GA: Husband Disarms, Shoots, Kills, man who Shot, Wounded his Wife and Him

ATLANTA - A husband and wife are in the hospital following a terrifying encounter with a gunman. Police said the husband stepped in to save his wife after a man shot her in the arm, then the husband shot and killed the gunman possibly in self-defense.

Investigators said the shootings happened Sunday afternoon in a home on Donnebrook Lane in southeast Atlanta.
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CA: Armed Victim Says he Shot at Robbers Car

Fresno police say they are searching for two people they believe tried to rob a man Saturday in southeast Fresno.

However, the man who was nearly the victim in the case told police he fired off shots at the robbers’ vehicle as they fled.
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FL: Man Disarms, Shoots, 1 of 3 Robbery Suspects

The man told police that three unknown men attempted to rob him at gunpoint in front of his residence. According to the man, he was able to grab one of the suspects' gun and shoot one of the men.

The victim/shooter was detained for questioning and a search warrant was requested on the property.
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VA: Armed Man Shoots Knifeman Holding Woman against her will

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ7) -- Roanoke Police say one man was transported to the hospital after being shot by another man who came to aid a woman that was being held against her will.

Police say they responded to a report of a shooting on Saturday, Oct. 13, around 11 a.m. in the 2100 block of Tinker Dr. NE. Upon arrival, officers located Jesus Alvarado, 35, of Texas, with gunshot wounds to the abdomen.
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WI: Suspect Shot by Victim, Investigation Ongoing

The suspect left the residence, returned with a firearm and shot at the victim. The victim returned fire striking the suspect. The suspect sustained a non-life threatening gunshot wound and was conveyed to a local hospital.

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TN: Armeed Home Invader Shot, Killed

A burglary suspect was shot and killed during a reported home invasion at a Northwest Knoxville home early Thursday morning, according to the Knoxville Police Department.

Christopher Austin Desmarais, 24, of Knoxville, was identified as the suspect who was fatally shot Thursday morning during the break-in.

A preliminary investigation shows Desmarais was armed with a handgun around 1 a.m. when he began beating on the door of a home in the 2400 block of Lamp Drive, police said.
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TX: Armed Resident Fires at Gang of Thieves

Security camera video showed the angry homeowner going after at least three men with a loaded pistol.

"I shot one round into their engine compartment," Bernal said. "They proceeded to take off down the street. I waited until they got an angle where I could (see) in between each house where I wasn't going to hit either one of them and then I fired seven more rounds and then they took off."
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OK: Armed Robbery Suspect Shot in Leg

OKLAHOMA CITY - Police are investigating after an attempted armed robbery suspect was shot in Nichols Hills.

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CO: Armed Homeowner Shoots, Kills Intruder, stops Crime Spree

A Colorado Springs resident isn’t expected to face charges for fatally shooting a man trying to break into his home just north of Palmer Park, police said.

Houston Malachai Cookson, 30, of Colorado Springs was killed on the rear patio of the house in the 2700 block of Flintridge Drive, police said. The shooter’s name hasn’t been released.
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MI: Off Duty Officer Shoots armed man in Groin

Hard to say if this was a justified shooting, from the sparse information given. The report does not say the armed man pointed the gun at anyone.

An off-duty Detroit police officer shot an armed man who was arguing with his girlfriend at around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, police said Thursday morning.

The man, 45, was "in a dispute" with his 34-year-old girlfriend on the 5000 block of Rohns Street. The officer was visiting relatives who live in the area and heard the dispute. When he headed down the street, he saw the man was armed and shot him in the groin, police said.

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CT: Man Fires at Vehicle Driver, Probable Self Defense

Two hours later, a 25-year-old Hamden man told police that he fired at the vehicle after it had allegedly sped at him. The man said he was leaving the bar when the vehicle pulled up and a man inside addressed him before the vehicle made a U-turn and came after him. The Hamden man then fired at the driver, who fled the scene.

Police said the shooter had a valid pistol permit and that it appears that he was not the antagonist in this incident.
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CA: Bail Bondsman Shoots, Wounds, Gilbert Uribe

One of the bail bondsmen says he felt threatened, fearing the man was using his car as a weapon, and opened fire.

The bail bondsman firing his gun hit the car several times, and shot Uribe in the leg.

Uribe had already been facing charges for hurting his neice and leading police on a chase topping 100 miles per hour back in May.

In addition to those charges, he'll now be facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon.

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NICS Checks Remain High in September, More Permits, Lower Gun Sales

The total number of National Instant background Checks, (NICS) remain at historically high levels for September of 2018.

September, 2018 had 1,956,681 NICS checks. September, 2017 had 1,967,104 NICS checks, and September, 2016, the all time record, had 1,992,219 NICS checks. There is less than a two percent difference in the total NICS checks numbers for the last three Septembers.

Retailers are reporting that sales of firearms have fallen. How are the high NICS numbers and lower firearm sales reconciled?

The answer can be found by digging deeply into the FBI reports of NICS numbers by state and type.

While total NICS numbers remain high, the number of NICS numbers used for gun permits and for permit re-checks has become a larger percentage of the total. Permit checks and re-checks were 41 percent of all NICS in September of 2016. (Rechecks are displayed in the FBI figures starting in June of 2016)

Permit and permit re-checks are 43 percent of all NICS in September of 2017.

Permit and permit re-checks are 50 percent of all NICS in September of 2018.

The numbers show a dramatic increase in permit and permit re-checks as a percentage of the total NICS checks done.

Digging into state data, just two states, Illinois and Kentucky, account for 60% of all permit and permit re-checks for September of 2018. Kentucky checks all carry permits for the state every month, resulting in September permit checks of 393,160. Illinois lists 189,106 permit re-checks for the same month.

When  the permit and permit re-checks are subtracted from the September numbers for 2016, 2017, and 2018, we are left with 1,165,584 non-permit related NICS in 2016, 1,128,919 in 2017, and 980,819 in 2018.

The numbers of non-permit related NICS checks show a 16% drop NICS checks instead of 2%.

The mystery is solved. Increasing checks for permits and re-checks, especially in Illinois, are responsible for the high level of overall checks while sales are dropping.

October sales are historically a little higher than September, while November and December are historically the highest months of the year.

Countering that trend is a failing Mueller investigation, an invigorated Trump administration, and the installation of Judge Kavanaugh as Justice Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.  Judge Kavanaugh wrote a famous dissent on the D.C. Circuit in defense of Second Amendment rights.  From scotusblog.com:

Kavanaugh reasoned that handguns, which are mostly semi-automatic, are protected by the Second Amendment, and he saw no real difference, from a constitutional perspective, between handguns and semi-automatic rifles. Semi-automatic rifles, he observed, “have not traditionally been banned” and “remain in common use today”; indeed, he noted, handguns are more often used in violent crimes than semi-automatic rifles. The registration requirements, he continued, are unconstitutional because gun owners have traditionally not been required to register all guns that they own legally – “as distinct,” Kavanaugh pointed out, “from licensing of gun owners or mandatory recordkeeping by gun sellers.”

Those political events tend to make potential gun buyers more confident the Trump administration and the Supreme Court will protect Second Amendment rights in the future.

This could dampen incentives to purchase, as more restrictive gun legislation seems unlikely during a Trump administration.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

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CT: Armed Man Stops Stabbing Spree

Police say a 27-year-old man was walking along Sperry Street toward Goffe Street when he was confronted by a man holding a knife. That man reportedly said "Happy Halloween" and then stabbed the victim.

The victim's cousin, a 24-year-old from Hamden, was waiting in his car. We're told he heard the commotion, got out of his car and was also stabbed.

The 24-year-old then took out his gun and shot the assailant in the chest, killing him.
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Followup NC: Homeowner Shooting Intruder was Self Defense

PINEVILLE, N.C. - Authorities believe a deadly shooting Tuesday in Pineville was in self-defense.

A fight led to the shooting near Willow Run Road at the Willow Ridge Apartments off Park Road.


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Followup TX: Wounded Burglar begs for Help in Video taken after Homeowner was Killed

Michael Clayton Robinson, 51, was home with his wife and two of his six children when they were awakened by an intruder. Robinson, a physician assistant, grabbed his 9mm Glock and yelled out to the unseen burglar, “Get out of my house.”

When Robinson opened the door to his bedroom, he saw Perales with a gun, witnesses said. Both men shot each other. Robinson later died. Perales, wounded, left in his car, police said, but got lost inside the subdivision and ended up at a nearby house, begging for help.
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TN: Domestic Defense? Husband Shoots Wife after Mother-in-Law Injured

Authorities said the incident began when the mother of the children arrived at their paternal grandparents’ home to pick them up, the Times Free Press reported. The father of the children was present and told his wife she would not be permitted to take the children.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the wife rammed the gate of the home with her vehicle, injuring her mother-in-law, and began to walk toward her husband. The man then shot his wife in the leg, the Times Free Press reported.
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TX: San Antonio Homeowners Shoot, Wound, Burglary Suspect

 The homeowners told police they shot one of the suspects during in the incident.

One of the suspects showed up at Mission Trails Hospital with a gunshot wound and was transported to University Hospital for treatment.

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Ohio Supreme Court Proposes More Firearm Restrictions, Public Comments Allowed

Buckeye Firearms has highlighted a case of judicial activism in Ohio.

The Ohio Supreme Court is proposing to change the rules on the confiscation and return of firearms in Ohio, particularly in cases involving orders of protection.

 Sean Maloney, a firearms attorney, has written an analysis of the proposed changes in the rules in Ohio.  Many of the rules make changes that the Ohio legislature specifically refused to implement.  From Sean Maloney's analysis:

Accordingly, Appellate Courts have consistently held that, an order to surrender firearms to police absent a “sufficient nexus,” is an abuse of discretion when no evidence exists that the Respondent to a Civil Protection Order had ever threatened to use, used, or brandished a firearm.  Butcher v. Stevens, 182 Ohio App.3d 77, 2009-Ohio-1754, 911 N.E.2d 928, ¶17 (4th Dist.). 

Therefore, at a minimum, before the Ohio Courts can restrict, limit or deprive a Respondent of their Second Amendment Rights, the Court first must specifically find that there is “substantial nexus” between the Respondent to a Civil Protection Order’s conduct, and the firearms restriction imposed by the Court order. Absent that finding, a Respondent to a Civil Protection Order’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms shall not be restricted. See for example the proposed amendment to Form 10.01-I, page 3 of 6 provision 13, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CIVIL PROTECTION ORDER (DVCPO) FULL HEARING

 The full analysis lists several major changes in firearms law in Ohio, that will, in effect, be enacted if the Supreme Court changes the procedural rules as proposed.

This is how one branch of government can create major changes in the law without any vote by the legislature.

Buckeye firearms organization is urging Ohio residents to comment on the proposed changes. From buckeyefirearms.org:

Deadline for public comment is Oct. 12.

To comment and demand that these proposed changes not be enacted, email objections to: diana.ramos-reardon@sc.ohio.gov Include your full name and mailing address in any comments submitted by e-mail.

State organizations often are more tuned into potential administrative changes than are national organizations, such as the NRA.

Buckeye Firearms Association has been one of the more active state organizations in the nation.



©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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Richard Bong America's Top Ace of WWII, Wisconsin Deer Hunter

Richard Bong and Father Photo from Display at Bong Center, Superior, Wisconsin

Richard Bong was born on September 24th, 1920. My father was born on January 22, 1918, less than two years earlier. They grew up about 40 miles apart, on farms in northern Wisconsin.  Richard in the town of Poplar, Wisconsin. My father was raised  in the town of Lenroot, Wisconsin. Towns, (townships) in Wisconsin, are political units, six miles by six miles square.

Both were good deer hunters.  Richard Bong, the famous ace, was shown using a Savage 99 chambered in .300 Savage, while hunting deer in Northern Wisconsin. The picture was taken in 1943 during his first leave back to the U.S. It appears that Richard is wearing a military web belt. His father, Carl, was shown walking alongside him.

What struck me were the rifles. Richard's father, was carrying a Remington model 8 or 81, the first successful high powered semi-automatic rifle. It came on the market in 1906. I have one made in early 1907.

Richard Bong's Savage model 99 was advanced a different way. It sported a rifle scope. It was probably a 3/4 inch tube Weaver 3-30, 3-29, or 4-40. Weaver converted to one inch tubes for their high powered rifle scopes after the war, in 1947.

The Savage 99 Richard Bong used deer hunting has been donated to the Bong Center. It no longer sports a Weaver scope, but those scopes have long been obsolete.

The serial number on the Bong .300 Savage model 99 indicates it was manufactured in 1923.

Richard and Carl wore matching deer hunting outfits of the era, with plaid shirts, wool pants, and what appear to be lace up shoe-pacs.

I remember my father wearing similar clothing. I cannot tell if the pacs are Sorrels or some other manufacture.

Everyone wore Sorrel rubber on the bottom, leather on the top, felt lined, shoe-pacs when I was growing up in that country 20 years later.

By the time Weaver came out with the K-series scopes with one inch tubes, Richard Bong, America's top ace, was dead. He  died in a tragic test flight of an early jet fighter, the P-80. The crash occurred on 6 August, 1945, the same day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.  He had been brought home after having 40 confirmed kills in the Pacific Theater.

My father loved the Savage model 99. He was a deadly shot on deer in the Wisconsin woods, where I grew up. He obtained his model 99 in 1946, and used it with a peep sight until he converted to the Weaver K2.5X riflescope.  He was rejected for military service because of an ulcer. There wasn't much deer hunting during the war. Ammunition for hunting was hard to come by. My father spent the war years in Milwaukee building armaments at A. O. Smith.

I shot my first buck with my father's Savage model 99 and the K2.5 Weaver.

Farm boys contributed greatly to the war effort. My 100 year old friend in Australia, Roy Eykamp, built airplanes for the war in California, at Lockheed. He was raised on a farm in South Dakota.

Roy was a deadly shot. In April, 2018, when he was over 100 years old, he told me he didn't think he could ever shoot a human being.  Roy was born two months after my father.

A neighbor, Lyman Williamson, was part the famous raid on the heavy water plant in Telemark, Norway. My father told me about it, and that Lyman did not like to talk about it.  Lyman was recruited because he spoke Norwegian like a native.

A local ski resort was named Telemark two decades after the war.  The man who developed Telemark also promoted the Birkebiner cross country ski race from The Telemark ski resort to Hayward, Wisconsin. I often wondered if the choice of the name had anything to do with the famous raid.

I have gotten far afield from the memories induced by the picture of those two Wisconsin deer hunters in 1943. Deer hunting in Wisconsin continues to be popular in the state.  The Savage 99 remains a popular deer rifle, and a Remington model 8 and 81 semi-autos remain in use.

WWII continues to be a fairly popular war, after the fact. I wonder if we will see local social justice warriors calling for the state to tear down Bong's memorial, close his museum, and rename the wildlife preserve and bridge named in his honor.

After all, he was a deer hunter.

For the humor impaired, the previous sentence was satire.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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