Hawaii forced to Honor the Second Amendment with Blades in Parks and on Beaches

Hawaii Firearms Coalition shows off open carry of blades in Hawaii park

On May 14, 2024, Andrew Namiki Roberts, leader of the the Hawaii Firearms Coalition, exercised his rights to openly carry bladed weapons on a beach in Wakiki, Hawaii. Roberts carried a halberd, a highly visible medieval pole arm. It did not evoke much response.  With Robert and associates open carry, Hawaii joined those states where supporters of the Constitution openly and legally carry weapons to show the Second Amendment is not a dead letter in American law. Roberts was able to go about his protest legally, because the legislature had restored the legal right to openly carry bladed weapons the day before, on May 13, 2024.

Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1898. The islands became a state in 1959.  Hawaii had a long history as a kingdom, where the ownership and carrying of weapons was highly regulated. Hawaii required a permit to carry concealed weapons in 1933.  After statehood, the statute was widened to require a permit to openly carry pistols or revolvers in 1961. Permits to carry have been extremely difficult to obtain. At one point, only one permit had been issued, to anyone who was not a security guard, for several years.

In 1937, the territory of Hawaii passed a law banning the carry of "dangerous weapons," which included any  "dirk, dagger, blackjack, slug shot, billy, metal knuckles, pistol, or other deadly or dangerous weapon". Once a state, the law was challenged numerous times. Firearms were considered dangerous weapons. Dive knives were not; machetes were commonly carried. The courts in Hawaii ruled that the weapon had to be made with the sole intention of being used as a weapon. Most knives could be carried openly or concealed if they were not designed with the primary purpose of being a weapon.

The law was altered on May 13, 2024, to apply only if the dangerous weapons were carried concealed. From hawaiinewsnow.com:

The governor signed HB 2342 into law Monday without fanfare, making it immediately legal to openly carry weapons that were banned in public until now.

Gun rights activist Andrew Namiki Roberts, leader of the Hawaii Firearms Coalition, decided to celebrate in a very visual way, brandishing medieval bladed weapons in a public park.

The change in Hawaii law comes as Hawaii's extreme firearm restrictions are being challenged in court. The firearm laws are some of the most restrictive in the United States. In the Young v Hawaii case, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ban on open carry, only to be reversed by the Supreme Court. The murder rate in Hawaii is similar to that of Vermont, where the legal right to carry a handgun, openly or concealed, without any permit, has existed for hundreds of years. Until the Supreme Court had vacated the Young v Hawaii case in Hawaii, it was virtually impossible to obtain a carry permit, openly or concealed. From Hawaii Public Radio:

In Hawaiʻi, it has traditionally been practically impossible to obtain police permission to carry a loaded gun in public. And so far that hasn't changed, even after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling making it easier to get such permits. Since the decision in June, only one permit has been granted.

The Hawaii Firearms Coalition (HIFICO) is a Hawaii state activist group fighting to restore Second Amendment rights in Hawaii. The group has supported lawsuits challenging Hawaii weapons laws and procedures. They punch far above their weight.

When the Hawaii legislature changed the law banning the open carry of dangerous weapons, the group organized open carry events to exercise their rights and to demonstrate the silly nature of Hawaii's weapons law. As with other open carry events nationwide, few noticed or cared. Instead of tourists running screaming in panic, the response from locals and tourists alike was mild curiosity. Considering dive knives, machetes, and other items were commonly carried without problems, it became obvious the previous law had been based on false premises.

Open or concealed carry of weapons does not cause problems. Murder and mayhem depend on mental attitudes and cultural values, not weapons. The problems are internal to the perpetrators, not external to weapon systems. Focusing on weapons and not on behaviors is a way to deny responsibility to the individuals involved. Such laws are philosophical statements of false assumptions about reality.

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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GA: Off Duty Deputy Shoots Man who was Chasing, Shooting at Newton County Resident

NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. — A man was shot and killed by an off-duty Rockdale County deputy at an apartment complex in Newton County, according to Newton deputies.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said 20-year-old Ivan Felton of Covington died from his injuries. The shooting happened at the Salem Glen Apartments.

Newton County deputies said they were sent to the complex on Salem Glen Way around 2:14 p.m. Law enforcement added the man killed was "firing shots in the area when an off-duty Rockdale County deputy returned fire."

Before the off-duty Rockdale deputy shot Felton, the GBI said witnesses saw the 20-year-old shooting at a resident. 

"The off-duty deputy witnessed Felton chasing the resident, and the deputy shot Felton, fatally wounding him," the GBI said. 

TN: Mental Case Shot by Sweetwater Homeowner

At approximately 6:38 p.m., the sheriff’s office said deputies were then dispatched to the home on Brunner Road because of a reported home invasion. The homeowner had been woken up by his dogs barking and lights being on inside of the home. When the homeowner went to investigate, the he found the unknown man and escorted him outside at gun point while waiting for law enforcement to arrive, the sheriff’s office explained.

While they were waiting, MCSO said the man shoved the homeowner down and re-entered the home, locking the homeowner out. Because there were other people in the home who were being placed in danger, the homeowner discharged his firearm, striking the man, the sheriff’s office said. The release continues to say that the man continued through the home before exiting and collapsing in the lawn.

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FL: Domestic Defense? Brother of former Boyfriend Shoots New Boyfriend of former Girlfreind

According to detectives, on September 4, 2024, at approximately 8:37 p.m., deputies responded to 5352 79^th Street North after several 911 callers reported hearing gunshots. When deputies arrived on scene, they located a black Chevrolet pickup truck parked partially on the property and partially in the roadway. Deputies found 39-year-old Matthew Weisner in the driver's seat of the truck, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. Weisner was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Throughout the investigation, detectives learned that Weisner is in a relationship with 38-year-old Amber Souza. Weisner and Souza were at Souza’s residence in Pinellas Park and had been consuming alcohol throughout the evening.  Detectives say Weisner and Souza began arguing and Weisner began contacting Souza’s previous boyfriends out of jealousy. When Weisner called Souza’s ex-boyfriend, 36-year-old Michael McMann, Weisner began yelling at him and threatened him with physical harm with a firearm. Weisner also stated he was driving to Michael’s home. Michael was not at home at the time of the phone calls, however, once Michael arrived home, the shooting had already occurred.

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Ill: Woman Kills Suspect in Home Invasion Gunfight

CHICAGO — A home invasion suspect was shot and killed Wednesday morning on the West Side by a woman.

Officers responded to a home in the 700 block of North Laramie just after 6:40 a.m. on the report of a shooting.

Police believe two suspects forced their way into the home and displayed firearms.

A 23-year-old woman in the home, who has a valid FOID card, produced a firearm and there was an exchange of gunfire.

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PA: Carjacker Shot & Killed

BREAKING: CARJACKER SHOT & KILLED at 2nd & Market Streets in Old City Philadelphia in what @PhillyPolice sources say was an attempted carjacking/robbery.

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WA: Kent Resident Shoots at Burglary Suspect - Wounded man Found by Police

Kent Police are investigating a shooting that occurred during a residential burglary early Tuesday morning, Sept. 3, 2024.

Police said that at around 1:27 a.m., officers were dispatched to a home in the 26600 block of 134th Ave SE (map below) after a 34-year-old homeowner reported shooting at a burglar who had entered his bedroom.

The homeowner, his wife, and their children were inside the residence at the time of the incident.

The homeowner, a 34-year-old Kent man, advised that he had been sleeping in his bedroom with his wife, when an unknown adult male entered his bedroom and turned on the light. The homeowner stated that his children were also in the residence, and he was unable to determine if the suspect was armed, or if he was alone. The suspect fled the room when he noticed the couple, allowing the homeowner to retrieve his gun. He advised responding Officers that he shot at the suspect but was unsure if he had struck him. He stated that he last saw the suspect running out of their backyard. The homeowner has a CPL and was legally in possession of the gun at the time of the shooting.

Officers located items stolen from the home nearby as they searched the area.

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OK: Homeowner, Assulted by five people on his property, Shoots 2

TULSA, Okla. — FOX23 heard from the brother of a man who Tulsa Police said shot two people in self defense, killing one of them.

Tulsa Police said the two people shot were part of a group that went after the man on Tuesday night in a north Tulsa neighborhood near Apache and M.L.K.

The second person shot is in critical condition.

FOX23 spoke with the brother of the shooter who said this has been an ongoing issue with this group that unfortunately escalated.

”I'm sorry for that family, and whatever is going on with them, but I told them not to mess with him. They kept doing so it just escalated from there,” said Anthony Hall, brother of the homeowner.

(snip)

 FOX23 sat down with TPD Capt. Richard Meulenberg on Thursday who explained what went down.

 “About five individuals came on to the homeowner's property and kind of rushed him and pinned him up against his car and started to assault him. With overwhelming odds against him he did pull a pistol out and started firing,” Meulenberg said.

 

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IN: Mentally disturbed Man Points Gun at Homeowner. Homeowner Shoots Him

DAVIESS COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - One person is dead after what appeared to be a self-defense shooting in Daviess County.

The Daviess County dispatchers sent deputies to a home on State Road 257, north of the East Fork of the Wabash River bridge.

The caller said a man, later identified as Kevin Wilson, 59, from Washington, pulled into the driveway, armed with a gun, and started arguing with her husband, David Goble.

When Goble said he noticed Wilson was pointing a gun at home, Gobile fired his weapon twice at Wilson. Wilson got back into his vehicle but later died due to his injuries.

 

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AL: Retired Colonel Shoots Illegal Alien who then Shot Him

A 64-year-old retired U.S. Army colonel was shot three times during the purchase of a dump trailer brokered on Facebook Marketplace.

The shooting happened late Sunday afternoon in Cullman County, and the 21-year-old suspect entered the country illegally roughly two years ago, said Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry.

“I’m pissed off today,’’ Gentry said during a Wednesday press conference. “I’m pissed off that we’re even having to have this conversation.”

The suspect was identified as Abel Medardo Sacrab-Chen of Guatemala. Sacrab-Chen was shot by the victim during the incident.

Sacrab-Chen is charged with first-degree robbery and certain persons forbidden to possess a firearm. More charges are possible.

 

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MO: Jasper County Sheriff's Office Investigating Gunshot Wound

SARCOXIE, Mo. — The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a Sunday afternoon shooting in Sarcoxie.

Around 1:30 yesterday afternoon, Sarcoxie Police and Jasper County Deputies responded to a report about a person with a gunshot wound at a residence on 12th Street.

That’s where they found Bryan Jones, 39, of Sarcoxie suffering from a gunshot wound. Police say he was shot once in the stomach with a handgun. Jones was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

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GA: Hart County Domestic Defense, Man Shot while Choking Woman

A South Carolina man is issued hefty bond after a domestic situation that led to him getting shot.  According to Chief Investigator with the Hart County Sheriff’s Office, Chris Carroll, on Sunday night around 11:30, deputies responded to a call on Royston Highway 29 near Frank Crook Road.  Upon arrival, officers learned that the man had been shot and a female had been stabbed.  Witnesses stated that the man was attacking the woman, who is his mother of his girlfriend, with a knife cutting her several times.  Another man came to the house and found the suspect outside choking the lady while she screamed for help.  The second man pulled out a gun and shot the first man.  The man who was shot ran into the house where he was found by deputies holding a knife in a back room. 

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Looney Tunes Bans Cartoon Guns, Wounds Fans

Elmer Fudd in A Wild Hare, public domain wikimediacommons

The sources are from four years ago.

Looney Tunes decision to remove guns from the cartoon characters Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam is not a bad idea. It is positive in ways which are the opposite of what was intended. In an interview, the new Looney Tunes executive producer, Peter Browngart, makes clear the removal of guns from the cartoons was an ideological decision. From the New York Times:

“We’re not doing guns,” Browngardt said. “But we can do cartoony violence — TNT, the Acme stuff. All that was kind of grandfathered in.”

Yahoo published an article with Michael Ruocco, an animation artist who has been working on the new Looney Tunes. Michael opines about fan complaints on the removal of guns from the iconic characters. From uk.movies.yahoo.com:

Taking to Twitter, Michael Ruocco, who's worked on shows like Bojack Horseman, let fly: “Do you guys SERIOUSLY care whether or not Elmer Fudd has a gun in our shorts? You know how many gags we can do with guns? Fairly few. And the best were already done by the old guys. It's limiting. It was never about the gun, it was about Elmer's flawed, challenged masculinity.

“Also, think about context about what's going on in the world, and how long ago our show started production. Late 2017, early 2018. Right on the heels of a record number of mass shootings, particularly the horrific one in Las Vegas. NOBODY wanted to touch guns working in media.

“I'm not here to put words in other people's mouths or anything, but as someone who worked for 2 years with these characters, I personally did not care or miss Elmer's rifle. We got a lot more out of his personality and his lack of wit than any implement in his hands. Move on.”

Michael reveals the obvious: "NOBODY wanted to touch guns working in the media."   It would be better stated as: People in the old media wants to virtue signal "Guns are bad." There is a significant amount of groupthink, especially in the old, incestuous, top driven, ideologically lockstep media.

The claim is a bit hyperbolic. There have been many violence drenched movies produced with lots of guns used by bad guys. There has been plenty of coverage making mass murderers into anti-heros, which fuels more mass murder as a way to fame. Numerous studies show media contagion (the copycat effect) is a major contributor to mass murder.

The gist of Michael's comments reflect his cultural reality. People in old media are punished if they veer off the narrative of "guns are bad".  The easy fix for Looney Tunes is to remove guns from the series. The backlash is against altering what have become cultural icons.

The decision is ironic. Guns in the hands of Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam were early attempts at promoting the "guns are bad" narrative. It was obvious to this correspondent sixty years ago. Elmer was a bumbling fool who never accomplished anything good with his shotgun. Yosemite Sam never hit what he was aiming at, and did nothing but egregious damage with his six shooters. Yosemite was an irresponsible, violence prone idiot.

The cartoon characters were the opposite of the reality this correspondent experienced while growing up in the gun culture in the 1960s. Perhaps that caused most people to laugh at them. Hunters were capable individuals to whom gun safety rules were nearly religious commandments. Good hunters had social status and respect in the community. Handguns were tools used by good guys to protect the innocent, or to humanely dispatch animals. Seeing the idiotic antics of the Looney Tunes characters with guns, the message was as obvious as a punch to the gut: People who have guns are idiots, a variation on the "guns are bad" theme.

The propaganda backfired in the gun culture. The images were outrageously silly. Fudd became a appellation for someone who had little understanding of serious issues, who happened to occasionally hunt.  It is not clear if the images were harmless in the minds of those who had no real world experience with guns or hunting.

Analysis:

The more media depictions veer away from reality, the greater the shock when people experience reality.  Firearms instructors all have stories about the "aha!" moments of students who personally experience firearms after only media depictions.

When your belief structure is based on false assumptions, reality tends to bite. This is happening in the old Media. They are operating in a bubble where their false assumptions about reality and their groupthink are starting to intersect with reality. Their audiences don't want what they are selling. Profits are plummeting. Their preferred solution: Have the government bail them out with subsidies.

One of the most important and misunderstood features of a market based economy is the right to fail. When ventures fail, more competent hands obtain the resources and make adjustments better tuned to reality. Progressive control of the media is failing. Their preferred solution is tyranny. The next election will determine if they succeed.

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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UT: Kearns Party Gunfight, Assailaint Shoots, then Flees Return Gunfire

KEARNS, Utah — Police are searching for a shooter after shots were fired at a party Sunday night near the Utah Olympic Oval. One person was injured, police said.

According to Sgt. Aymee Race with the Unified Police Department, two groups at the party got into a heated conversation near a park restroom just before 9 p.m. One person pulled out a gun, she said, and began shooting at the victim, who sustained three minor bullet wounds.

Another person took out a gun and began to return fire, Race said. The initial shooter fled the scene and was last seen near Lodestone Park. The second person who fired shots remained at the scene of the shooting, Race said.

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TX: Houston Suspect Stabs Woman, Husband Shoots Suspect

HPD patrol officers responded to a stabbing call at the above address and found the victim suffering from a stab wound and the suspect with a gunshot wound. Paramedics transported both individuals in stable conditions.

Investigators learned an argument started after the suspect (Strange) was asked to leave the location. Strange then stabbed the victim, a family member, with a kitchen knife and lunged at the victim’s husband with the knife. That male shot Strange once.

Investigators consulted the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and Strange was subsequently charged for his role in this incident.

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MO: Lee's Summit Homeowner Shoots Intruder who Refused to Leave

LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. —

Two people are in custody after a burglary and shooting inside a Lee's Summit home Saturday morning.

Police were called to a home on Northwest Chipman Road, south of Interstate 470, around 7:30 a.m. for a burglary call.

The homeowner told police that a man broke into the home and refused to leave. The homeowner shot the man. The suspect then got into a car and left the scene.

Officers later stopped the vehicle and took the two people inside it into custody. The suspect was taken to a hospital and is being treated for minor injuries.

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HI: Resident with Handgun stops Mass Killing?

Four people were killed and two others injured in a shooting at a home stemming from a dispute between neighbors on Saturday night in Hawaii, police said.

An argument between neighbors led to a bloody shooting that left four dead and two others critically injured this weekend in Hawaii, police said.

Witnesses reported that a man was using a front-end loader to ram cars into the home where a family gathering was happening, before the man opened fire at people gathered in the carport, fatally shooting three women at the residence in Wainanae, a community about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of downtown Honolulu, police detective Lt. Deena Thoemmes said.

At some point, a 42-year-old man who lived in the home fatally shot the suspect with a handgun, she said. The resident was arrested on a charge of second-degree murder, she added.

The women who were killed were 34, 36 and 29, Thoemmes said. A 31-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman were taken to the hospital in critical condition, she said.

The suspect, who was not identified, had four 55-gallon drums containing an unknown fuel in the front-end loader, Thoemmes said. Witnesses reported that he fired rounds into them but police have not confirmed that yet.

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SC: Florence County Homeowner Shoots, Kills Suspect (no details)

FLORENCE COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) - Authorities in the Pee Dee say a suspect was fatally shot by a homeowner Friday afternoon.

The Florence County Sheriff’s Office said the incident happened on Rodman Road, near Lake City.

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MO: Pettis County Homeowner Shoots, Kills, Intruder

The homeowner reported that an unknown individual had forced entry into his residence.

Upon arrival, deputies found that the intruder had been shot by the homeowner and was pronounced dead by medics from the Pettis County Ambulance District.

Authorities are withholding names pending next of kin notification.

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MS: George County Sheriff's Department Investigating Shooting and Wounding at two locations

Simultaneously, the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office reported a separate shooting incident within their jurisdiction, occurring during the same time frame. The suspect involved in the George County shooting also suffered gunshot wounds in the Mobile County incident. Law Enforcement is currently investigating the connection between the two events.

 

The George County Sheriff’s Office is collaborating closely with the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office to piece together the circumstances leading to both shootings. We urge the public to remain calm and patient as the investigation unfolds.

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MD: Restaurant Employee Shoots, Kills Robber who Assaulted Others

On August 29, 2024, at approximately 4:40 pm, officers responded to a shooting at a carryout restaurant in the 5200 block of Marlboro Pike in the unincorporated section of Capitol Heights. Officers located the decedent inside of the business with gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

The preliminary investigation revealed an employee shot the decedent as the decedent was robbing the restaurant and assaulting employees. The weapon used was recovered on the scene. Detectives are in consultation with the State’s Attorney’s Office regarding this ongoing investigation.

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FL: Sheriff's Department investigating Escambia County Gunfight

Deputies responded to a shots fired call on Ledbetter Lane around 2:30 a.m. after two men began arguing. ECSO spokesperson Morgan Lewis told the News Journal that the argument led the two to fire their guns at each other.

"One was hit in the hand, and one was hit in the foot," Lewis said. "Neither of the injuries were life-threatening."

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MO: Poplar Bluff Homeowner Shoots, Wounds Aggressive Intruder

Police say the man was in the fenced-in backyard when the homeowner found him.

When he was confronted by the homeowner, he allegedly became aggressive and approached the homeowner.

The homeowner, who was armed, shot the man one time and then called 911.

The man was taken to an area hospital for treatment.

After talking with the Butler County prosecutor’s office, police say, at this time, no charges are being sought against the homeowner.

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AR: Jonesboro Gunfight, Homeowner and Suspect Uninjured

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) – Police are investigating after they said a robbery led to a suspect and homeowner shooting at each other.

Public Information Specialist for the Jonesboro Police Department Sally Smith told K8 News that at 4:50 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 28, they got a call about shots being fired during an aggravated robbery at a home in the 1700 block of Wembleton Drive.

She said shots were fired at the homeowner by the suspect, and the homeowner shot back.

Several rounds hit the homeowner’s vehicle, but no injuries were reported.

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TX: Fort Worth Burglary Suspect Shot and Wounded

A man was shot and injured in west Fort Worth late Tuesday during an attempted break-in, police said. Officers were dispatched to a home in the 7600 block of Dahlen Street shortly before midnight after someone called 911 to report their boyfriend had been shot. Police said a man was shot at that location while he was trying to break into a trailer. The suspect was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police. It’s not clear if he will face any charges connected with the break-in.

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Handguns in Defense Against Bears by Caliber - Beyond .44 Magnum - .454 Casull, .460 S&W, .500 S&W 7 Incidents

 .500 S&W Magnum courtesy of Rock Island Auction

Many readers are interested in how various handgun calibers have performed in defense against bears. This is a complicated subject. Sometimes, any caliber will do. Sometimes a level of power may be required. Sometimes, a level of accuracy or speed may be required. Many permutations exist.  The most important aspect, if a confrontation occurs, is to have a firearm available, easily and quickly accessible. The specific caliber is less important. These updates include all the incidents we have been able to document to the date of the update, after several years of intense searches. We have always asked for examples of failures. Only four failures have been documented. Link to three failures. Link to fourth failure. We appreciate readers who help us document cases.

Here are all the cases which have been documented where calibers beyond .44 Magnum were used. There are 4 incidents where .454 Casull revolvers were fired. There was 1 incident where a .460 S&W Magnum revolver was fired. there were 2 incidents where a .500 S&W Magnum revolver was fired.  These cases do not include incidents where handguns were use with other lethal means, or a mix of handgun calibers were used. If more than one handgun of the same caliber was used, the incident is included.  Six incidents were against brown bears, one against a polar bear.  All were successful. The incidents are listed by caliber, chronologically within caliber.

 

We have found four cases where .454 Casull revolver was used to defend against a bear. They were successful.

November 1986, Kodiak Island, Zachar bay, .454 Casull, Grizzly bear.

George Malekos was confronted with a large grizzly bear at 10 feet away on a gravel ridge, covered with snow. He had nowhere to turn. He aimed at the bear’s eye, and shot. He fired two more times as the bear whirled around, and disappeared.

Later, he and his hunting companion shot the same bear with their rifles. They found the .454 round had creased the skull above the eye, then another shot had penetrated one foot of the bear.

From More Bear Tales, p. 104-107.

About 1993, Alaska, Kenai peninsula, .454 Casull, Craig Medred Grizzly Field & Stream February, 2003 Letters. (numerous mentions in Medred’s columns)

And here I thought the Kenai Penisula brownie I shot off my foot with a .454 Casull about 10 years ago got the worst of it.

December 30, 2007, Kodiak Island, Alaska, brown bear, .454 Casull revolver.

A rabbit hunter had a .22 rifle for rabbits and a .454 Casull revolver for bear protection. The bear got up near him. The sow kept coming toward him, even after he fired shots in the air with the .22 rifle. He shouted and waved his arms and drew the pistol. The sow kept coming. He shot her at 15 yards. Safe with Bears, page 324.

Additional source, From seattletimes.com:

ANCHORAGE — A rabbit hunter fired his pistol at a charging grizzly bear on Kodiak Island, badly wounding the old sow, which was later killed, as were her three cubs.

The hunter, whose name is not being released, was hunting rabbits near the American River on Friday about 15 miles outside Kodiak when the sow charged him, said John Crye, a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, on Monday.

The hunter, who was carrying two weapons, shot the bear when it was about 10 yards away. It was the second time in a week that hunters had encountered the family of bears. The last time it was one of the cubs that charged a father and son out duck hunting as the mother and the other cubs slept nearby.

August 2, 2009, Alaska: Kenai Peninsula, Charging Brown Bear Stopped with Ruger .454 Casull

Because of many bear-related incidents in this area, Brush always has brown bears on his mind…even when walking a well-maintained road. On just such a road, less than 500 yards from his house, Brush stopped when he heard a twig snap behind him. Turning his head toward the sound, Brush saw a monstrous brown bear charging toward him. “There was no warning,” he stresses. “None of the classic teeth-popping or woofing, raising up on hind legs, or bluff-charging that you read about. When I spotted him he was within 15 yards, his head down and his ears pinned back. He was coming like a freight train…in total chase-mode.”

Brush instinctively back-pedaled to avoid the charge, drawing the Ruger from its holster. “I fired from the hip as he closed the distance,” Brush recalls. “I know I missed the first shot, but I clearly hit him after that. I believe I fired four or five shots. “

Brush finally fell on his back on the edge of the road. Miraculously, the bear collapsed a mere five feet from his boot soles, leaving claw marks in the road where Brush had–only seconds before–been standing. The bear was moaning, his huge head still moving, as Brush aimed the Ruger to fire a finishing shot. “By then my gun had jammed,” Greg says. “I frantically called my wife on my cell phone and told her to bring a rifle. When she arrived I finished the bear.”

We have found one case where a .460 Smith & Wesson magnum was used successfully.

May 18, 2018, Wyoming: Cora, 460 Smith & Wesson magnum Grizzly.

The two men with bear spray had fallen 50 yards behind. The dog alerted on something. Noah thought it was some sort of big animal. Then he saw the bears, a grizzly sow and cubs, uphill. He yelled at the dog, but it was too late. The dog came running back. The sow grizzly charged, moving extremely fast. His friend from Chicago bolted back down the trail. Noah had his revolver out, as the bear came to a stop, just a dozen feet away

We have found two cases where a .500 Smith & Wesson magnum was used successfully.

March 5, 2005 – Barents Sea Norway .500 S&W

On March 5, 2005, two people were attacked by a polar bear in the remote area of Kapp Lee, Edgeøya, in the Svalbard archipelago.

The .500 Smith & Wesson revolver had been on the market for just over two years when this occurred. The individual responsible for security had one of those big revolvers on his person.

This story was uncovered as part of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by AmmoLand. The names of the individuals involved were redacted. The original account is a translation with some grammatical and spelling errors.

What follows is the account, edited for readability. The names Paul and Sally have been substituted for the redacted names. This is what happened.

Paul, Sally and two more people were airlifted from Longyearbyen to Kapp Lee, Edgeøya, and landed at 2:21 PM. The helicopter flew the two other people a bit further away to install a digital camera to take pictures of Storfjorden….

The bear was very close. Paul used the handgun to shoot two warning shots, in the air, over the bear. The dog was barking at the bear at the same time.

The bear did not stop or react to the shots or the dog.

Paul felt that the bear would get into the cabin if he did not shoot it.

He had trouble closing the door, did not know how to lock it, and did not know the inside of the cabin.

In far less time than it takes to tell it, Paul yelled, “Dammit, I’m shooting,” and fired one shot at the bear, now only 1.4 meters (five feet) away.

He tried to aim at the heart/lung areas, but was not sure where he hit, other than that it was to the right side of the neck, from the front, toward the back of the bear.

The bear turned immediately and ran away. The bear collapsed 48 meters from where Paul stood.

31 October 31, 2008 (Halloween), .500 S&W Magnum, handloads, Juneau, Alaska. Lucas Clark.

This correspondent interviewed Lucas Clark.

The incident occurred on the bank of small river, The grizzly bear lunged at him from 12 feet out of the salmonberry brush. He had the handgun out in hand, and fired reflexively. He hit the bear in the chest at the base of the neck with 400 gr. Sierra bullet at 1350 fps. out of .500 S&W.

As he recovered from the muzzle flash, he saw the bear running 50 feet away, broadside. He fired again, and gut shot, the bear turned. As it was running away, he shot at its hind quarters. That shot broke the bear’s pelvis, it went down instantly. That is where it died.

 

 

 ©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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NM: Albuquerque, Homeowner Shoots Intruder, Intruder Escapes

Albuquerque –

Around 11:00AM, the Albuquerque Police Department received a call from a homeowner stating that their spouse shot an intruder in their home located on the 1300 block of Katie St. NE.

When officers arrived on scene the homeowner exited the house and was questioned by officers. Police were able to locate a blood trail leading away from the house. Officers tried to locate a gunshot victim within the neighborhood but could not find anyone bleeding.

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TX Dallas: Armed Victim Drives off Robbery Suspects with Gunfire

On August 26, 2024, at about 8:55 pm, Dallas Police responded to an assist officer call in the 3600 block of Tyler Street. The preliminary investigation determined suspects attempted to rob a victim at gunpoint at the location. The victim fired his weapon at the suspects, who left the scene. It is not known at this time if any of the suspects were hit or injured. The victim was not injured. The investigation is ongoing.

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OH: Cincinnati Convenience Clerk Shoots, Kills Armed Robber

PADDOCK HILLS, Ohio (WKRC) -A man who allegedly attempted to rob a convenience store in Paddock Hills is dead after the clerk apparently shot him.

The incident happened just before 3 a.m. at the BP station on the corner of Reading Road and Tennessee Avenue. Police are saying very little other than a man was shot there at about 2:50 a.m. Paramedics arrived and tried to save him, but were unsuccessful.

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Private Entity on Public Property Bans Guns at State Fair. Texas Legislature and AG say NO!

Cameron Alexander Turner, 22 

In 2002, the City of Dallas leased part of its property, about 77 acres, to a private entity, the State Fair of Texas, for 24 days each year, to operate the State Fair. The State Fair allowed people with a handgun carry permit to carry on the fair grounds. The 2002 lease has a duration of 25 years.

On October 14, 2023, a young man, 22 year old Cameron Alexander Turner, fired 3 or 4 shots and wounded three people at the fair. Turner did not have a concealed carry permit.  Turner claimed self defense. Video from the fair does not appear to support that claim. Turner was charged with three counts of aggravated assault and serious bodily injury.

From wfaa.com:

Jeff Cotner, the director of security for the fair says they still don’t know how Turner got that gun onto the fairgrounds.

“I’m little emotional, I'm sorry,” he told WFAA. “It was very traumatic on Saturday night.”

He says in the time since the shooting they’ve made some subtle changes – like new fences at the main entrance and increased security.

“We moved like 2 extra officers from one spot to another spot and we moved to police stand about 30 feet,” Cotner said.

According to fair officials, they are still allowing people to enter the fairgrounds with guns, as long as they have a concealed carry permit – something some fairgoers question.

According to fox4news.com, a grand jury formally indicted Turner on November 21, 2023, on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The dentonrc.com showed Turner was also indicted with unlawful carrying of a weapon in a prohibited place.  On Jan 26, 2024 Bond was reduced from 1.6 million to $350,000.  From the dentonrc.com:

  The new bonds were assigned by Dallas County District Court Judge Nancy Mulder, according to the documents.

It was the first time a firearm at the fair had been fired to injure someone since 1988, according to reports.  Initially, the State Fair indicated no policy changes were planned.

In August of 2024, in response to the incident which did not involve anyone with a carry permit, the State Fair changed its policy to ban people with carry permits from carrying at the fair. Retired and active law enforcement personnel would be allowed to carry. Studies have show people with carry permits in Texas, are less likely to break the law than law enforcement officers.

71 Texas State legislators signed a letter asking the fair to restore its previous policy. They stated if he State Fair did not do so, they would work to change State Law to put the change into effect by law. From the letter:

The Texas Legislature has repeatedly enhanced Texans’ Second Amendment Rights, but your actions raise questions about the need for legislation next Session to further protect these rights on lands managed by the public. Should you have any questions or wish to discuss our opposition to this policy further, please do not hesitate to contact any of our offices.

Texas AG Ken Paxton has threatened to sue the City of Dallas to require the State Fair to restore the situation to what it was from 2002 to 2023. From x.com/KenPaxtonTX/.com:

"Texas law clearly states that license to carry holders may not be prevented from carrying a firearm on property owned or leased by the government unless otherwise prevented by state statute," Paxton said in a statement. "The State Fair of Texas's recent policy that infringes on LTC holders'  Second Amendment is unlawful. Dallas has fifteen days to fix the issue, otherwise I will see them in court."

Texas law is not completely clear about whether a private entity who leases public property can restrict carry permit holders on the public property. A lawsuit resulting from the crime, against the security company and the perpetrator, has been filed by one of the people who was injured. This letter from the office of the Texas Attorney General explains some of the issues:

Texas Government Code § 411.209(a) states that “. . . a political subdivision of the state may not take any action, including an action consisting of the provision of notice by communication described by Section 30.06 or 30.07, Penal Code, that states or implies that a license holder who is carrying a handgun under the authority of this subchapter is prohibited from entering or remaining on a premises or other place owned or leased by the governmental entity unless license holders are prohibited from carrying a handgun on the premises or other place by Section 46.03, Penal Code, or other law.”

In Oklahoma, a private entity was found to have unlawfully prohibited firearms at "The Gathering", located on public land.

It remains to be seen if the State Fair of Texas or the City of Dallas will respond to the requests of state legislators or AG Paxton.

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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KY: London Domestic Defense? One Woman found Beaten, Another with Gunshot

Police say that officers were dispatched at 11:04 p.m. to a home on 1 Heather Way. When they arrived, they found Manning lying on the ground outside of the home with a gunshot wound to her arm.

Inside the home, officers found Judy W. Roberts lying on the floor with "injuries due to an apparent armed assault by Manning," a release from the department states.

Both were taken to CHI St. Joseph-London Hospital and then later transferred to UK Hospital in Lexington.

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TX: San Antonio Man Wounds 2 Armed Robbery Suspects

Officers received a call about a man who was shot just before 3:50 a.m. Sunday in the 200 block of Ranch Valley Drive. Police later learned that a second man arrived at a nearby hospital who was shot in the waist.

However, after further investigation, authorities said both men were armed and involved in a robbery attempt of a 34-year-old man.

During the robbery, SAPD said the 34-year-old man pulled out a weapon and fired at the men in self-defense.

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Alaska 10mm, Brown Bear, Resurrection Pass Trail, Father Son Hunting Team

 

On August 20, 2024, Tyler Johnson, 32, and his father, Chris, were backpacking and hunting on the Resurrection Trail in Alaska.  The trail is in the Chugach National Forest South of Anchorage, across the Turnagain arm of Cook's Inlet. The north end is just South of Hope, Alaska.  The trail is about 38 miles long. On the first day, the Johnsons had hiked in about 15 miles. The weather was great, about 64 degrees and mostly sunny. Both men were in excellent physical shape. Hiking 15 miles in the mountains with heavy packs in a day indicates they were in top form. As shown in the video,  the father, Chris, had a rifle strapped to his pack. Chris carried a .40 caliber Glock in a chest rig. Tyler had a 10mm in a hip holster attached to his pack. At present, it is not certain what make or model the pistol was. Brief images in the YouTube video show a pistol alongside Tyler. At a best guess, it is a S&W 2.0.

The second day they did some hunting. The third day, father and son set out hunting again, enjoying the scenery and the weather, following an old trail. In many places the brush was very thick, very difficult to get through. Tyler's father, Chris Johnson, was in the lead. The track led across a small creek, into a sort of funnel of brush, then opened out into a clear area. Tyler had taken about five steps into the clearing. The clearing was covered with knee high grass.

 

Tyler explained what happened in more detail in a video interview with alaskasnewssource.com.

Two things happened at nearly the same time. Tyler's Father yelled bear, bear, bear! and the grizzly bear let out a roar/growl as it charged at him.   The father, Chris, turned slightly away to protect his head and neck as he continued to yell "hey, hey, hey!". The bear momentarily braked, then veered toward Tyler. Tyler estimated it was four seconds from the time the bear roared until the bear hit him.

During this time Tyler struggled to draw his 10mm from the holster attached to his pack. A retired law enforcement firearms instructor told this correspondent he believed, from Tyler's description of what happened, the holster was a high level retention holster, probably a Safariland ALS retention level II. The holster requires two distinct motions to release the pistol, then it can be drawn. Here is a transcription from Tyler, :

"The bear put on the brakes and turned toward me.

I had my hand on my firearm at that moment. It was attached to my backpack.  I have an external frame that goes above the head. I don't know if you have ever seen one of those.

It immediately turned toward me.

I tried to get my gun out of the holster.  My holster has a strap with a thumb. You press it, push the strap forward, then you can take the gun out of the holster. 

I failed attempt for a second."

Two action retention holsters are very secure. They are designed to insure suspects are not able to grab a pistol from a police officer. They take practice to be able to access a pistol in under 2 seconds. Without the practice, it is easy to lock up the holster, keeping the pistol in the holster. This is what a high level retention holster is designed to do. Here is a video showing the two motions required for a Safariland ALS retention level II. The first holster mentioned in the video fits Tyler's description pretty well. Confirmation of this speculation will depend on Tyler.

As Tyler struggled to unlock the holster and draw, the bear was rapidly approaching. Tyler cleared the 10mm from the holster just before the bear hit him and bowled him over. Tyler fired his first shot while falling backwards. His legs were probably raised to fend of the bear.  The bullet intersected his quadriceps muscle, the big muscle on the front of the leg between the knee and the hip. The bullet entered, traveled under the skin for about three inches, and exited, a relatively shallow wound. It may have continued on, penetrating the bear.

 

Tyler continued firing rapidly, with the bear on top of him. He firing seven more shots into the bear's chest and head area. On the seventh shot, the bear stopped attacking and started to roll away; disabled, dead, or dying. When he fired his last shot, Tyler felt the bear slump. Tyler described the feeling:

 "When I felt him die on top of me and roll over, it was insane, like Gimlee and the Warg." 

(Lord of the Rings reference.) Gimlee is a warrior dwarf, a warg is a gigantic, aggressive wolf.

Tyler dropped his pistol and crabbed away, backward, on his hands and butt, as his father closed in. Tyler's father was not passive. He drew his .40 caliber Glock and moved to change the angle so he could shoot the bear without hitting Tyler. As Tyler separated himself from the bear, Chris Johnson closed the distance and fired several shots into the bears head, putting it down for good.

The Johnson's went into triage mode. They were prepared for wounds in the wild. Tyler was carrying a trauma kit with QuickClot and a tourniquet. Tyler applied QuickClot to his bullet wound. Tyler's father, Chris, applied a tourniquet to Tyler's right leg, which the bear had bitten and ripped as Tyler was shooting it.

The pair had a an InReach satellite device to call for help. It took about an hour and a half for a helicopter to reach them, the first helicopter, from the Alaskan State Troopers, took Tyler to the hospital. Tyler's father, Chris, was picked up by a second helicopter, according to the Alaska News Source interview. Tyler was released from the hospital the same day. He was discharged before midnight.

Analysis: the two seasoned hunters and hikers survived the unprovoked bear attack fairly well. The were well prepared to treat significant injuries.  If Tyler had been able to draw his 10mm even a second earlier, he might not have been injured at all. Fortunately, the gunshot wound was shallow. It may not have any significant lasting effects. Four seconds is a long time to draw a pistol. Two seconds to draw and fire two shots at close range is a common law enforcement standard, easily achieved with a couple of hours training and practice. A two step retention holster may be a good idea for open carry in an urban environment. The more complex the holster, the more practice is required.

At least one article reports  a "cub" was later seen in the area. An official report should tell us if the bear was a sow, and if it was, whether it was lactating. Hyper aggressive grizzly bear sows, which attack humans for merely existing, should be culled from the population.  Their numbers are a tiny minority of grizzly bear sows.  Most grizzly bear sows with cubs flee from humans.

A study of bear attacks in Alaska shows about seven overnight hospitalizations occur for every fatal attack.  Because Tyler was not kept overnight, his attack would be classed as a less serious one, which did not require hospitalization overnight.

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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OR: Medford Apartment Resident Shoots, Kills Intruder

A resident at a Berrydale Avenue apartment complex fatally shot an intruder Saturday evening, Medford Police Department said in a Sunday morning Facebook post.

Police say dispatch got a call at 6:14 p.m. of an "apparent break-in" carried out by someone unknown to the residents. Another call reporting shots fired at the apartment came soon thereafter, police said.

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MO: Scott City Homeowner Shoots, Kills Home Invader

SCOTT CITY, Mo. (KFVS) - Police investigated a deadly shooting at a home in Scott City on Saturday, August 24.

According to Scott City Police, officers were called just before 2:45 p.m. to a home to a report of a burglary in progress.

Police said the homeowner called 911 to report that someone kicked in his back door and he shot the intruder.

When officers arrived, the homeowner took them to the scene and to the intruder. Officers began life-saving measures along with other first responders.

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Angler injured in black bear attack on Stillwater River August 21 2024

Aug 23, 2024 8:00 AM

BILLINGS – An angler was injured in a black bear attack on the Stillwater River near Beehive on the afternoon of Wednesday, Aug. 21.

The angler, an adult male, was fishing alone on the bank of the Stillwater River when he encountered a black bear. The bear swatted the man’s face and immediately left the incident site. The man sustained non-life-threatening injuries and did not seek medical attention.

The bear’s behavior was likely defensive in the surprise, close encounter. Due to the nature of this defensive encounter, there are no efforts to capture the bear at this time. Recreationists, including anglers, should be aware while in bear country, especially in areas with abundant natural foods such as fruit and berries and where hearing may be limited along rivers and streams.

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LA: Gunfight with Car Theft Suspects, 1 Suspect Killed

As police responded, they say they got a second call about several gunshots fired near The Masons Apartment Complex that they were told were possibly coming from a black SUV.

Arriving officers found a black Cadillac Escalade turning onto Old Spanish Trail from Town Center Parkway. When officers tried to stop the car, it fled.

Officers pursued the car into New Orleans. Three men got out and ran, according to Slidell police.

A police K-9 found and apprehended one suspect, who was hiding underneath a raised house. Officers found a second suspect hiding behind a shed in the backyard of a home with a firearm that Slidell PD says was discovered to be stolen.

Officers searched the SUV and say they found a dead man in the back seat. They say he suffered an apparent gunshot wound.

Investigators determined the four people in the Black SUV went to the Slidell-area apartment complexes to steal vehicles. As they tried to steal one from The Masons, police say the owner heard an alarm and tried to intervene. An exchange of gunfire erupted between the vehicle's owner and the suspects, resulting in the one being hit by gunfire.

 

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OK: Midwest City Resident Shoots, Wounds Attacker

MIDWEST CITY, OK (KOKH) — The Midwest City Police Department (MCPD) is investigating an early morning shooting in the 2100 block of Steven Drive.

Police responded to the incident around 2:09 am.

Officers met with a resident that was cooperative and turned over a single firearm to officers. - MCPD

On the scene, investigators learned that the resident was physically attacked and shot the attacker in the stomach one time.

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VA: Armed Samaritan in Falls Mills Stops Carjacking, Kidnapping, Rape

FALLS MILLS, Va. (WVVA) - A Good Samaritan shot a wanted man attempting to carjack a woman and her child on Friday.

According to Major Harold Heatley with the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office, the incident happened at Lee’s Kar-Go when the suspect, identified as Cody Dailey, 30, “attempted to carjack a truck, assaulted the female driver of the vehicle and told her child that was in the vehicle, ‘I’m going to rape your mommy.’”

Multiple citizens heard the victim screaming and came to her aid, and one of those citizens was armed with his 9mm handgun.

The armed Good Samaritan approached Dailey and gave commands, but Dailey charged and shoved the man to the ground.

Dailey continued approaching the armed citizen, and that was when the citizen shot the suspect, hitting him in the chest.

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Major Players Amicus Briefs in Cross Border Carry Case, Massachusetts Supreme Court

 

 As of August 19, 2023 five amicus briefs in favor of the defendant have been filed in the seminal interstate carry case of Commonweath v Donnel. Arguments are to be heard before the Supreme Court of Massachusetts on September 9, 2024.

On June 19, 2024, this correspondent noted only one amicus (friend of the court) brief had been filed in favor of the defendant, Dean F. Donnell, Jr. Donnell, a New Hampshire resident, was arrested in Massachusetts for carrying a firearm without a Massachusetts license. The district court opinion found the law requiring a license for law abiding people from other states, who could legally carry in their own state, was facially (obvious on its face) unconstitutional.  Four other amicus briefs have been submitted by August 19.

One of those briefs was submitted by several organizations acting together to defend the Constitutional rights to arms and self defense. Those organizations were:  California Rifle and Pistol Association, Second Amendment Law Center, Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners of California, Gun Owners Association, Operation Blazing Sword - Pink Pistols, Second Amendment Defense and Education Coalition,  and Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois.

The brief was submitted by Jason A. Guida. It is a well written and well argued brief. The brief is 39 pages long. Here is the summary of the argument. From the brief:

This case is simple. There is no historical tradition supporting a requirement that peaceable nonresidents already permitted to carry in their home states submit to a burdensome process to obtain a Massachusetts license to carry (“CCW”) if they wish to exercise their Second Amendment rights while visiting or passing through Massachusetts.₂ On the contrary,laws historically exempted travelers from such local restrictions. Americans of earlier eras knew that requiring citizens visiting another state to give up the right to bear arms was untenable.

Particularly interesting was where the brief pointed out the planitiff's misleading the court by chopping off quotes from a statute, to give the opposite meaning of what the statute actually stated. The brief also eviserates the brief submitted by Everytown and the Brady campaign as including suicide data to pump up their argument that people coming from another state make Massachusetts less safe.

A brief was submitted by the National Rifle Association (NRA). The brief is 48 pages long.  The arguments are similar to those of the previous brief. It is notable the NRA included reference to infamous Dred Scott case of 1857, on page 30.

The Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) submitted a 49 page brief. An important part of this brief, which this correspondent did not see in the other briefs, was Donnel was charged under the 2021 law, which was a "May Issue" law for non-residents. May issue laws were struck down in the Bruen decision. The GOAL brief also goes into detail how the law is "tremendously burdensome to a non-resident". It is an important distinction. The GOAL brief makes clear arguments to show Donnell has standing for this case.

A brief has been submitted by Jay Edward Simkin.  The brief is interesting. Edward Simkin submits the brief pro-se, on his own, without counsel. The brief goes into extensive detail about Massachusetts history of firearms law. The historical part of the brief is an excellent read in itself. It is 130 pages long, but 90 pages are submitted as an appendix. The actual brief is only 40 pages. Simkin had his out-of-state license in Massachusetts restored by the Massachusetts Supreme Court in 2013, after Massachusetts authorities refused to renew it in 2009. Simkin has been a Federal Firearms License in Nashua, New Hampshire for over 30 years. The brief is well written and argued.

Analysis:  The case is straightforward if the court follows the guidance set forward by Bruen. There are no historical laws from the founding era which prevented travelers from carrying weapons from one colony to another colony, or later, from one state to other states. The tradition is travelers were commonly exempted from carry laws. The excessive burdens imposed by laws requiring a separate carry license for every state are impractical and unreasonable for travelers, and violate the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment. As a practical matter, although it carries no weight in the Constitutional question, people who are legally allowed to carry in their home state are not a threat to law abiding people in other states.

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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MS: Homeowner Shoots at Man who was Fleeing Police

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - A man with felony warrants from Florida was arrested Friday after running from police and being shot at by a homeowner.

Officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle near Village Apartments on Raymond Road.

The passenger, Marquavious Harris, 23, fled the scene when officers learned he had felony warrants from Florida.

Capitol Police spokesperson Bailey Martin says Harris attempted to enter into a home but was shot at by the homeowner.

 

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TN: Memphis, Domestic Defense Gunfight. Father is Grazed, Boyfriend Critical

 

Arrest records show that Janzen lives there with her stepfather. He told responding officers that he had to kick Janzen out of his house after a heated argument that evening.

Once outside, Janzen allegedly called her boyfriend and told him to come over and kill her stepdad.

He arrived a short time later and shot at the victim several times with a pistol, according to the arrest affidavit.

MPD says Janzen’s stepfather was grazed by a single round before returning fire, striking her boyfriend several times.

He was rushed to Regional One Hospital in critical condition.

Investigators found that surveillance video and audio corroborated the victim’s narrative.

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NC: Homeowner Shoots Man Who Persisted in Attempting to Break into Home

On Thursday, August 22, deputies were called to a home on McDonald Church Road. A homeowner reportedly fired shots to try to scare off someone trying to get into his home.

Despite the previous shots, officials say the suspect kept trying to get into the home and the homeowner shot the man. Deputies arrived to find the man injured at the front door. They provided first aid until emergency medical services could arrive.

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FL: Pensacola Man, who Attacked Armed Victim, Charged with Probation Violation

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The man shot atThe Flats at Ninth Avenue apartment complex in Pensacola Thursday morning is charged with misdemeanor battery.

Police determined the shooting -- which took place around 5:30 a.m. Thursday -- to be a self-defense case. The shooter is not being charged.

Lanz Canillas, 30, is charged with misdemeanor battery, as well as a probation violation charge from the sheriff's office.

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NY: Rochester, Gunfight, Armed Victim Wounds one of Several "Teens"

Rochester, N.Y. — Teens in two vehicles drove toward a 46-year-old man, prompting him to open fire and shoot one of them Wednesday afternoon, according to police.

Investigators said the man approached multiple teens occupying a Kia and Hyundai on Norton Village Lane to "inquire about their presence."

The teens left the area in the vehicles, only to circle back and drive at the man, according to police. The man reportedly pulled a legally registered .45-caliber handgun and fired several rounds before the vehicles fled.

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NM: Security Guard Shoots, Kills Suspect

Officers said a security guard shot a man who died from his injuries.

Albuquerque police also say the shooting is being investigated as a possible self-defense shooting, after consultation with the district attorney's office.

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IL: Chicago Gunfight Armed Victim and Suspect both Critically injured

A conceal carry license holder opened fire when a known armed suspect approached him in an alley Tuesday evening in the Bronzeville neighborhood, Chicago police said.

Shortly after 6:30 p.m., a 26-year-old man was approached by an armed man in an alley in the 3400 block of South Rhodes Avenue. The man who is a CCL holder retrieved his weapon and an exchange of gunfire ensued, police said.

The CCL holder suffered two gunshot wounds to the left thigh, and was taken in critical condition to UChicago Medicine. The other person suffered a wound to the right leg, and also was in critical condition at the same hospital, police said.

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NC: Armed Samaritans stop Dog Attack on 3-Year-Old Child

At least two witnesses fired shots to fend off the dog, police said. “The preliminary investigation indicates that a group of children were in the front yard playing when three dogs owned by the victim’s family were let out of the garage,” CMPD said. “Two of the dogs playfully knocked the victim to the ground when the third dog approached and began to bite the victim and dragged them down the driveway. Several adult witnesses ran toward the child and attempted to stop the attack. Two individuals fired gunshots near the dog.”

The dog eventually retreated to the garage, police said.

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Six Recent Black Bear Attacks Summer, 2024

 

 

A flurry of black bear attacks have been covered in the media in the summer of 2024. Five people were injured in the attacks. The first occurred in Alaska, at campground near Anchorage, by a male bear. The bear injured a woman's face after scratching and biting its way into the couple's tent. She was treated at a hospital.  From adn.com, Alaska Portage campground.

There was no food or other items that usually attract bears inside the tent and it’s not clear what prompted the rare encounter, Wardlow said. “These folks who were involved did everything right and this is just a very unusual situation where that bear still tried to get into their tent, even without there being any attractant involved.”

On June 25, what was likely the same bear attempted to break into an occupied tent. From alaskanewssource, Alaska Portage Campground:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A male black bear was shot and killed by a U.S. Forest Service officer Tuesday morning after it was found trying to break into an occupied tent near Portage.

It’s not the first time in recent days that officials have dealt with a bear encounter in the area. Earlier this month, one person was hurt when a black bear jumped on a tent with people inside just off the Portage Glacier Road. The person was not seriously hurt, but did sustain injuries in the June 14 encounter.

On July 10, an ultra long distance runner, Jon-Kyle Mohr, was attacked as he was finishing a 50 mile run in Yosemite park. Fortunately, his injuries were not severe. Bear attack long distance runner in Yosemite on July 10, 2024

The 33-year-old had headed out from his home in June Lake over the Sierra Nevada and down into the Yosemite Valley — an impressive 50-mile dash he had been planning for years, he told the outlet.

But as he was approaching the finish line, Mohr saw a huge black shape in the darkness charging at him.

He said he felt “some sharpness” on his shoulder before he was forcefully flung into the dark.

Next thing he knew, people were gathered about 100 feet away shining their headlamps in his direction and shouting, “Bear!”

On July 31, 2024, a black bear attacked 27-year-old trail runner Danny Rizzo, in Salt Lake County, Utah. Rizzo stopped and tried to "look big".   From Belmontvoice.org:

Still, the bear started “bluff charging” at him, according to Rizzo. Then the bear did start to approach him and instinctively, Rizzo began backing up.

“I tripped over something and fell on my back, so the bear came up over me, and it got my arm in its mouth,” he said. “I pulled it out and kicked it in the head with the bottom of my shoe. It shook its head and ran off.”

Rizzo ran down the trail to alert other trail users that he’d been bitten by a bear and then drove himself to the hospital for rabies shots.

“All things considered, I was not very injured,” he said. “I have one puncture wound from a tooth and a bunch of bruising. Overall … I got pretty lucky.”

On 11 August, 2024, a three year old girl, Madison Findley-Dickson, was sleeping in a tent when a female black bear attacked and almost killed her.  From cowboysstatedaily.com:

A black bear crawled inside a tent and attacked a 3-year-old girl late Sunday at a private campground south of Red Lodge, Montana, near Yellowstone National Park.

According to her family, Madison Findley-Dickson was released from a Billings hospital Tuesday, but still faces a long recovery from her injuries. The family is from the Spokane, Washington, area and was staying at Perry’s RV Park and Campground.

Madison was asleep in a tent when the bear entered it and attacked her around 10 p.m., according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP). The campground was evacuated after the attack.

Wildlife officials caught and killed the bear, a subadult female, the next day, according to FWP.

Madison's skull was fractured. It is unclear how the bear was driven off. Madison was attacked while asleep in the tent, as stated in her gofundme account.

On August 12, 2024, a 24-year-old runner, Quanah Ottoway, was attacked in California near Long Barn. After the bear knocked him down and attacked him, he hit the female bear with a stout stick he grabbed off the ground, than ran. It worked for him. The bear chased him to a neighbor's house. From Interview with  Quanah Ottaway, victim of bear attack:

Ottaway said he only had one thought the whole time.

"Just hauled as fast as I could, and I was thinking about my kids. Glad I didn't take my kids with me," he said.

He quickly made his way on top of an SUV.

Neighbors heard the commotion and came out to help.

"I just was saying, like, 'Help! Bear!' As loud as I could," Ottaway said.

The neighbors began making loud noises and one even threw a log at the bear to get it to leave.

Six separate attacks. Three at campgrounds, three on people running on trails.  None of the people had weapons to fight with.   A three year old does not have the capability of fighting a bear. Long distance runners are loathe to carry extra weight.  When exercising, this correspondent usually carries a Glock 17. There are much lighter, smaller pistols available. A KelTech P32 is only ten ounces, loaded. A S&W airweight .38 is about 14 ounces. Most attacks on runners are in urban areas, by humans.   Animal attacks can be a significant risk in both urban and rural areas.

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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OH: Van Wert Business Owner Shoots Intruder at 1 a.m.

According to the Van Wert Police chief, just before 1 a.m. in the 1000 block of Pratt Street, officers responded to a shots fired call. The owner says he was in the facility when a person broke in, the suspect came within four feet of him, and he shot him twice in self-defense.

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Medical Research on Deer Hunting and Crime based on Dubious Premises

 

On August 14 of 2024, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)  published an article about research done exploring the relationship between the opening of deer hunting season and "shootings". The article found that there was a significant increase in "shootings" in rural counties associated with the opening of deer season.

At first glance, the premise appears to be one of establishing by statistics the obvious. Of course there are more "shootings" when deer season opens. The entire point of deer season is to harvest deer by shooting them.

More shooting is done prior to deer season, because many hunters use this time to insure their firearms are functioning and are sighted in properly. They do this by shooting them at targets.

As noted author, writer, and publisher, and my friend of decades, Alan Korwin has noted: Shooting is a sport. Murder is a crime.  I would add, suicide is a volitional act.

"Shootings" has been put in quotes, because the article does not define what they determine to be a "shooting". An important part of any research is to define the terms you are using. It appears, by inference, the article defines "shooting" as the same as the Gun Violence Archive, because they rely extensively on the Gun Violence Archive for most of their data. The Gun Violence Archives (GVA) collects data from a variety of public sources. They include most publicly recorded incidents where a firearm is fired and a human is injured or killed, although they include some reported instances where firearms were used defensively and no one was injured or killed.  This use of the term "shootings" is designed to push people to associate shooting with illegitimate violence. Because the paper uses location data in its analysis and the GVA does not provide location data for suicides, it seems likely the paper does not include suicides in its analysis, but it is not certain.

There is significant bias  in the use of the term "gun violence". "Gun violence" is an Orwellian term designed to associate the use of guns with illegitimate violence. The term "gun violence" frames problems of suicide, murder, assault, and criminal violence as a gun problem instead of behavioral problems.

In essence, the term "gun violence" is a proxy for the assumption: Guns are bad. More guns mean more bad things happen.

The paper recognizes this assumption as the basis for its research. The footnotes are to articles by academics who wish for a disarmed citizenry and who attempt to make this point.  From the introduction of the article, bold added:

This research has been predicated on the premise that the prevalence of guns in a given home, community, or nation is likely to make violent incidents more injurious and more deadly._7-12

As this correspondent has repeatedly shown, this assumption is hotly contested, dubious, and contains significant policy bias. It is irrational to prioritize reducing murders, suicides, and assaults performed only with guns, if such policies do not reduce the overall number of murders, suicides, and assaults. The purpose for such policies appears to be to disarm the public, not to reduce murders, suicides, or assaults.

The authors of the study claim little research has been done to show the actual prevalence of guns in private and public settings increases public harm. From the introduction to the article:

However, to our knowledge, few studies have been designed to exploit plausibly exogenous variation in the prevalence of firearms in public and private settings to generate evidence on the association between firearm prevalence and shootings.

Numerous studies done by Professor John Lott and others show the increased legal carry of firearms reduces violent crime (public harm), none of those papers is referenced in this paper's footnotes. The increase in firearms carry permits is at least as significant an indicator of more firearms availability as the start of deer season. The footnotes in the paper include articles criticizing Lott, but not papers by Lott or others who support his premise about carry permits.

The results of the study are done in a model. Using models to depict reality is inherently risky, because models depend entirely on the researchers use of various assumptions about the nature of reality. Those assumptions can result in selection bias, confirmation bias, and outcome bias. Models, because they manipulate data more than non-model methods, are subject to the biases of the persons creating the model and choosing what models are valid and what are not.

One of the ways models are used to distort reality is in the substitution of percentages and probabilities for absolute numbers.  When you are dealing with very small numbers, a few cases can be used to make extravagant claims. It would have been helpful to know how many incidents the models in the paper are based on. Was the increase in incidents, over the years of the study, 10,000? 1,000? 100? 10? 1? We do not know. Absolute numbers are not reported. The study notes most incidents in the study, where the type of firearm is known, involve handguns. While handguns are sometimes used to hunt deer, long guns are used in far greater numbers.

When you do this sort of study, using data bases, without intimate knowledge of the facts on the ground, you obtain some strange results. This useful figure from the article, shows the geographical location of the counties used in the model.  The Big Island of Hawaii is included.

There is a small problem with including the big island of Hawaii. There are no deer on the big island of Hawaii. It is difficult to see how the start of a deer season could have much effect in a county which is isolated from others and has no deer. No effect probably means it had little effect on the statistics of the model used in the paper. It is difficult to be certain. It is included to show how reality and models are not the same. An email sent to lead author Patrick Sharkey, PhD, has not received a reply as of the time of this writing.

As  Gun Writer Lee Williams has noted, the principle author of the study receives significant funding from billionaires with radical anti-gun views. From Liberty Park Press:

According to the Laura and John Arnold Foundation’s 2022 IRS form 990, the couple spent $1.7 million on anti-gun research, including $1,065,933 to Sharkey’s employer, Princeton University, “to develop a research infrastructure that helps cities better understand and respond to waves of gun violence.”

Nearly all papers in the "public health" arena approach the subject of firearms with the same prejudiced assumption: Guns are bad. They fail to take into account positive contributions to society which come from the ownership, possession, and use of guns, because they assume such positive contributions do not exist, or are minimal. They never consider hard to measure, but widely accepted benefits, such as crime deterrence. They never consider political power balances, such as deterring government misconduct.  For these reasons, such papers and their results should be viewed with a critical eye. They are closer to political advocacy than they are to science.

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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