KY: Armed Store Owner Chases Armed Suspects from Bluegrass Cellular

RANKLIN, Ky. (WBKO) - The Franklin Police Department is asking the public's help identifying two suspects who attempted an armed robbery Wednesday at Bluegrass Cellular on Nashville Road in Franklin.

Police say the person in the "Scream" mask wearing an ASAP FERG hoodie pointed a handgun at the store owner, but both men were chased from the store by the owner who pulled his own firearm.
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VA: Domestic Defense? Woman Shot by another Woman in Domestic Dispute

On Tuesday, police obtained a warrant for Howard for domestic assault in relation to the incident.

The investigation revealed that Howard was shot during a domestic dispute with an adult female who is known to her.


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IN: Possible Self Defense Shooting Behind Bar in Evansville

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Police are investigating a fatal weekend shooting at a popular Franklin Street bar as a possible self defense case.

The shooting took place at sportsman's Grille & Billiards around 12:45 a.m. Sunday. Of-duty officers working at the bar found Laren Hall, 23, shot in the alley behind the establishment. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
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UT: Father Fires at Pair who Robbed Him and Daughter

SALT LAKE CITY — Two cousins robbed a girl and her father at gunpoint when the four met up to sell a phone in Salt Lake City on Saturday. Then, the father pulled out his own gun and fired at the cousins as they ran away, jail records show.

One of the cousins, 20-year-old Buk Mawut Buk, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail later that day on suspicion of two counts of aggravated robbery and intentionally giving false information to an officer, according to a police affidavit. Buk’s cousin was a juvenile and his name will not be released, police said.

The girl’s father will not face charges, according to Unified Police Sgt. Melody Gray.
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Oklahoma Lawsuit shows logical flaws in Gun Control Assumptions

The coming implementation of Constitutional Carry in Oklahoma has served to emphasize the logical flaws in the arguments of those opposed.

Constitutional Carry is the removal of restrictions on the carry of handguns in most public places. It restores the state of the law to a close approximation of the law as it existed when the Constitution was signed or the Bill of Rights ratified. At that time, no permits were required to carry handguns either concealed or openly.

The restoration of Constitutional Carry is scheduled to go into effect in Oklahoma on 1 November, 2019.

Constitutional Carry has been restored in 14 other states over the last 16 years. Vermont has always had Constitutional Carry.  There has not been an increase in homicide or violent crime in the states that have restored Constitutional Carry.

The opponents of Constitutional Carry in Oklahoma  filed a lawsuit against the implementation of the law. The lawsuit claims the law violated the Oklahoma Constitutional requirement for each law to address a single subject.  Second Amendment supporters have characterized the lawsuit as a "Hail Mary" pass, unlikely to succeed.

The lawsuit includes allegations that Constitutional Carry in Oklahoma would be dangerous.

Constitutional issues are not about policy differences, or they should not be. Policy issues are to be decided in the legislative process. Courts are not supposed to be super-legislators.

Here is a summation of the policy arguments made by those opposed to Constitutional Carry in Oklahoma.  From kpvi.com:

The suit alleges that states which enacted permitless carry laws have seen “a significant increase in firearm-related deaths.”

Kay Malan of Bixby is a volunteer with Moms Demand Action.

“When you remove the basic training requirements for the handling of a firearm and also remove the requirement to have a fingerprint and background check in your state, that is leaving it open for guns to fall into the hands of the wrong people,” she said. “As it is, we have a gun violence problem. Part of the gun violence problem is fueled by people who get guns illegally.

“All this will do is make it even easier for them.”

On the surface, this appears to contradict the statement that homicide or violent crime has not increased in states where Constitutional Carry has been restored.

There is no contradiction. It is clever sophistry of those opposing Constitutional Carry. Those opposing Constitutional Carry do *not* say homicide or violent crime increased. They say:

 "states which enacted permitless carry laws have seen “a significant increase in firearm-related deaths.”

There is no contradiction:  "firearm related deaths" includes suicides. Over the last 20 years, the number of suicides and the suicide rate in the United States have soared. While the percentage of suicides committed with guns has fallen, the increase in the overall suicide rate has been enough so the number of people committing suicide with guns has increased, and increased enough to override the reduction in homicide with guns. 

Thus "firearm related deaths" have risen in states where Constitutional Carry has been restored, because the number of suicides committed with firearms has increased along with the overall suicide numbers. From 1999 to 2014, the number of suicides increased 46%, while homicides decreased 6%. Suicide with firearms are two thirds of all "firearms related deaths".


It is hard to see how Constitutional Carry is related to an increase in suicide, especially as the percentage of suicides committed with firearms has dropped, even though the absolute numbers have increased. Suicides have risen all over the United States.

The next bit of sophistry is the conflation of the legal ability to carry a firearm with the legal ability to possess a firearm. The Oklahoma Constitutional Carry law does not change who is legally allowed to possess firearms.

 “When you remove the basic training requirements for the handling of a firearm and also remove the requirement to have a fingerprint and background check in your state, that is leaving it open for guns to fall into the hands of the wrong people,”

How does that work? The legal requirements for possession will not have changed. There have not been, and are not, any requirements for training to possess a firearm in Oklahoma. No fingerprint checks are required to possess a firearm in Oklahoma. The requirements for background checks to purchase firearms will not have changed.

The only changes will be about carrying firearms, not possessing them.  If a person is not able to legally possess a firearm, they will continue to be unable to legally carry firearms.

One of the most basic claims of those who want a disarmed population, is that legal gun ownership has an effect on illegal gun ownership. It sounds reasonable, as an abstract theory.

“As it is, we have a gun violence problem. Part of the gun violence problem is fueled by people who get guns illegally.

“All this will do is make it even easier for them.”

The term "gun violence" is an Orwellian propaganda term. It is used to conflate several different things; suicide, homicide, justifiable homicide, homicide by police, and fatal firearms accidents, all together. All those things have different causes and dynamics. The purpose of the term "gun violence" is to conflate them and focus on the gun, thus implying the solution to all of them is more legal restrictions on gun ownership and use. It is not true. All of those things require  be different strategies to have a significant effect. Concentrating on guns does not solve those issues. It very likely removes emphasis from policies that can have a real effect.

It is far from clear that more legal guns result in more illegal guns, or that more illegal guns result in more criminal violence.   The number of guns involved in violent crime in any given year is a minuscule percentage of guns in the United States. Even if each gun used in violent crime were used only once, that would be about 300,000 guns involved in violent crime in a year. There are over 400 million guns in the United States, or about 1,330 legal guns  for each violent crime committed with a gun each year.

But criminals use guns to commit more than one crime; guns are commonly traded, rented, and borrowed among criminals. It is more likely one gun is used for 10 crimes in a given year, before it is confiscated. That would mean there are 13,300 legal guns for each gun used in a violent crime each year.  In the United States, illegal guns are a minuscule percentage of legal guns.

Nor are criminals limited to obtaining guns from the legal stock. In places where legal guns are hard to obtain, criminals make their own guns. A recent report out of California claimed that homemade guns accounted for 30% of guns confiscated there. In some countries, the percentage is higher.

Guns are essentially 15th century technology, and are easily made in small workshops.

When we look at legally owned guns, illegally owned guns, and homicide rates in China, India, Brazil, and the United States, there is no correlation between numbers of legal guns, numbers of illegal guns, and homicide rates. All four countries are large, diverse, multi ethnic entities.

In Brazil, over 50% of the guns in society are illegally owned. Brazil has a homicide rate about six times that of the United States.

Many of those who wish the population disarmed operate from a simplistic, childish perspective.

The thinking is something like this:

People with guns do bad things.

If there were no guns, people could not do bad things with guns.

Make the guns go away, and the bad things will not happen.

How many times have you heard "If there were no guns..."?

Making guns hard to legally own and use does not reduce the homicide rate. It does not reduce the number of guns owned illegally. It creates incentives for illegal gun manufacture and a black market in guns and ammunition.

The hard evidence, from 160 years of highly restrictive gun control laws, is they do not affect the murder rate or the number or rate of illegally owned guns. Governments have not been able to confiscate illegally owned guns faster than people are able to make, buy, steal or smuggle guns to add to the illegal stockpile.

If facts supported the arguments of those who wish the population disarmed, they would not be forced to mislead.

 ©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

AZ: Armed Woman Shoots, Kills two Intruders, Police Investigate

Police say the call came in at 3:45 a.m. A woman called 911 and said she heard noises coming from her backyard, in the 4700 block of East Duncan Street, near Grant and Swan.

She found two men trying to break in and confronted them. She shot both of them. Police say 18-year-old Corey Teixeira died at the scene. 18-year-old Ali Mohamed died later at the hospital.
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NV: Ex Shot by New Boyfriend as He Attempted Break-In

Las Vegas police believe a man was acting in self-defense Monday night when he shot his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend inside an east Las Vegas apartment.

About 7:15 p.m., a woman and her boyfriend were inside an apartment on the 1400 block of North Sandhill Road when the woman’s former boyfriend tried to kick the door in, prompting the current boyfriend to open fire, according to Metropolitan Police Department Lt. David Gordon.
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NC: Gunfight, Employee Shoots Back at Robbery Suspect

Investigators learned that an attempted robber tried to get into the business, but, when they were not allowed to get in, the robber pulled out a gun and allegedly shot into the business.

An employee fired back. Deputies do not know if the robber was hit.
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BATFE Drops 80% Receiver Case in California; Fears Precedent

In 2014, Joseph Roh had a business that dealt in firearms parts. As part of the business, he facilitated the production of lower receivers for AR-15 type firearms, from 80% receivers, in California. In the business, he or his employees would set up the 80% receiver in a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) milling machine. Then, they required the customer to "push the green button". ATF believed this made the business one that was manufacturing firearms without a license. Roh was arrested in 2014. From fbi.gov:

Through his business, ROHG Industries in La Habra, Roh allegedly started with unfinished lower receivers for AR-15-style firearms. A lower receiver is the frame of a completed firearm that holds the trigger and hammer. An unfinished lower receiver, when machined further, constitutes a firearm. Roh and his employees would finish the lower receivers by machining the devices with a computer-numerically-controlled—or CNC—machine and drill presses that Roh maintained at the La Habra warehouse.

Roh attempted to avoid the licensing requirement by requiring that each customer play a token role in the manufacturing process, which often meant merely pushing a button on a CNC machine, while company employees did the vast majority of the work.

While the sale of unfinished lower receivers is not regulated, the manufacture and sale of completed lower receivers—which are considered firearms under federal law—requires a proper license.

Additionally, Roh would, if the customer wanted, assemble the rest of the firearm by adding an upper receiver, a barrel, and other necessary parts to the lower receiver. Roh has agreed to surrender tomorrow and be arraigned on the indictment tomorrow afternoon in United States District Court.

 Joseph Roh had assets. He hired a competent attorney,  Gregory Nicolaysen.

KTLA.com reports Nicolaysen grilled ATF officials on what the definition of a firearm is, according to their regulations.

The judge ruled ATF had not followed proper procedures when they created the regulations, and the definition of what was a firearm was unconstitutionally vague.

According to wfmz.com, ATF officials agreed to a plea deal to stop the judges ruling from having any legal effect. A plea deal would not require the judge to make a ruling; the tentative ruling would not become a part of the case. From ktla.com:

At issue in Roh’s case was whether the law could fairly be interpreted to apply to just the lower receiver of the AR-15, as the ATF has been doing for decades.

To rule otherwise “would sweep aside more than 50 years of the ATF’s regulation of AR-15s and other semiautomatic firearms,” prosecutors wrote prior to the judge’s order.

Federal law enforcement officials — and members of Congress — have been on notice about a potential problem with the language in federal gun law as applied to AR-15s since at least 2016.

In July of that year, prosecutors in Northern California abandoned a case against a convicted felon named Alejandro Jimenez after a judge found that the AR-15 lower receiver he was accused of purchasing in an ATF undercover sting did not meet the definition of a receiver under the law.

The ruling and subsequent dismissal drew little notice but prompted a letter to Congress from then-US Attorney General Loretta Lynch. She advised lawmakers that the judge’s decision was not suitable for appeal and that if ATF officials believed the definition should be changed, they should pursue regulatory or administrative action.

ATF's sloppy rule making and lack of oversight may be catching up to them. While they avoided a legally binding ruling in this case, the facts are now widely known. Any attorney or person charged with illegally making an AR-15 would be justified in using the same defense used by Joseph Roh.

The ruling is *not* about the Second Amendment, nor is it about the right to make your own firearms, which logically is part of the Second Amendment. It is about ATF's sloppy procedures and vague rulings which have not been subject to proper oversight.

This ruling will have little effect on gun owners, at least immediately. However, there are numerous other rulings that may be subject to the same analysis and scrutiny.

I suspect ongoing court cases about what constitutes a suppressor are incentivizing the ATF to be cautious in prosecuting people on dubious "silencer" cases.

Whether the Gun Control Act of 1968 had a positive or negative effect on crime is controversial.
Immediately after the law was passed, crime and murder rates skyrocketed. In 1968 the murder rate was 7.3 per 100,000 population and rising.  In 1980 it peaked at 10.1.  The murder rate  did not come down to 1968 levels  until 1997 (6.8 per 100,000 population) in the United States. By that time the concealed carry revolution was well underway.

There are over 400 million firearms in private hands in the United States. Prior to 1968, there was very little regulation of firearms. People could order semi-automatic anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft guns and ammunition through the mail.

 Link to ar15.com

Only one crime was recorded with these weapons; a pair of them were stolen from a dealer and used to blast a hole in a vault. No one was injured in the crime.

There is no serious evidence gun control laws impact the crime rate. Crime rates in Europe were not affected when European countries enacted their gun control laws.

If the Gun Control Act of 1968 were repealed today, the crime rate would  not be affected a measurable amount.

Gun control laws have always been more about political control than about public safety.

©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

Followup OH: Robber Shot by Armed Victim had Robbed Couple Earlier

According to a police report that was taken four miles away in Akron, 22-year-old Jontae Alexander tried to rob a man on Rhodes Avenue, about an hour after the couple called for help.

But in the second case, the 27-year-old victim Alexander allegedly went after was also armed.

When police arrived, he told officers he shot Alexander, but before he died, Alexander shot back, hitting him in the arm and his side.

Akron police told 19 News they’d been working with Barberton police to determine if Alexander is the same man who robbed the couple.

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Followup MN: Man Justified in Shooting of 15-Year-Old Gang Suspect

The man ran away from them “as fast as he could for as long as he could,” but they were gaining on him, said his attorney, Tim Webb.

“It was clearly a case of self defense,” Webb said recently. “He felt he had no options and he was scared for his life.”

The man, who has a permit to carry a handgun, fired and shot a 15-year-old in the chin.
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Alaskans Stop Grizzly Charge with Glock 10mm On Elmendorf-Richardson

Grizzly Bear that charged, brought down at 10 feet with a 10mm in Alaska

On 19 September, 2018, Jimmy Cox used his Glock model 20 10mm to stop the charging grizzly boar pictured, at 10 feet. The incident leading to the dramatic events occurred the previous evening.


On the evening of  18 September, 2018, Anthony Reyna was happy and excited. He and his friend, Gary, were hunting moose on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson north of and sharing a boundary with Anchorage, Alaska.  Tony had drawn a moose tag for a bow hunt. He was using a 60 lb PSE® ThunderBolt^TM compound bow. He has owned the bow since he was a teenager. They set up and started moose calling about 6 p.m. After 40 minutes, they heard a bull moving in.

Tony was able to take a shot as the bull moved 20 yards out. The bull turned at the last moment; the arrow glanced off a rib. It did not spook the bull, but the bull moved off 200 yards. Tony stalked it to 24 yards, and put an arrow through both lungs. This time the bull ran. As they tracked the bull, the blood trail ran out with the daylight. It wasn't safe to search in the dark. They decided to come back the next morning.

arrow used on moose

At 08:30 the next morning, Tony was back with his friends Jimmy Cox and Ron Sheldon. It was cool, cloudy, and calm. They found the end of the blood trail.  Jimmy Cox had the lead with a Glock 20 10mm in a Blackhawk Serpa holster on his right hip. Jimmy is right handed. The three friends are experienced combat veterans.  They decided to do a grid search in the direction the blood trail was leading. Ron went up a hill to help guide the search from an elevated perspective.

The area is heavily wooded in black spruce and birch, some aspen, with plenty of undergrowth and downed trees.

Tony and Jimmy head out. They hear crows about 50 yards away. Jimmy says: "That's where your moose is".

As they approached the area where they heard the crows, the birds kick up. Less than a second later, they hear the roar, directly ahead. From 10 yards away, a large grizzly is charging them full out.

Jimmy is in the lead, about five feet ahead of Tony. He has time for a startled "F*ck Bear!" as he draws the Glock from the Serpa. He has trained and practiced. The draw is smooth and fast from a retention holster. As the bear bounds over the downed spruce, Jimmy double taps, two shots, one to the chest, one to the head.  The bear crashes down, 10 feet from Jimmy, dead right there (drt). It is over in a couple of seconds.

The bear is a big boar. The friends call Fish and Game on base to report the self defense killing. Mark, with Fish and Game, shows up. He has no issues with the shooting. He estimates the bear at 800-850 lbs. It squares at 7 1/2 feet.

Close-up of Grizzly Boar

They are instructed to go to Anchorage the next day to fill out the required paperwork, the Defense of Life and Property (DLP) report. They are already busy on the hard work of skinning the bear and dressing out the moose. The moose had been buried by the bear, and had its ear and genitals ripped off.

The meat was judged salvageable.  Fortunately, a co-worker was able to get his truck within 100 yards of the scene, minimizing pack out time. Tony is able to get back home, get the meat through initial processing and stored by 9:30 p.m. It has been a long 30 hours.

Ron Sheldon, Anthony Reyna, Jimmy Cox

Jimmy's Glock was loaded with 200 grain HSN bear loads. The first shot took the bear in the chest. It penetrated the right lung, through the chest cavity, and broke the spine. As the bear dropped, the second round caught it in the head. Neither round exited the bears body. The friends could not follow the second round wound channel, because the head, skin, and paws had to be turned in. Because the bear dropped nearly instantaneously, Tony believes the second bullet hit the brain or top of the spinal column.

Image from Brownell's

Tony credits training and practice drawing to developing the muscle memory to make the needed shots. He says they give you the confidence you need when you need it.  He says Jimmy was the right man in the right place. Tony says the 10mm Glock is getting hard to find in Alaska, as they are sought after as bear defense guns.

Another poster, LJ Miller, on facebook, suggested it was the same bear he had problems with one year before, in the same area, September of 2017. He and his partner went to some trouble to avoid shooting the grizzly, which harassed them while they were packing out a quartered moose. It is fortunate Jimmy was there, was well practiced with his Glock, and in the lead.  It could easily have been a tragedy.

This use of a pistol to defend against bear attack was not reported in the news. Without diligent searching, no one but the participants would know about it. If you know of a defensive pistol use against bears, please contact us. We include every use where a pistol can be reasonably documented as being fired in defense against a bear, in our database. An email sent to Ammoland will be forwarded to me.
©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

Followup AL: Marcus Jermaine Weakley found to be Justified in Shooting Death of Patton Shipley

The shooting took place at a popular Florence hang-out in the west Florence area. Patton Shipley, 42, died from gun injuries and a second man was shot but survived.

Circuit judge Will Powell stated in the order of dismissal, Marcus Weakley was justified when using deadly physical force when he shot and killed Patton Shipley in June of 2018.
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NY: Employee Uses Licensed Gun to Stop Robbery Attempt, Wounds Suspect

Police say the 34-year-old employee pulled out a gun and fired at the attempted robber multiple times, hitting him.

Officials tell News 12 that the firearm the employee used was his licensed gun. The suspect was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital in critical but stable condition.
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VA: Xavier Slayton Shot Breaking into Mother's Home in Long Island

While at the scene, investigators learned that Slayton had broken into his mother's home and was shot by a 17-year-old relative. Warrants have been obtained for Slayton on the charge of breaking and entering with intent to commit murder, a class three felony.

Charges were not filed for the juvenile involved, and his name is being withheld. The case is still under investigation.
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These Gun Owners Were Able to Confront Criminals in September

Sept. 1, San Antonio, Texas: A young woman shot and injured a man who was trying to break into her home through a back window at 2 a.m., police said. The man later was determined to be the woman’s ex-boyfriend, though she did not know who the intruder was at the time she fired.

Sept. 3, Houston: After a woman parked her vehicle outside her home in the early hours of the morning, two men approached the driver’s side window and attempted to rob her. The woman drew her firearm from her purse and fired two rounds at the men, who ran away, police said. One would-be robber was wounded in the process and later was charged with aggravated robbery. The woman told local reporters: “I got the gun for that purpose, but I never thought I would really have to use it. . . . I saved my own life.”

Sept. 8, Virginia Beach, Virginia: A Florida man was shot and paralyzed by his stepdaughter after he broke into his estranged wife’s Virginia home and assaulted both the wife and stepdaughter with a wrench. Investigators said they later found garbage bags, zip ties, duct tape, and various weapons in the man’s car, along with a journal detailing his plans to kill his wife.

Sept. 9, Sisters, Oregon: When an unknown man broke into the back door of a residence, the homeowner grabbed his rifle and confronted the intruder, forcing him to flee without firing a single round, police said. The intruder then went to a neighboring home, where that homeowner called 911 and told the intruder to leave. The intruder returned to the first home and this time, the homeowner held him at gunpoint until police arrived.

Sept. 11, Cherokee County, Georgia: A homeowner used her firearm to defend herself against a man who started banging on her doors and windows. The homeowner did not know the man and yelled at him to leave, and he temporarily retreated. The man returned and became even more aggressive, threatening to kill the homeowner, who had armed herself with a firearm. When the man began to approach the homeowner, she shot and killed him, police said.

Sept. 16, Providence, Rhode Island: A man was smoking outside his home when someone approached, held a gun to the man’s head, and demanded everything in his pockets. The robber then forced the man into the apartment, where they fought. The man was able to reach his own gun and shoot the robber, who later was arrested after seeking treatment for his wounds, police said. Despite the state’s strict gun laws (it has a “B+” rating from the Giffords gun control group), a neighbor told reporters that these types of crimes were common in the area and that his family had been victimized several times as well.

Sept. 19, Atlanta: Three masked teens approached residents outside their home before one teen opened fire on the residents with a handgun. One resident used his AR-15 to return fire in self-defense, firing numerous rounds and killing all three assailants, police said. The residents were unharmed.

Sept. 19, Miami-Dade County, Florida: A lunch break for an armed Good Samaritan took a heroic turn when she intervened to stop a brutal robbery and assault occurring outside a Popeyes restaurant. The woman fired her handgun at an assailant as he pummeled a bleeding and helpless victim lying on the concrete, police said. The rounds missed the assailant, but the shots were enough to make him run away. The woman told reporters this was the first time she had fired her gun outside a gun range, and that although it was “an intense moment,” she just “had to stop” the assailant. “I just had to save the guy’s life,” she said. “That’s all I did was try to save someone’s life.” Police later arrested the assailant.

Sept. 22, Salina, Kansas: A father and daughter held a man at gunpoint after he kicked in their door in a home invasion. The man initially told the father that he was running away from someone, but the father yelled for his daughter to bring his gun after it became clear the man was trying to lock them all in the house, police said. The family had prepared for emergency situations like this one and were able to detain the man until police could take him into custody.

Sept. 26, Redding, California: A holder of a concealed carry permit helped intervene in a kidnapping after it became clear to him that another customer at a gas station was holding a woman against her will. Earlier in the evening, the man had assaulted the woman’s sister before forcing the woman into his car and driving off, police said. The permit holder noticed the woman was in distress, confronted the man, and held him at gunpoint until law enforcement arrived.

As these examples show, the first line of defense against crime are those on the scene when crime occurs. Despite our deep respect for law enforcement, police officers are not always there when crimes occur. They respond to calls of those who are already in peril, or to a crime scene after the offense has occurred.

https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/10/11/these-gun-owners-were-able-to-confront-criminals-in-september

Detailed Report: Grizzly Bear Attack in Montana Stopped with 9mm Pistols

Donivan Campbell's severe wound from bear attack

On 16 September, 2019, Chris Gregersen and Donivan Campbell were bow hunting elk in Montana, in the Gravelly Mountains, when they were attacked by a grizzly bear. They had gone out for an afternoon hunt, had hunted up  a steep drainage, climbed the opposite slope, and had been calling for elk on the opposite side of the ridge with a bugle call.

They were returning to their truck and camp. They stopped calling on the top of the ridge, crested the ridge, and were on a steep downward slope, moving toward the creek at the bottom, on an old game trail. There was no cell service in the area.

The weather was clear, in the 50s, with a slight breeze. 

It was 6:30 p.m. The sun was low in the sky. They wanted to get back before dark.

In addition to their archery equipment, both men had 9 mm pistols. Chris Gregersen had a Glock 43. Donivan Campbell had a Sig Sauer P320. Both pistols were loaded with full metal jacketed (FMJ) cartridges.

Chris said he carried the Glock 43, because it was small enough to be carried every day. 

Both men are professional biologists, with degrees in wildlife ecology, working in their chosen field.  They are familiar with bears and bear behavior. They live and work in Washington State.  They are both longtime hunters and fishermen. They are proficient woodsmen.

Donivan (face-paint, left) and Chris  after successful turkey hunt

The way back to the truck was north, down slope, through the timber and up the other side.  They were in thick timber of mature lodgepole pine with some spruce, and patches of brush and blowdowns. In the picture, the attack occurred across the creek and up slope in the timber in the upper right.

Attack occurred in dense timber across the creek and up slope

As they crossed a small bench, they heard an animal jump up, downwind, in the brush to their left (West). It was close, within 20 yards. Their first thought was: elk!  As they turned to look, the grizzly bear erupted from the brush, charging at them, woofing and breathing heavily, only feet away. Chris ran and jumped downhill. Donivan attempted to dodge uphill, but the bear veered and grabbed him by the thigh, shaking him like a dog shaking a rat. The initial attack happened in seconds.

Chris said, even if he had a deterrent in hand, he would not have been able to deploy it fast enough.

Chris had just landed when he heard Donivan scream. He immediately drew his pistol and ran uphill toward Donivan and the bear.  The bear had shaken Donivan again.  Donivan was on his belly, the bear holding him down by standing on his back.  The bear had let go of Donivan's leg and was attempting to bite Donivan's  head. Donivan had both hands behind his head, trying to protect his neck. His thumbs were in the bear's mouth, trying to hold the bears teeth away from his head. He could feel the bear's teeth on his hands. To this point, the action had taken about fifteen seconds.

The attack was aggressive, fast, violent. Chris could see the bear going for Donivan's head, when he shot.

Chris said he had no choice. He had to fire. If he did not fire, Donivan would be killed or injured more severely. He had run to within 15 feet of the bear and Donivan, the bear facing away from him, on top of Donivan. He took a snap sight picture and fired at the bear's rear. It was probably 16 seconds into the attack.  The point of aim was the bear's hind quarters. There was no other choice.  The bear and Donivan were upslope with brush on either side. There was no time to flank the bear, on a steep hill side, with considerable brush, when fractions of a second could make the difference between life and death.   Chris had a clear shot. He has considerable experience shooting under stress while hunting. He says he has "shot a lot".  He had a brief worry about hitting his friend, so he had to do it right.  

Chris believes he hit the bear in one of the hind quarters, from the rear. The searchers reported finding a little blood, but it might have been Donivan's.  From the rear, a 9mm FMJ would be unlikely to reach the bears vitals, or penetrate far enough to reach Donivan. On a large bear, with lots of fat in the fall, a significant blood trail was unlikely.

Gregersen's Glock 43 and ammunition

Chris expected the bear to turn on him. At the shot, the bear leapt away from Donivan and disappeared into a thick wall of brush only 5 feet away.  The bear could not have acted faster to a cloud of bear spray.

Chris did not know if Donivan was alive or dead. Donivan drew his Sig Sauer as soon as the bear jumped off him.  As Chris approached Donivan, he saw his friend was alive and armed. They immediately heard the griz coming back from about 30 yards out. As a snap plan, Donivan agreed to fire to deter the bear, with Chris in reserve to fire as soon as he saw it. The friends are yelling at the bear. As it gets to within 5 yards, still unseen, Donivan fires two shots into the brush, toward the bear. The bear stops, starts walking away, retreats perhaps 20 yards.

The friends hear the bear charge a third time. Donivan fires another shot at the noise as the bear closes to about 10 yards, still without being seen, hidden by  the thick brush. Indexing on the sound, they had a good idea of where it was. The bear stops, and the friends hear it slowly walking in the brush, then slowly walking away.  They hear the sounds of the bear's retreat fade. The only clear shot fired at the bear, was the first one fired by Chris, it was  effective in stopping the attack, driving the bear off of Donivan and giving him the opportunity to draw his Sig.

Chris emphasized bear spray would not have been effective. The spray would have been directed at the bear's backside. If the spray had reached the bear's head, it would have disabled Donivan as well. When the bear charged again, bear spray would have been unlikely to reach the bear through the heavy cover.

Chris believed the sound of the shots and the yelling stopped the second and third charges. He thinks all three shots fired by Donivan missed the bear. It could not be seen. Donivan was on the ground, firing at the noise of the bear crashing through brush at them. There was a lot of brush.

Chris checked his friend's wounds. The bear had torn up Donivan's thigh with  six lacerations, ripped into severe wounds at the bear shook Donivan.  One of them was large enough for the doctor at the hospital to put his entire hand inside while cleaning it out.

There wasn't any arterial bleeding. The emergency "first aid" kit was useless, designed for minor cuts and insect bites. The friends improvised bandages using game bags and t-shirts. Chris improvised crutches from trekking poles.  They believed they could be attacked again at any time, as had happened in several other cases, with Todd Orr being the classic example. Chris kept his Glock in hand and put Donivan's Sig in his pants pocket. He reloaded his Glock 43 with a spare magazine.  Donivan would have both hands full staying upright and moving back toward the road.

The sun was nearly down, with deep shadows across the valley. They had to make it down to the creek, and across it, a three-quarter mile hike. Then there was an uphill climb to the road and the truck. At the camp was a 4-wheeler, five miles away.

Chris cleared a trail for Donivan, helped him over logs, and provided security as they hobbled their way, as fast as they could, toward the road, the truck, and safety.

Once they got to the other side of the creek, they were able to make it to an area of sagebrush.  Donivan was spent. The two decided, rather than risk further injury by carrying Donivan, Chris would go and get the 4-wheeler at the camp. Chris returned Donivan's Sig P320 9 mm, and left him in a relatively open area, covered with clothes, in a defensive position. The sun was below the horizon.

Chris ran upslope for a quarter mile to the truck. He drove five miles back to the camp, returned with the 4-wheeler, found a way down slope with the vehicle, and loaded Donivan on it. Donivan had his headlight out and turned on.  The evening sky glow was fading.  As they headed up slope in the 4-wheeler, it was dark. 

On the road, they headed back toward camp. Part way there, they were able to flag down someone to go and call 911 from a local cabin with a land line. The call started an ambulance on the way up.  They loaded Donivan into the truck and started down the mountain. Just as they reached cell phone service, 40 miles from the attack site, they met the ambulance coming up. The ambulance took Donivan to the hospital.

Donivan's injuries after some suturing

A search party with a big crew and helicopter were organized to look for the bear.

Based on descriptions, the bear was a mature, dominant boar.  One of the searchers told Chris the chances of two dominant bears this close together is very low.  Chris was told the bear was likely hit. This might cause it to den up to recover, or to leave the area. If not hit, denning or leaving would be less likely, for such a territorial, mature boar.

One of the first responders recommended quick clot, a wound dressing, and a tourniquet as a kit to cover most serious wounds. A warden suggested more power and a large magazine capacity gave a better chance of hitting the central nervous system. He recommended the Glock 20 in 10mm.

Chris believes it was probably the same bear. He thinks the bear spray used in the attack 11 hours and less than a mile away, likely aggravated the second attack.

Chris Gregersen has purchased a Glock 20.  Chris purchased a quick clot kit for future hunts.

Donivan Cambell is recovering. It will be months before he can hunt again. Donivan's wife is expecting their first child. Fortunately, the bear attack did not sever any arteries. A gofundme account has been set up for his expenses.

Chris says bears are highly individualistic. There are aggressive bears, and mellow bears. Without legal hunting for bears, aggressive bears tend to be taken out when, or after they attack. With a legal hunt, bears that did not fear humans would be more likely to be harvested before they attack a human.

Chris Gregersen says they did not expect to be attacked. They believed if they acted properly, they would be safe. Now, he knows there are bears in the woods who will attack and kill you simply for being there. If it could happen to them, he says, it could happen to anyone.


©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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