by NRA Staff - Tuesday, September 1, 2015

A man who feared for his mother’s safety had fortuitous timing. About a week after her son gave her a gun, the widow used it to defend herself against someone who broke into her home near Columbus, Ohio. The 28-year-old intruder had first attempted to rob the house across the street, but the people in that residence forced him to leave through a second-story window. Not heeding that as a sign of bad things to come, the suspect next broke through a window of the widow’s home. The woman had been sleeping on the couch with her gun at hand, Sgt. Dave Sicilia said, and she fired multiple shots. The intruder later died at the hospital. Ohio has a Castle Doctrine law, and no charges against the widow were reported. ( The Daily Caller and WBNS Channel 10 , Columbus, OH, 2/20/15)A Pleasant Grove, Utah, homeowner was awakened by the sound of a stranger pounding on his front door. When no one came to the door, the unknown visitor then climbed to a second-floor balcony and attempted to enter the residence through a door. According to the authorities, the homeowner unlocked the door to speak with the intruder, but when the 24-year-old burglar attempted to force his way into the building the resident shot him once in the chest. The robber was taken to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injury. Police confirmed that the homeowner would not face charges for the defensive use of his firearm. ( Daily Herald, Provo, UT , 6/26/15)Charles Dresser and his wife were reading the paper in bed when they heard a loud pounding on their front door. Dresser put on his bathrobe, grabbed a .22-cal. revolver and went to investigate—arriving in the couple’s living room just as the two would-be burglars burst in. The homeowner fired, hitting one thief. The pair fled, but police later caught the wounded robber. (The Mercury, San Jose, CA)