such as bringing down an assailant by the neck or using a table as cover from gunfire. More advanced combat moves include performing a running somersault while drawing a gun. Mr Moscowitz, who also passes on his knowledge as a karate black belt, admitted few people took him seriously until police exposed an alleged plot by Muslim converts to blow two synagogues in the Bronx. He said he had since been inundated with calls and had set up a 100-hour synagogue self defence course as a result. "Jews are not like Christians. If I turn my cheek, I'm coming around to make a kick." Stuart Rosenberg, who provides martial arts training for the group, said: "Our idea is you can't be spiritual if you're dead. You have to be able to fight back to live another day." Mr Moscowitz stressed that the important Jewish festivals of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are approaching, adding that the FBI regularly issued synagogues with terror alerts. The rabbi has called for a New York state law that would allow at least five people at a house of worship to carry a gun if they have been trained."