As reported, a Highland, Illinois woman used her gun to stop a man who broke into her apartment and was choking her sister.
Debi Keeney, 55, of Highland said the intruder forced his way in about 3:30 a.m. Sunday when she stepped outside to smoke a cigarette and demanded money while attacking her and her 47-year-old sister, Donna Carylle. Keeney said she warned the man to let her sister go and then shot him with a .22-caliber pistol she hadn’t fired since taking lessons 15 years ago, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Once again, armed self defense has allowed a law abiding citizen to save herself and a loved one from a violent attack. Sadly, those who are unarmed are seldom in a position to defend themselves against an intruder, as those criminals who engage in such physical violence are often at the peak of their physical strength and purposely choose physically weaker victims. Calling the police is not a realistic solution, as the police are at best minutes away while it takes just seconds for a crime to be committed. Complying with the criminal’s demands, even if it appears to “just” be a robbery, is similarly no guarantee of safety.
Armed crime victims are in the best position possible to save themselves and their children. A few other examples: This armed mother saved her daughter from a rapist, while this armed daughter saved her mother from a a violent home invader. Similarly, this armed elderly woman held a burglar at gunpoint and made him call the police on himself, while this armed grandmother shot an intruder in self defense. This armed woman shot a rapist who returned to rape her a second time, while this armed woman saved herself and her son from a daytime burglar. The real-life examples of armed self defense and statistical evidence supporting the effectiveness of armed self defense are both clear – armed self defense works.
It is also noteworthy that this woman was able to defend herself despite having not fired the gun in 15 years. Obviously, it is preferable to regularly practice using one’s firearm. But, as this case clearly demonstrates, guns are mechanically simple and the idea that an ordinary person would be unable to effectively use one for self defense is unfounded, even when that person has not fired the gun in a decade and a half.
My thanks to JD for pointing out this self defense case.