In Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 5, a man and woman repeatedly walked in front of the doors of a tower apartment building. The apartment manager, who had her young son at her side, finally opened the door to ask if there was a problem, whereupon the two strangers allegedly grabbed the child. The woman claimed she was the child’s real mother and tried to run away with him. A struggle ensued until the manager drew her firearm and said “Let go of my kid.” The man and woman walked off and were trailed by security personnel until police officers could arrive. Police told reporters, “It certainly looks like the big turning point here, the pivotal piece to keeping her child safe, was the fact that she was lawfully armed with a handgun.” The man and woman were charged with felony child stealing. (meaww.com, Karnataka, India, 1/16/23; WHO13, Des Moines, Iowa, 1/9/23)
Early in the morning on Jan. 8, a 51-year-old man out on parole after serving 20 years for armed robbery forced entry into a home in Tangipahoa Parish (near Hammond), La. The man was wearing a ski mask and was armed with a shovel and a lug wrench. Inside the home was a woman and her two young children. A physical altercation took place between the homeowner and the intruder, and the woman was able to defend herself and her children by shooting the stranger. The man was pronounced dead at the scene when officers arrived. The sheriff’s office said they believed the woman was justified in shooting the man and that they had also tied the assailant to a violent carjacking that had taken place a few hours prior to the home invasion. (Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office, Hammond, La., 1/9/23; wfsb.com, Rocky Hill, Conn., 1/10/23)
