Off-Duty Officer Fends Off Attack: "Three men who allegedly attempted to rob an off-duty New York police detective, two of whom were injured when the detective fired his service weapon during a scuffle, were charged on Sunday, police said. The detective, whose name was not released, was walking his dog in an empty lot on Beach 27th Street in Far Rockaway at around 7 p.m. Saturday when three men from the street gang GOA—or Gang of Apes—approached him with a toy gun and tried to rob him, police said. A law-enforcement official said the detective identified himself as a police officer and pulled out his gun. The men then tried to wrestle the gun away. During the scuffle the detective fired several shots before the men fled, the official said. Responding officers found Davon Torres, 19, and Tylique Samuels, 15, a few blocks away at Beach 22nd Street and Seagirt Avenue. Mr. Torres had suffered gunshot wounds to the arm, chin and torso, and was transferred to Jamaica Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. Mr. Samuels was not injured. A short while later, David Caraballo, 21, walked into Jamaica Hospital with a gunshot wound to the foot, police said. Police said they determined he was the third person in connection the shooting."




A young Australian sharpshooter: "Alethea Sedgman has a lot riding on her ability to focus. For this champion shooter, training and competing means holding still - apart from pulling the trigger of her 6kg rifle - for sometimes hours on end. "You have to be really focused," said Sedgman, who won Commonwealth Games gold at just 16 last year. "It takes a lot of energy. A lot of people think you're 'just out there shooting', but it does drain you. "If you think the wrong thing (when aiming), you'll make mistakes." Even from 50m, the difference between success and failure is "probably less than a millimetre". Now 17, Sedgman is aiming for a spot at the London Olympics next year." ["Alethea" is Greek for "liberty"]


CA: Open carry activists to tote long guns in public: "Now that a new California law banning the open carry of pistols is loaded for action, the big guns are coming out.Rifles, that is. And shotguns.Gun owners who are upset that the anti-carry state law will go into effect Jan. 1 intend to start packing their biggest heat in open as often and as visibly as they can, beginning with a gathering Saturday in San Leandro"