http://www.americanrifleman.org/bloglist.aspx?id=21
A gunman entered a Philadelphia deli shortly after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, police said, where he drew a weapon and went behind the counter to where the owner's wife was standing. Pointing the gun to her chest, he forced her to her knees and ordered her to open the cash register. As she started taking the money out, she screamed for her husband, who came out from a back room with his gun. The gunman shot at the owner, missing him, and the owner fired back three times, fatally wounding him. "If my husband hadn't shot him, he would have been shot," said the wife. The owner agreed, "I didn't want it to come to that," he said. "But we had to defend ourselves." (The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, 2/7/13)
Phibbie Underwood, a 72-year-old woman on oxygen, was home alone when she heard the front door rattle, saw a shadow on the front porch and then heard a loud banging on the window. Underwood retrieved a gun she kept in her bedroom and returned to find a 26-year-old man who had broken the window and gained entry to her home. Underwood ordered the man to get out of her home and leave her alone. Instead the man walked into another room, then walked back toward her. Underwood warned the man to stop and when he didn't she pulled the trigger. The gun misfired, So Underwood fired again and missed. The man got down on the floor to avoid being shot. Underwood held the man there until police arrived. (Tribune Chronicle, Youngstown, OH, 3/29/13)
Paul Ohle, 69, was at home baking around 9 a.m. when he heard more than a dozen bangs on his front door. By the time he made it to the door, a man had already forced his way inside. The man told Ohle that he needed help, so Ohle picked up his cell phone to call 911. The man grabbed the phone from Ohle and pushed him onto the sofa. He ordered Ohle to stay where he was as he tried to take his television. Ohle struggled with the man, but managed to get to the .38-cal. handgun he kept in his bedroom. Ohle fired multiple rounds, killing the intruder. Ohle was later taken to an area hospital where he was treated and released. (Hickory Daily Record, Hickory, NC, 2/26/13)
A widowed grandmother who awoke to the sound of her back door being smashed open held the intruder at gunpoint until police arrived at her North Spokane home. Spokane police said the 63-year-old woman fired one shot at the man when she found him in her home around 12:20 a.m. but he was not injured. "I just woke up with the crash and grabbed my gun and got out of bed and said 'I'm armed' and he kept coming at me," the homeowner said. "I shot off one round and he kept coming, so I started backing up." The intruder "flopped" on her sofa, she said, and she got the phone and called 911. When police arrived the intruder attempted to flee, but went back in the house upon seeing officers. Police entered the home where the intruder resisted, but was finally subdued with help from the K9 unit. (The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA, 4/3/13)
Ernest Robinson, an assistant high school basketball coach, was escorting two of his female team members from the building one evening when they were approached by two teenage boys. One of the teenagers wielded a gun. The gunman ordered the girls to leave as the other teen yanked at the chain Robinson wore around his neck. Robinson quickly pulled out his concealed pistol and fired at both assailants, killing one and wounding the other. The surviving perpetrator is now being charged with one count of armed robbery and one count of assault with intent to rob while armed. (The Detroit News, Detroit, MI, 2/15/13)
Three masked men entered Plaza Jewelers one afternoon, one carrying a gun while the other two wielded hammers. Store owner Alfonso Angela spotted the men through the store window and grabbed the gun he kept hidden behind the counter. The two men with hammers, one carrying a bag, were approaching the glass cases of jewelry when Angela cocked the hammer of his gun. Within seconds, the men were making a hasty exit. Police were called and two male suspects were later taken into custody. (San Jose Mercury News, Fair Oaks, CA, 1/21/13)