It’s no secret that many Americans spend a large amount of time with a “significant other.” Hence, couples are often forced to battle violent criminals together.
Here are five instances in the past few years when armed couples teamed up to survive altercations with criminals bent on doing them harm.
An Aiken County, S.C., couple who thought they were meeting with individuals whom they had arranged to purchase a car from on craigslist.com were instead met by a pair of armed robbers. While one of the robbers pointed a gun at the male victim, the female victim drew a gun and fired at the criminals, striking and killing one and causing the other to flee. (WBTV, Charlotte, N.C., 11/26/15; WRDW, Augusta, Ga., 11/26/15)
A husband and wife were asleep at home in Houston, Texas, when they were awakened by someone attempting to break in through their front door. The husband responded by retrieving a gun, as his wife called the authorities. When the home invader managed to get into the home through a back door, the husband shot the criminal. The wounded home invader then moved in a way that made the husband believe he was reaching for something, prompting the husband to shoot the intruder again. The home invader later died at a nearby hospital. (KPRC, Houston, Texas, 4/21/14)
A homeowner in Maypearl, Texas, was at home watching TV when she heard a suspicious noise at the door. When she got up to investigate, the woman spotted one of a pair of armed criminals trying to get into her home. The homeowner then went to find her husband and retrieved a gun. The husband was on another part of the property, but once he heard of the intrusion he went inside the house and retrieved a rifle. A gun battle ensued, with the husband and wife firing at the criminals and the criminals returning fire. The homeowners managed to strike one of the home invaders in the foot, while the other fled in a pickup truck to a nearby field. After succumbing to the armed resistance, both criminals took their own lives. Following the incident, Lt. James Saulter of the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department told local media, “Our sheriff is always letting homeowners know to arm themselves. This is one of the reasons why … sometimes it takes a while for us to get out this far, and they have to take care of themselves.” (KENS, San Antonio, Texas, 3/21/13)
As Derek LeBlanc was leaving his home for work at 5 a.m. he noticed the rear window of his truck was smashed and that a criminal was inside. LeBlanc tackled the burglar and shouted to his girlfriend, who was still inside the home, for help. The girlfriend, Heidi Lusk, retrieved a shotgun and phone, and rushed to LeBlanc’s aid. Together the couple detained the criminal until police could arrive. While recalling the incident to local media, LeBlanc stated, “You never know what you’re going to do until it happens, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to be a victim.” (KVAL, Eugene, Ore., 3/15/13)
A husband and wife were at home asleep with their three young children in their Santa Rosa, Calif., home when the family dogs alerted them to an intruder. The wife went to investigate and found a burglar outside dismantling a window screen in an attempt to get into the home. The wife alerted her husband, who retrieved a gun, confronted the criminal and detained him until police could arrive. When police took the burglar into custody they discovered he was carrying a 2-foot length of pipe, for which he was charged with being in possession of a dangerous weapon. (The Oakland Tribune, Oakland, Calif., 5/25/12)
