A group of family members were celebrating their grandmother’s birthday the evening of Sept. 13 in Chicago, Ill., but they stepped out to look over a new car one of them had purchased. They heard noises they apparently thought were fireworks at first, but then realized it was gunfire. One man, a 21-year-old concealed-carry license holder, saw his younger cousin get shot by the assailants and returned fire, causing the attackers to flee. The man later told reporters that he saw the two gunmen, realized how serious the situation was and stood his ground to defend his family. The man’s younger cousin, who was struck in the attack, has been hospitalized but is reportedly making progress. (wgntv.com [further details also on wgntv.com], Chicago, Ill., 9/14/22)
On Sept. 23, after the 10-day waiting period required in her state, a 50-year-old woman in Patterson, Calif., picked up the revolver she had purchased. Around 10 p.m. the next night, she had to use it to defend against a home invader. The woman and her husband were at home when an unknown man began trying to force entry through their front door. The husband tried to prevent the man from coming in and the two grappled just inside the threshold. The woman retrieved her new firearm from upstairs and shot the intruder to death. Because she spoke Mandarin, she had a neighbor report the incident to police. Investigators reported the intruder was heavily intoxicated and had a history of alcohol abuse and of showing up “unannounced” at random residences in the area. (Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post, Patterson, Calif., 9/25/22; eastbaytimes.com, Walnut Creek, Calif., 9/26/22)
