As of April 2017, St. Louis has the highest murder rate in America. And, despite a sustained downward trend in overall crime, rates of violent crime and property crime in both the city and the metropolitan area remain higher than the national average.
In other words, while the vast majority of St. Louisans are, of course, good and law-abiding people, it’s not a bad idea to keep self-defense at the forefront, as the following armed citizens wisely did.
An elderly resident of St. Clair County, Ill., was inside his home when he heard the sound of breaking glass. The homeowner called police, retrieved a pistol and went to investigate. Upon discovering the intruder, the homeowner shot the criminal once. The intruder fled, but collapsed and died in the home’s driveway. (The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Mo. 05/08/14; KTVI, St. Louis, Mo., 05/08/14)
A group comprised of one 71-year-old man and three elderly women was leaving the Grand Masonic Hall in St. Louis, Mo., when an armed robber approached them and demanded their valuables. The group complied with the robber, who walked up the street with the items, but then turned again towards the group. The elderly man, a Right-to-Carry permit holder, drew a gun and fired at the criminal, causing the criminal to return fire, then flee. (The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Mo., 08/12/12)
A robber came up behind a man out for a walk in Hazelwood, Mo., threatened him with a handgun and demanded money. The walker, a Right-to-Carry permit holder, turned over his wallet, but as the thief rifled through it, the man drew his own .40-caliber pistol. The permit holder ordered the criminal to drop his weapon and get on the ground, but the thief instead raised his gun, at which point the permit holder shot and killed him. Hazelwood Police Chief Carl Wolf made it clear to the local media that the shooting was justified. (The Riverfront Times, St. Louis, Mo., 05/05/10; The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Mo., 05/06/10)
A concealed-carry permit holder from Florida is fortunate thanks to reciprocity laws. Police say he was walking his dog during a trip to Missouri when two men inquired about the pet. Then one of the men pulled what looked like a pistol and demanded the man's jewelry and cash. The suspect's pistol turned out to be a BB gun, but the victim had a real gun. "I definitely thought he was going to shoot me, so I pulled out my gun and started firing," he said. The suspects fled; one was apprehended. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Mo., 3/14/07)
Seventy-nine-year-old widow Clara Jenkins of St. Louis retrieved a revolver she's owned for nearly 60 years before responding to the sounds of her back door being battered. When she came face-to-face with a lumber-wielding intruder in the hallway, she fired a shot, causing him to drop the board and take flight. "I don't know if I hit him, but I hope I did," Jenkins said later, "because he didn't have any business breaking into my home." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Mo., 3/30/85)
An ex-convict entered a St. Louis dry goods store, struck owner Clarence E. Skala on the head with a brick-filled sack, and bound and gagged him. After looting the store, the felon left and Skala freed himself. Picking up his .25-cal. pistol, Skala ran to the door where he met the bandit who had stopped his flight and returned to the store. Skala fired twice; the bandit dropped his loot and fled with a bullet in his stomach. Dogs from the canine corps soon traced the wounded man. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Mo., 3/1/61).
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