TN: Knife-Wielding Attacker Shot Dead: "Chaos erupted at a Family Dollar store when a man with a knife chased customers and was shot dead. Witnesses at the store near Delano and North Watkins say the attacker picked the wrong victim. Police say a man with a knife raced through the parking lot just after 3:00 p.m.. Witnesses say the man chased a delivery driver and others, but was killed when he tried to lunge his knife at one driver leaving the parking lot. The driver pulled a gun and killed his attacker on the spot. "I just seen him shoot down. I thought he was just shooting in the ground. Obviously, he was shooting the gentleman with the knife," says Byron Cook who watched the ordeal from start to finish, along with his three year-old grandson. Witnesses say two little girls were inside the car when the attacker lunged at the driver. "He had his two step-daughters in the car with him. So, he really was trying to look out for them when he shot him," says Brandon Jones, who says the girls appeared to be younger than ten. "Yeah, they saw everything that happened. One of them was real shaken." Jones heard roughly six shots, then saw the man on the ground with the butcher knife still in hand. Witnesses can't make sense of the attacker's motive, but they're certain the shooting was self-defense. Witnesses say the shooter was stabbed, but appeared to be okay."


CA: Gunman shot during attempted Long Beach bank robbery: "Security guards and a customer restrained a gunman after a shootout at a Long Beach bank this morning. Authorities released few details, but KTLA News quoted sources as saying that three people were shot and that the gunman was in custody. Long Beach Police Department officials confirmed a bank robbery had occurred and that a suspect was wounded, but they declined to give further details. The wounded, including the suspected robber, were taken to a local hospital where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, said Lisa Massacani, a spokeswoman for the Long Beach Police Department. Police responded to a report of a robbery at the Farmers & Merchants bank on Bellflower Boulevard near the 405 Freeway about 10:30 a.m., Massacani said. “My daughter said a man entered wearing a motorcycle helmet. But he didn’t take it off. Then she heard the gunshots and like everyone else she fell to the floor. She said a customer ran out and grabbed the shooter from behind, holding tight and yelling, ‘I need help, I need help!’” Obeso's daughter told him that security officers grabbed the man and that everyone was running out of the building. Police arrived with shotguns, and customers shouted at them, “Go inside; they caught him.”


Illinois defensive handgun carry bill clears first hurdle: "Taking a look across the river, Illinois is ranked lower than California on the Brady Campaign's anti-gun tyranny scale (9th place, compared to California's 1st). If the Brady Campaign based their grading system solely on self-defense, though, Illinois might be "first," being one of two states with no provision for concealed carry by private citizens (Wisconsin, the other, does not prohibit open carry, as Illinois does). The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that a legislative effort to legalize defensive handgun carry for Illinois citizens made some progress Tuesday. Gun rights proponents in the Illinois Legislature began pushing several measures Tuesday to allow residents to carry concealed weapons, timing the moves with a U.S. Supreme Court challenge of Chicago's long-standing gun ban. "It is a very important day for gun owners today," state Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, told the House Agriculture & Conservation Committee. The committee later voted to advance one of the bills. The only committee member to vote against advancing the bill, Illinois State Representative Julie Hamos, articulated some . . . novel "logic" in justification of her "No" vote."


Gun rights give citizens benefit of safety: "I think there is a big misconception by Walter Hylton regarding the bill to allow concealed weapons in establishments that serve alcohol. It not only is there for the purpose of self-defense in those places, it also is a bill to keep law abiding citizens with concealed-carry permits from becoming criminals. Take for instance a veterinarian who travels with a truck full of prescription drugs. He or she has a very real need for a carry permit. Let's say that vet stops for lunch in a restaurant that serves beer. If they go in to grab a sandwich while carrying a concealed handgun, although licensed to do so, they have become a criminal, because it is illegal to enter an establishment that serves alcohol while carrying. This bill, if passed, will keep the good law-abiding citizens just that — law abiding."