Successful Use of Firearms in Self Defense

[Gunservant]

Below follows the articles I could source from the media during a quick internet trawl.
Please help by contributing to the thread what you can find, I missed a lot of other good articles.

[Gunservant]

Elderly man fights off, kills attacker
2013-03-06 09:41

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Bloemfontein - Residents of Upington in the Northern Cape have been rocked by a brutal attack on an elderly couple in their farmhouse.

Albert Strauss, 81, and his wife Chrissie, 72, were injured on Monday evening when a man attacked them in their home on their farm which is about 20km outside the town, Volksblad reported.

Despite being seriously injured, Strauss managed to shoot and kill the attacker.

The couple’s son, Johan, said the attacker presumably entered through the back door of the farmhouse while his mother was busy in the scullery, and then hid in the study.

Kicked, beaten

His mother apparently became suspicious as the couple’s dog had been on edge the whole evening. She was about to call for help in the kitchen when the man attacked her.

She screamed and her husband, who was already in bed, rushed to help her.

The attacker kicked the couple and beat them with a stick but Strauss fought back, wrestling with the attacker and ending up in the main bedroom where the robber broke off a piece of the cupboard door and assaulted him with this.

Strauss fell and injured his hand but managed to grab his pistol and fired shots at the attacker, who was hit in the neck and killed.

The couple then called their son, who lives about 10km from his parents.

“At first I thought she was making a joke and I asked her if she was sure, but I could immediately hear in her voice that something terrible had happened. It’s wrong that something like this should happen to two elderly people. It shouldn’t be like this,” said Johan Strauss.

The couple were both admitted to hospital and are in a stable condition.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...acker-20130306

[Gunservant]

Attacker shot dead as farmer fights back
01 May 2008
Melissa Douman

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A KZN farmer and his wife survived a vicious attack by two armed men during which he shot at the intruders, killing one and wounding another, at their farmhouse in Richmond on Wednesday night.

The farmer was seriously injured in the skirmish, during which he was stabbed and bitten.
David (known as DB) Warren (54) and his wife Muffy (51) were about to doze off when the attack occurred. Two intruders smashed their bedroom window, jumped on to the bed and started stabbing DB in the chest.

Before getting into bed, DB had just finished packing for a hunting trip in Pretoria that the couple were planning to take over the long weekend and so had a loaded 45 mm pistol by the side of his bed.

�It was instinct. I rolled on to the floor, screamed to my wife to take cover � by that time they were stabbing me already,� he said.

After wrestling one of the intruders on the floor, DB managed to free one hand, reach for his pistol and fire the first shot. It hit the first attacker in his groin area.

�He had enough [the first attacker] and bolted out of the bedroom into the yard,� said DB.
The second attacker continued the tussle with DB, who managed to shoot him in the chest at �point-blank range�.

He fired three or four shots into the attacker, but this did not stop the man, who was still trying to get the gun away from DB.

�By that time, I was bleeding profusely. I told my wife that she needed to do something � and then he bit me on my arm,� said DB, pointing to the bite marks on his left wrist.

Muffy looked around the room and found a lampshade. She hit the man on the head, but he did not flinch. �I think he was running on adrenaline at the time,� she said. So she hit him again. The man released his grip on her husband and fell to the floor.

A call to the paramedics and the police was made, but after waiting for what �felt like forever� in the �blood stained and upside-down bedroom�, Muffy, in order to save her husband, who was at this point struggling to breathe, decided to drive him to St Anne�s Hospital.

The attacker looked up at them and said: �Water, give me water�.

Senior Superintendent Hendry Budhram told The Witness that �when the police entered the farmer�s home, they discovered the body of an adult male in his bedroom with gunshot wounds�.

�The house was in disarray with bloodstains on the walls and floor, giving the indication that there was an altercation or struggle between the farmer and his attackers.

�The large window�s glass was smashed open, which would appear to be where entry into the house was gained. A knife was also found near the deceased.�

Yesterday, The Witness spoke to DB as he sat in his hospital bed with pipes and plasters attached to his chest. He was coughing blood and his voice was gone.

His wife had suffered bruises to her legs and body after being trampled by the attackers.

�Crime is just so totally rife it is frightening,� she said, adding that the couple shouldn�t have to say that they are lucky to be alive.

�I have two holes through my lungs; this is luck? It is just not good enough,� said DB.

He told The Witness that �the difference between me dying and surviving was the fact that I had my pistol next to me and not in my drawer. I am also very grateful to my wife, for had she not driven me to the hospital in her traumatised state, I would not have made it waiting for the paramedics.�

DB said this was the third attack on them in the past three months and he does not believe that it was a coincidence.

DB�s friend in Pretoria was attacked two months ago. �I was on the phone with him and all I heard was: �Don�t shoot�. A few phone calls saved his and his family�s lives. Since then I have become even more aware,� he says.

He says that he shouldn�t have to live with constant fear in a country that he has invested his life in.

Despite the fact that his plot is secured with 16 strands of electric fencing and dogs, he and his wife are not safe, he says.

Koos Marrais, spokesman for the KZN Agricultural Union Security Desk, said: �Yet another attack on vulnerable farmers � it�s time government takes a stand against violent crime in rural areas.�

http://www.witness.co.za/?showcontent&global[_id]=7094

[Gunservant]

Woman shoots attackers with their own gun
July 19 2002 at 01:21pm

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Two men were shot dead by the woman they were trying to attack in a house in Flagstaff in the Eastern Cape on Thursday night, police said.

Captain Charl de Ridder said in a statement released on Friday that four men entered the woman's house around midnight. One was armed with a firearm and he allegedly told the others to attack the woman.

The other three tried to stab the woman, but she managed to grab the firearms and started shooting randomly.

Two of the attackers were hit and killed instantly. The other two ran away. - Sapa

http://www.thepost.co.za/woman-shoot...2#.UUFqA9bviSo

[Gunservant]

Holidaying woman shoots robber dead
04 Oct 2012
Candyce Krishna

A GERMISTON woman, on holiday at St Michael’s between Margate and Port Shepstone, braved her attacker and shot him dead after he and an accomplice robbed her in her holiday cottage on Tuesday morning.

The wounded robber made a brief bid for freedom, before he collapsed and died.
His accomplice left him behind and fled with the stolen items.

Maria Bester said her husband and eldest son had left for the beach at about 6 am. Bester’s 11-year-old son remained with her at the cottage.

“I said goodbye to them and closed the gate. I went back to bed and was going through my cellphone when I saw a shadow go into the bathroom,” she said.

Bester said the man greeted her and went into the kitchen to get a knife.
He demanded cellphones and cash. Meanwhile, his accomplice ransacked the rest of the cottage.
Bester was not aware of the other intruder in the cottage.

“I gave him my cellphone and R120 that I had in my wallet. But he insisted that there was more and he wanted it.”

When she told the man that she did not have more money, he became aggressive. He then took her jewellery that was lying on the bedside table.
“He then left the room, probably to see where his accomplice was. I quickly reached for our gun,” she said.

Both men returned to the room and demanded that she give them the gun. The man with the knife then came towards Bester and tried to stab her. She shot him twice — once in the chest and then in the stomach.

“They both ran out of the cottage. I ran after them and fired a few more shots. The wounded man collapsed about 100 metres away.”

She said his accomplice shouted at her: “You killed him!”
He then fled with the stolen items.

“My husband is the chairman of our community policing forum so I’m clued up on what to do in situations like these. I kept calm and listened,” she said.

Bester said it was an extremely traumatising experience but she was grateful that neither she nor her son was hurt.

“My son was with me the whole time and they also asked if he had a cellphone. Thank God they didn’t hurt him,” she said.

Bester added that while it was unfortunate that the incident occurred while she was on holiday, it didn’t change the way she felt about the South Coast. “I still like the place. This could have happened anywhere in the world.”

Police spokesperson Captain Gerald Mfeka said the accomplice was arrested on Tuesday afternoon.
“Information was received on the whereabouts of the suspect, which led to the arrest,” he said.
The 18-year-old man, who is from Gamalakhe and in Grade 10, will appear in court today.
http://www.witness.co.za/index.php?s...5B_id%5D=88771

[Gunservant]

Woman shoots 2 attackers dead
2005-05-20 23:15

East London - Two youths who attacked residents of Qumbu's Marambeni village were shot dead by a woman they tried to rob, said Eastern Cape police on Friday.
Superintendent Nondumiso Jafta said the woman used her husband's 9mm Luger pistol to fire the fatal shots.

The two men kicked open the door of her house and started firing shots randomly. When they walked towards where the woman was hiding, she opened fire.

She was wounded in a shoulder when the youths shot at her, but shot and hit both of them.
One youth was killed instantly, and the other died later. Jafta said one of the intruders was aged 18. The age of the other youth was not known.

The woman's gun had four rounds of ammunition.

Earlier in the week, the youths had walked into two homes in the area and robbed residents of their cellphones at gunpoint, said Jafta.
SAPA

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Woman-shoots-2-attackers-dead-20050520

[Gunservant]

Gran shoots, kills intruder
13 June 2011
Gareth Wilson

AN elderly St Francis Bay woman shot and killed one of two intruders in her home early yesterday after they broke into her house and held her hostage. Police said the 72-year-old was assaulted and robbed at about 3am by the men, who were armed with a screwdriver and knife.

The attackers gained entry by breaking a window and opening a sliding door.
Warrant Officer Marianette Olivier said the woman had heard a noise inside the house just before the men stormed her bedroom and attacked her.

“They confronted her, tied her hands behind her back and blindfolded her, demanding bank cards and pin numbers,” Olivier said. “One of the robbers allegedly took her Mercedes-Benz and drove to a nearby ATM, where he withdrew an undisclosed amount of money.

“While he was drawing the money, his accomplice remained behind in the house.”
The nearest ATM is at a local shopping centre about 2km from her home. During the time that the robber was at the ATM, the woman managed to untie herself when the other attacker left the room. In a panic, she grabbed her 38 special revolver.

“The suspect saw her with the firearm and allegedly ran towards her in an attempt to stab her,” Olivier said.

“According to her, she then fired three shots at him, but only two hit him.”
The wounded attacker, whose identity is not known to the police, died at the scene.

“His accomplice returned to the house only minutes later and found him dead and her with a firearm,” Olivier said.

“In a hasty escape, he jumped out of the MercedesBenz and ran away without attempting to confront her.”

The woman was taken to relatives in nearby Oyster Bay as she was suffering from shock and feared the other robber would return.

“She is very traumatised by the incident and still in shock,” Olivier said.

“Her doctor was called to the house shortly after the attack and treated her at the scene. We have spoken to the family and at this stage they do not want to talk to the media.” Police refused to divulge the woman’s name, saying she was now part of a criminal investigation.

Many residents in St Francis Bay remained unaware of the attack and were alerted only after The Herald spoke to various home and business owners in the area.

Neighbour Andy Nosworthy said he had been unaware of the incident, but said he had wakened at about 3am after his dogs “went mad”.

“I got up when I heard the dogs barking and turned all the outside lights on,” Nosworthy said.
“I saw nothing and went back to bed. Only in the morning did I see that one of our cars in the driveway had been broken into and the radio face was on the ground.”

Nosworthy said he suspected the attackers had been frightened when they heard the dogs and then scaled the fence into the woman’s yard. Her property is relatively unprotected, with only a low wall surrounding the house.

Her son-inlaw, who owns a guesthouse in St Francis Bay, only a few kilometres from where the attack occurred, was tight-lipped about the attack, but said she was doing well. “She defended herself and is a very brave woman to have done that.

“We need more people who are not intimidated by criminals,” he said.
“She is resting at the moment, so understand that she does not want to talk.”

A case of murder and robbery is being investigated, but the woman has not been charged.

“She is in shock at the moment and once she calms down, detectives will take her statement and take it from there,” Olivier said.

“Once we have all the details we will take the documents to the Director of Public Prosecutions for a decision on what further action should be taken.

“At this stage it appears she acted in self defence, but the investigation will reveal all the details.”

The woman’s car was impounded by police so forensic experts could obtain fingerprints and evidence to help identify the robbers.

http://www.peherald.com/news/article/1677

[Gunservant]

Robbery victim shoots attacker
July 21 2005 at 08:14pm

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A Johannesburg tourist shot and killed a gangster when he and four others attacked her and three relatives on Palm Beach, near Ramsgate on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast, this week.

The woman was with relatives on the beach on Monday when a five-member gang wielding knives confronted the group.

Two of the men turned on the woman while the other three attacked the other three members of the family.

The woman took out her gun from her handbag and fired two shots at the men attacking her. The gang then ran off.

The next day the body of a 22-year-old man was found with a bullet wound behind the left ear near Mpenjati Nature Reserve. - Daily News Reporter

http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/robbery-victim-shoots-attacker-1.248788#.UUFrB9bviSo

[Gunservant]

Man shoots and kills armed robber
September 26 2009 at 07:18am

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The victim of an armed robbery managed to draw his firearm to shoot and kill one of his six attackers near Kliprivier on Friday, Heidelberg police said.

Constable Tikoane Sonopo said a 31-year-old man was walking along Eikenhof road when a white minibus taxi with six occupants stopped next to him. The men jumped out, grabbed the victim and pulled him into the bushes.

One of the robbers sat on top of him holding a "rambo knife" to his throat, while others took his ID document, cellphone, cash and some of his clothes.

Realising the robbers might see in his ID document that he was a gun owner, the victim managed to draw his firearm. He shot the robber sitting on him. The other five then ran to the minibus and drove off.

The police were called and on their way to the scene they spotted the minibus and chased it. They arrested all five suspects. Police went to the scene where they found the body of the shot robber.

Inside the taxi police recovered the victim's goods and documents.
When police arrived back at the police station, another victim was opening a case of robbery. He said men in a taxi had robbed him of groceries, his cellphone and R50 in cash.

Police showed him the seized taxi and he identified the vehicle as the one used by the robbers. His belongings were also found in the taxi, Sonopo said. - Sapa

http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-afri...8#.UUFrztbviSo

[Gunservant]

Man shoots robber in defence
2005-07-02 11:24

Johannesburg - An armed robber was shot dead by the man he was trying to rob in Empangeni, in KwaZulu-Natal, police said on Saturday.

The man fought off the robber to protect himself and his wife who were on their way to catch a taxi on Friday evening, said spokesperson Jay Naicker.

"The couple were making their way up the Nseleni offramp in order to get a taxi into Nseleni township when they were attacked," Naicker said.

"Both the robber and his accomplice were armed with knives."
At first the man used his umbrella to ward them off, but one of the suspects got hold of him and they began to wrestle in the grass, he said.

"The man drew his pistol and opened fire on the suspect. The robber was shot in the leg and chest," Naicker said.

"His accomplice managed to snatch the woman's handbag and flee."
Naicker said the man then went to report the incident to the police at Nseleni and that the suspect's body and a knife were found at the scene.

"At this stage we believe the complainant was acting in self- defence when he opened fire on his attacker," Naicker said.
SAPA
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...fence-20050702