AL:Woman Disarmed, Armed Neighbors Stop Attack; Shoot the Target of Opportunity

A disarm, 3 a.m. call for help, gunshots, butt strokes, and hand to hand, but two neighbors rescued a 69 year old woman from a home invasion in rural Alabama.  The Sheriff deputies arrived in time to clean up the mess.

At about 3 a.m., an unfamiliar man broke into Wilma Williams home in the 31000 block of Cleburne County Road 49 in Alabama.  She ran to her pistol, but Craig Moore was able to take it from her and fire twice before she struggled free.

One of the shots cut hair from her head.

She got away and called 911 and a neighbor, Charles Price.  Price grabbed his shotgun and stopped to enlist his father in law, James Melton.  Melton snatched a rifle.  It was very dark on 15 August.  The Moon was new, and there were no street lights. 

Price ran to Williams place on foot.  Melton, 76, took his truck.  When he got there, Price had already been attacked by Moore, behind the house.  Melton heard him shout, ran to his aid, and was able to knock Moore off of his son in law with a blow from the rifle.  Moore attacked Melton.  Price returned the favor, knocking Moore off of Melton, cracking his shotgun stock in the process.

All three combatants ran toward Melton's truck, which was still running.   Williams now appeared on the porch.  From annistonstar.com:

Moore then ran toward Melton’s truck, while Williams yelled from the porch, “He’s got a gun,” Melton said.


Melton ran toward his truck and took the keys out before Moore could get there, he said. That’s when he saw Moore aim the pistol at him.


“My son-in-law fell down on the ground and shot under my truck, shot twice and blowed his legs out from under him.”


That’s when the police arrived, Melton said.

31000 block of County road 49


The Sheriff's Department supported the armed neighbors.  Chief Deputy Michael Gore:

Gore called the two men heroes, saying if not for their aid Williams could have been killed or more seriously wounded.

I do not know if the neighbors had flashlights or other gear.  It was a desperate, deadly situation.  I was impressed by Charles Price' tactical use of cover and targets of opportunity, once he learned that his attacker was armed with a pistol.  

He dropped to the ground on the other side of his father in law's truck, taking advantage of the cover and concealment that it offered.  Then he immediately shot Moore in the targets available, Moore's ankles and feet.    Moore is lucky that Price did not follow through with shots to the body.  Just because Moore went down, did not mean that he could not shoot.  But the shots to the feet were  enough.  

In a gunfight, shoot at the targets available.   A hit in the ankle is better than no hit.  Remember that many things people hide behind do not stop bullets.  The famous scene from the Dirty Harry movie,  Magnum Force, illustrates this when Inspector Callahan shoots a hijacker through an airplane partition.

Link to video

Concealment does not stop bullets, but many never learned that or forgot it.  Know what your ammunition will penetrate.  

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

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