Detroit is a dangerous city that seems to be getting more dangerous as the days pass. Fortunately for Detroit residents, Michigan has a shall-issue Right-to-Carry law that makes it easy for law-abiding citizens to get carry permits.
These residents aren’t afraid to use their firearms to save themselves and others, as the following six stories show.
Just because someone is going to a medical facility doesn’t make them any more vulnerable than anyone else. An armed robber targeted a Michigan patient who had pulled into a parking lot at a dialysis center for treatment early one morning. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Department said the robber stepped out of a wooded area near the parking lot, pulled his gun and demanded the driver’s wallet. The patient responded by drawing his own gun and asking, “Do you really want to do this?” The assailant turned and ran. Police tried to track the suspect with dogs, but couldn’t find him. (myfoxdetroit.com, Detroit, Mich., 5/19/15)
Steve Utash was driving in Detroit, Mich., when he accidentally struck a 10-year-old boy with his vehicle. Retired nurse Deborah Hughes was inside her nearby home at the time, and once she became aware of the accident, she retrieved a .38-caliber pistol and went to see if she could help. While she was trying to comfort the injured boy, a mob began to attack Utash, who had stopped and gotten out of his vehicle. As the beating was taking place, Hughes rushed over to the crowd and told the mob, “Don’t kick him anymore, don’t hit him anymore, get back,” halting the attack. Hughes later told a local media outlet, “I had a gun in my pocket, I was ready to do some damage if I had to.” Following the incident, Detroit Police Chief James Craig referred to Hughes as a “Detroit hero.” Hughes made clear to a reporter that she is often armed stating, “You have to carry a gun around here … this neighborhood is terrible. I don’t walk around without my gun.” (The Detroit News, Detroit, Mich., 4/8/14; WJBK, Detroit, Mich., 4/8/14; WXYZ, Detroit, Mich., 4/7/14)
Around 3:30 p.m., a woman who was home alone heard noises that prompted her to investigate. She saw a man attempting to gain entry to her home through a window. The resident warned the man to stop. When he continued through the window, however, the woman ran to the next room to retrieve her handgun. She fired once, striking the intruder in the chest. He fled the scene, but collapsed in the street nearby. The gunshot wound proved fatal. (The Detroit News, Detroit, Mich., 3/1/14)
A woman was heading inside after pulling her car into the garage at her Detroit, Mich., home when a man armed with a gun attempted to rob her. In response, the resident, a Right-to-Carry permit holder, drew a gun and shot the attacker, killing him. The shooting marked the third recorded incident in a week in which armed Detroit residents defended themselves from criminal attack. This string of defensive gun uses follows a late-January statement by Detroit Police Chief James Craig, in which he noted, “I did, in fact, say that good Americans, good Detroiters, if responsible, could get CPLs, and that it could—emphasis on the word ‘could’—be a deterrent to violent crime. I said that because of my experience in four cities, having seen good Americans and good Detroiters that have CCWs, and what effect it has had on deterring violent crime. (My Fox Detroit, Detroit, Mich., 2/22/14; WXYZ, Detroit, Mich., 2/22/14; The Detroit News, 1/31/14)
A mother was at home with her children in Detroit, Mich., when three men, one of whom was armed with a handgun, broke into the house. The mother responded by retrieving a semi-automatic rifle and warning the intruders that she was armed. When the criminals persisted despite the warning, the mother fired at the home invaders. At first, all three intruders retreated outside the home, but the one armed with a pistol decided to try to enter the home again. The criminal’s re-entry prompted another round of gunfire from the mother, at which point the armed home invader fled for good. Police captured the trio a short time later. (WXYZ, Detroit, Mich. 2/18/14)
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, Mich., 2/15/13)
