FL: Victim Shot in Gunfight, Suspect Sought

The victim was walking home near West 61st and North Pearl streets about 9 p.m. when the suspect confronted him and demanded his "possessions," Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Lt. George Grant said at a news briefing.

At some point, both pulled out handguns and started shooting at each other, leaving the victim wounded in both legs. The victim was taken to UF Health with gunshot wounds, but is expected to recover, Lt. Grant told First Coast News.

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FL: Concealed Carrier Disarmed by Felon, Shot

Pannaman, a Vietnam War veteran, was released from the hospital on Sunday.

Michael Q. McAuliffe, 38, is jailed without bond on two charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and battery on a person 65 or older, according to the Sun Sentinel.

During the incident, Pannaman pulled out his gun to warn McAuliffe, a convicted felon, that it is a felony to disrupt a sea turtle nest -- in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.

"He complied, and I put my gun away... then he attacked me and took my gun," Pannaman added.

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CA: Restaurant Owner wins Gunfight, Kills Two

“The preliminary investigation has determined both suspects were armed with handguns (and) attempted to rob the victim,” police said in a written statement.“During the robbery, one of the suspects fired multiple shots at the victim, striking the victim once. The victim, a local business owner, returned fire striking both suspects.”

The business owner, a man estimated to be in his 30s, was expected to survive his injuries, Lt. Michael Bergman said.
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WV: Woman Picks up Assailant's Gun, Kills Him

The incident happened along 6th Street at around 3:30 p.m. A woman called 911 dispatchers saying she shot a man in her home after he attempted to assault her. A preliminary investigation found that the man had brought a gun into the house and that he had beaten and strangled the woman. At one point, he laid the gun down and the woman was able to reach for the weapon and blindly shoot it over her shoulder. Detectives said that’s when the bullet struck the man and killed him.
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GA: Veteran Shoots Armed Robber

This Vietnam veteran was in this Sycamore gas station getting change for a 20 when his day took a bizarre turn. "I heard somebody say "put the money in the bag". So I looked up and I seen this gentleman holding a pistol on the clerk," said Rogers.

Fear quickly came over Rogers, but he knew what he had to do. The gun-carrying veteran pulled his weapon on the robber. "And when I did, he looked over at me and turned my way and I fired a shot. And he grabbed his side and then I fired two more shots before he got out the door," said Rogers.

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OK: Armed Homeowner Shoot Alleged Theif

Police responded to a call to 7912 South Villa shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday. Police said the homeowner confronted a man who had just stolen a pickup truck out of the homeowner’s driveway. Police said the homeowner shot and killed the alleged thief.

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IL: Armed Homeowner Shoots two Intruders; Police Checking for FOID

An attempted robbery early Friday involving a Springfield homeowner who shot two intruders wasn't a random act, police said.

The homeowner had had an earlier disagreement with the two men before they allegedly broke into his home in the 1700 block of East Stuart Street about 2:20 a.m., according to police.

Detectives were still conducting interviews Friday afternoon, but criminal charges are expected to be filed against the two men who were shot, police said. Both were hospitalized in what authorities described as stable condition.

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MO: Armed Homeowner confronts burglar

Authorities said an homeowner in north St. Louis County used a firearm to defend himself against an alleged burglar.


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Knifeman Downs Officer Armed with AK, Three Police Armed with Pistols, in 28 Seconds(video)

AK rifleman being attacked

This video is from 2011 in Nicaragua.  It shows how dangerous a man with a knife, who is willing to use it, can be.    The knife is good sized, about an 8-10 inch blade.  The comments indicate the situation is domestic.  The knifeman's wife left him or divorced him for another, and he has not been able to accept it.

He does not wish to be bothered, and the News crews seem to exacerbate the situation.  The knife comes out at about 4:04, but the video is edited there.  The sound track is in Spanish.  Spanish speakers will get more details.



Link to video

The police dodge and run, and avoid injury, but they do nothing effective to stop him or contain him.   In about 10 seconds, an officer draws a weapon, likely a revolver, but does not shoot.  Reinforcements arrive.  I count at least five officers.   One officer has an AK variant.  The knifeman removes his backpack and crosses a wire fence.  He gets into a better defensive situation.  At one point he rubs his hands with dirt, probably to improve his grip.

Knifeman with knife in right hand

Four officers cross the wire fence, flank the knifeman and encircle him.  They appear to attempt to improvise non-lethal weapons.  One throws the AK rifleman a stick, across the fence.  He picks it up with his right hand, and holding the rifle in his left, crosses the wire fence and takes a couple of steps toward the knifeman.  This was a deadly mistake.

That may have been a predetermined "line in the sand" for the knifeman.  He attacks decisively and explosively.  The AK rifleman is the first to go down, stabbed at about 7:29.

 Officer with AK rifle on right, before the attack

In the next 29 seconds, at least three other officers are chased down and stabbed.   The first shot is fired at 7:43, 14 seconds after the first officer is attacked.  Three officers are down before the first shot is fired.  Another site reported that at least one more, besides the rifleman, dies.   I counted 9 shots fired.  I cannot determine how many hit the knifeman. 

All because they did not take a man and his knife seriously, and had not received the proper training.

The video is a real life example of the Tueller drill, and how fast a man with a contact weapon can close distance and deliver a mortal blow.  In the case of the AK rifleman, it appears to be less than a second and a half.  In four seconds two policemen are down; the third is down 13 seconds into the attack, the fourth by 28 seconds.  A retired law officer told me that he thought the knifeman wanted to commit suicide by cop, but the police would not accommodate him.

It could have been avoided if the officers had been trained in the dangers that edged weapons pose, and had been ready to use their weapons effectively.  They were not, and they paid a heavy price.

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

John Lott Interview: The Rise of Concealed Carry

How many people are licensed to carry concealed guns in your state? The Crime Prevention Research Center has released a paper with the numbers, finding that the number of permit holders has risen 15.4 percent in the last year alone.

We sat down with the organization's president, More Guns, Less Crime author John Lott, to discuss the findings. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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Chattanooga Attack Shows Tennessee Needs more Armed Defenders

During the attack on the recruiting center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the attacker chose "gun free" or "disarmed victim zones" for his targets.  He did not enter the firs zone, he fired from outside of it.  He did not hit any innocents at this target, then went to a secondary target, also a disarmed victim zone, at the Navy Operations Support Center, a few miles away.  There he killed four marines, wounded another and a police officer before he was stopped.

He fired at the first target for at least 20 - 30 seconds, perhaps as much as a minute, reloading at least once, and moving the Mustang convertible that he was in at least once, before leaving, an eye witness reports.   She was only feet from the attacker, but was unable to do anything.  She was not armed.

The problem is that the density of armed civilians at the recruiting location was too low.  There simply was no armed citizen present to counter the attack.

One of the reasons that was so is because Tennessee politicians conspired to kill a constitutional carry bill that was up before the legislature this year.  Governor Haslam, who in 2010 promised that he would sign such a bill if it reached his desk, apparently did everything he could to make sure it *did not* reach his desk.  From dnj.com on March 15, 2015:

MURFREESBORO – State Rep. Rick Womick continues to pursue his "constitutional carry" gun bill despite opposition from Gov. Bill Haslam.

"According to the Second Amendment, we all have the right to bear arms," said Womick, a Republican from Rutherford County's rural Rockvale community southwest of Murfreesboro. "In Tennessee, you would be allowed to carry a gun without a permit. What my bill does is it allows the person who possesses a firearm to carry that firearm openly or concealed regardless of whether the person has a handgun permit."

Womick, however, could face a harder time getting his bill through the House after the governor and his departments of education and safety red-flagged the bill, Haslam Press Secretary Dave Smith confirmed.

The House Civil Justice Subcommittee also defeated a similar open carry gun without a permit bill Wednesday.

Unlike Tennessee, Kansas passed constitutional carry this year.   A young man who was carrying a pistol under the constitutional carry law that went into effect in Kansas the first of July, foiled an armed robbery there just a few days ago.   Constitutional carry would increase the number of potential armed responders in Tennessee.

Tennessee charges over $100 to obtain a concealed carry permit.  In spite of this price tag, over 10% of the adult population has a concealed carry permit.  One out of ten adults.  The odds seem fair that an armed American would have been able to confront the attack at the recruitment center.  The attacker was visible for many seconds, and was clearly vulnerable.

So, why didn't anyone respond to his deadly attack at the recruitment center with deadly force?

1.  Pure chance.  He was simply lucky.  Very possible with only one of 10 adults having a permit.

2.  Most of the those who had the best information about the attack, the people who were being attacked, were inside the disarmed victim zone, where, if they did what law abiding citizens usually do, they were disarmed, and did not have the tools to fight back.

3.  Response time.  No police showed up at the recruitment center before the attacker left.   An armed citizen who is not under attack takes a number of seconds to determine what is happening, and whether deadly force is called for.  The same thing happened in the Gifford attack where there was an armed citizen nearby.  He drew his weapon, but by the time he responded, the attacker had been subdued by onlookers.  In the Chattanooga case, the attacker left the area.

Most successful citizen responders to mass attacks are either inside of the situation, so that they have better information about who is attacking, or the attack continues long enough so that they can access their firearm and determine how to respond from outside of the situation.  

In the 22 mass killings stopped by armed Americans that I have documented, 18 were stopped by armed Americans that were inside the situation.  Only four were stopped by armed Americans nearby who saw what was happening and intervened to do what was necessary.  The attacker greatly increased the odds in his favor by attacking people inside of "gun free" disarmed victim zones.

Following the probable modus operandi of such attacks, he likely scouted the targets well in advance, and knew that official policy was that there would be no armed opposition.   There was no guard at the entrance to the NOSC, for example, and there was a clear "no guns" symbol on the door to the recruiting center.

Two policies would mitigate against such attacks and reduce casualties.  First, Tennessee could reduce the barriers to the carry of weapons, thus increasing the number of armed responders.  Passing the constitutional carry bill would be a good first step.  Other possibilities include offering incentives for armed citizens to increase their proficiency and  knowledge and to increase the percentage of the time that they go about armed.

Shooting contests could be used; perhaps attendance in courses to increase proficiency could be tax deductible or subject to a direct tax credit.   A sales tax discount could be given to those who show that they are armed when making a purchase.  These items would increase the presence of armed responders at very small cost to the state.   Rewards could be offered for those who stop attacks.  There are already criminal and civil penalties for those who misuse armed force.

A bigger payoff would be come from reducing the number of "disarmed victim zones" or "gun free" zones.   That would encourage more armed responders to be present where they would do the most good.  Tennessee passed a bill reducing the number of "disarmed victim" or "gun free zones" this year.   This incident may provide the incentive to reduce the number of "gun free zones" even further.

Unfortunately, the state cannot do anything about federally controlled properties.  The Obama administration has taken the opposite track. They strengthened regulations against service members being defensively armed after the Fort Hood attack.  They continued that policy after the Navy Yard attack in the District of Columbia.  

I suspect that a change in the administration will be required to change the "gun free" military policy.


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

Update: The NOSC Commander and a Marine appear to have engaged the Jihadi with personal sidearms.  

Mike Vanderboegh:Chattanooga Attack: Where was the Armed Citizen?

So, another Jihadi has murdered four Marines in Chattanooga. So what? What about this WASN'T absolutely predictable and predicted? Arguments over whether he represented "international" or "home-grown, domestic" terror or even the characterization of him as a "lone wolf" (as if that represents some sort of solace), are utterly beside the point and irrelevant. I have written and spoken about 4GW many times before. The Jihadi version of it is a weaponized idea, indiscriminate and evil beyond measure. Comments on this blog and elsewhere that the US federal government is a greater threat to our lives and liberty than any Jihadi are also true, but irrelevant to the families of the dead Marines and everyone else for that matter. The Jihadis have determined that they are in a global war with us, all of us -- our families, our friends, the innocent, wherever we live and whatever we do. We cannot opt out of it because they will not let us.

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How The UK Covers Up Murder Stats

I wonder if a murder/suicide in the UK is counted as a murder.  After all, there would be no conviction.

In the United States, crime statistics come from quite a few sources, but studies of nationwide trends generally focus on the numbers provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The methodology used by the FBI is fairly straightforward: If there is a dead body and signs of foul play, it’s a murder or non-negligent manslaughter. Note that there is no distinction made between justified and unjustified killings. From a typical perspective, the FBI numbers are on the high side, because they include crimes of passion and self-defense shootings—in other words, quite a few deaths that are not legally considered murders.

Homicide stats for the United Kingdom have traditionally come from reports from the Home Office, which tallies murders according to a completely different system. The crucial methodological difference is that a murder’s existential status depends on a conviction, not a body and evidence of foul play. Think of how many murders go unsolved, and it will become clear that the Home Office’s numbers are woefully low. Not only that, but they are reported from the time of conviction, not the time of death. Since murder cases often take years to be resolved, statistics for a given year tend to reflect events actually occurring in previous years. For example, Home Office figures appear to indicate a massive spike in murders culminating in 2003; in actuality, this is the year in which the victims of prolific serial killer Harold Shipman—who murdered throughout his long career—were reported.

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Alabama Rabid Bobcat Attack: Rifle makes a Dangerous Club

A Sardis, Alabama woman, Michelle Russel, was attacked by a rabid bobcat in her front yard on 13 July, 2015.  Her friend, Register, had a .22 rifle in the house, but the cartridges were in a tool shop.  From greenvilleadvocate.com:

“I kept yelling, ‘There’s a bobcat out here.’ He immediately got his gun and ran to his tool shop to get bullets,” she said.

 

Register got the rifle loaded, but not before the cat attacked Michelle:

“The cat just full-force jumped in the air and bit my arm. If I had been facing him, he would’ve probably got my neck and my face,” she said. “I had no idea what to do.”

Russell twisted and turned, but could not shake off the bobcat.

Register witnessed the attack, but could not get a clean shot. He swung at the cat with the stock of the rifle.

Register managed to knock the cat off Russell, releasing her arm from the locked jaw. But, the cat landed on its hind legs and jumped right back onto Russell. She turned away from the lunging cat and raised her arms to protect herself.

The delay of having to retrieve cartridges from a different location made a significant difference in this case.  If the cartridges had been handy, been kept in a loaded magazine, or in the rifle, the response time would have been greatly reduced, and the bobcat would likely have been shot *before* it attacked Michelle.

Register continued to use the rifle as a club until he knocked the 30 lb bobcat off of Michelle.   Register hit the cat with the stock, but it is better to use the barrel if you must swing a rifle like a club.  The barrel delivers a more concentrated blow, is less likely to damage the rifle, and you do not end up pointing the muzzle in your direction.  In this case, the rifle was loaded!

Once Register knocked the cat off the second time, he shot the cat four or five times, until the rifle jammed.  Considering the abuse that the rifle had just been given, a jam is not too surprising.  The rifle's stock was cracked from the blows.

After the rifle jammed,  he used it like a baseball bat a few more times, then ran to his car to retrieve a pistol.

“After being shot at least four or five times with a .22, the cat was just sitting there licking his leg when Brandon returned. He shot him and that was it,” Register said.

It is hard to argue with success.  Register Brandon got the bobcat off of his friend Michelle, and was able to kill it.

But holding a loaded rifle by the barrel and using is as a club is a dangerous practice. 

In some cases, defenders have pressed the muzzle of the rifle against the attacking animal to reduce the chances of hitting the person being attacked.

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

KY: Man Shoots Violent Neighbor who Broke Down Door

Police say the homeowner, 43-year-old Donald Bourland, asked Mannahan to leave his property and not enter his home.

Mannahan then reportedly broke through the front door and entered the house.

According to Kentucky State Police, that's when Bourland fired one round from a pistol he had retrieved, hitting Mannahan in the chest.
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TX: Man Uses AK clone to Defend Home

He said his son, wife and newborn were inside the home with him. When he came outside, he saw two men in a white Chevy Impala. He said one of them tried to shoot him so he fired his AK-47 at their car.

The gunshots sent two other men running from behind the home, the man said, and he shot at one of them.

Officers said that man jumped in the Impala and the group took off, leaving an accomplice behind. That suspect took off running through the neighborhood. Authorities said all got away.

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Dr. Ron Martinelli: The Investigation of Self-Defens-Asserted Homicides

The purpose of any investigation is a search for the truth. The goal of any investigation and/or resultant adjudication should be the presentation of unbiased facts and evidence to a prosecutor. The investigators and prosecutors should ultimately advocate for the facts and evidence. However, from time to time, police investigators shade their fact-finding function into an attempt to achieve what they believe to be “justice.”

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TN: Mass Shooting at 2 more Administration Enforced Gun Free Zones in Chattanooga

 A single gunman appears to have carried out mass shootings at two gun free zones in Chattanooga Tennessee.  The first zone, shown above, has the gun free logo prominently displayed.   The second zone, where four Marines were killed was at the Naval Operations Support Center, several miles away.  From cnn.com:

(CNN)Four Marines were killed when a gunman attacked two military sites in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Thursday, the U.S. Navy said.

The suspected shooter, 24-year-old Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, is also dead, the FBI said.

An eyewitness, who works at a hair salon next door to the recruitment center, said that the shooter reloaded once or twice and moved the mustang convertable that he was driving at least twice, to shoot from different angles.  She thought the shooting lasted for at least 20-30 seconds.   She said the shooter drove away from the scene and got on expressway 153 almost immediately. 

All the deaths were reported at the second location.   Military personnel at military installations are not allowed to carry weapons, except for military police and specific guards.  This policy was reinforced by the Obama administration after the Fort Hood attack.  Until that point, considerable leeway was allowed to military commanders of installations.

Until the orders came down after the Fort Hood attack, people at Yuma Proving Ground, where I worked, were at least able to keep weapons in their vehicles.  After Fort Hood, impeccable sources at YPG  told me that they were forced to change the post regulations by the highest authorities.

So the NOSC is a gun free zone.  It is too bad that the national authorities were not willing to allow these Marines to be "Ready Now. Anytime. Anywhere." as the Naval Reserve Mission statement reads from the screen shot of their facebook page.

Instead, they had to wait on the arrival of a civilian police officer.  It was too late for four of them.

Will "The View" claim that this was a conspiracy to promote the campaigns of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, both of whom have said that we should allow our military to protect themselves on American soil?

Update: The Washington Post is giving a preliminary timeline:

The attack began at 10:45 a.m. when Abdulazeez fired rounds into the windows and door of a local military recruiting office. He then fled in a silver-colored Ford Mustang and drove to a Navy Reserve center several miles away, where he again opened fire and all five fatalities occurred.

Police in Chattanooga said shortly after 1:15 p.m. that the shooting was over and that the gunman was dead.

The timing is reinforced by a statement from a witness at the Naval Operations Support Center (NOSC).  From foxnews.com:

Marilyn Hutcheson, who works at Binswanger Glass just across the street from the center on Amnicola Highway, said she heard a barrage of gunfire around 11 a.m.

"I couldn't even begin to tell you how many," she said. "It was rapid fire, like pow pow pow pow pow, so quickly. The next thing I knew, there were police cars coming from every direction."

That indicates that there was significant time for the Marines to defend themselves, if they had been allowed defensive weapons.

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

TX: Avino Gonzalez No Billed by Grand Jury a year after Shooting

A Brewster County grand jury has returned a no bill in the year-old shooting of three men outside a home in the 600 block of East Holland Street near the Stripes convenience store.

Alvino Gonzalez, 29, the resident of the home, had originally been charged with murder in the July 15, 2014, death of Reymundo Julian Vega, 29.

The grand jury reviewed “all the evidence including new lab reports” and determined it was not enough to indict Gonzalez, District Attorney Rod Ponton said.

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PA: Qwuntorez Kirkland found not Guilty in Shooting Incident

During cross examination, Thames also denied that he tackled Kirkland to the ground during the argument.

Jeremick Roberts, who was at the house when the shooting occurred, told the court that Thames and Kirkland got into an argument over a dog and that Thames picked him up and slammed him against a riding lawnmower in the carport of the house.

"They were tussling and within a few seconds I heard three or four shots," Roberts said. "I was at the end of the driveway and I ran down and took him to the hospital."

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