Profile: 4 Lives Saved by Guns This Month

Here are the stories of four people whose lives were saved by their own quick thinking, their training…and the fact that they had guns.

If you’re reading this, chances are good that you’re already pretty well-versed in both of the statistics you can see in the above photo. The problem with statistics is that, for many people, they’re basically just abstractions. So instead of tabulating numbers and debating statistics, today, we’re going to look at four people who saved their own lives using their firearms during the past month.

Georgia woman, 79, reportedly shoots at suspected home intruder: ‘I got something for you’

What’s lovely about this story is that the stupidity of the intruder is matched only by Gram-gram’s badassery. You can read the news report here if you like. The short version is that the near-octogenarian was home alone when she noticed an intruder outside her back door, and warned him that she was armed and that he ought to find somewhere else to be. Instead, he decided to wait a few minutes and then break a window upstairs. While on the phone with 911, the homeowner fired two warning shots, neither of which struck the would-be robber…as well as uttering the legendary quote above. It was, however, enough to convince him that maybe she really did mean business after all, and he fled the scene.

Home invasion suspect killed by St. Louis homeowner is identified

Four residents of a St. Louis home were shocked when three men started trying to break into the home in the middle of the night. Although the residents got on the phone with 911 right away, the invaders were able to get into the house before the police could get there. Fortunately, one of the residents had a gun and used it, fatally shooting one of the three intruders. The other two escaped (police are still seeking them, it appears), but there’s a short but eerie coda to the story. As it turns out, he was the half-brother of a man who was fatally shot by a St. Louis police officer in 2011–sparking massive protests and unrest throughout the city and state. Here’s the news report, if you’d like to check it out.

Titusville man who shot home intruders says they had his ‘mom at gunpoint’

He woke up in the middle of the night, but it was too late: Two armed intruders had broken into his home and were holding his mother at gunpoint. The news report is vague about what the intruders wanted, only classifying what took place next as “a fight.” However, when that fight was over, the homeowner and his mother were still standing. The two home invaders weren’t; one died on the scene, and one was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. The article’s here, and it contains one last welcome piece of information. It seems the state of Florida is declining to release the names of the victims to the press based on a very recent change to Florida’s constitution.

Florida homeowner shoots, kills masked intruders

It’s bad enough when one person breaks into another’s home, but as with many other stories this month, this one also starts with two home invaders. The article for this one is considerably briefer than some of the others, but the bare-bones piece gives us the nitty-gritty. Two intruders succeeded in breaking into a home and were met with gunfire from the armed homeowner. As with the Titusville invaders, both of them died of their wounds.

Have you noticed something in particular about those datelines? Each of the four law-abiding citizens who were able to save themselves from criminal attack lives in a state with laws that would absolutely horrify the person who purchased the advertisement panel van on the left.