Many criminals look at senior citizens as easy targets, believing they can rob or attack elderly Americans, whether at home or in public, with little chance of the victim fighting back. Crimes against the elderly at home are particularly common, with the Bureau of Justice Statistics reporting that elderly victims are significantly more likely to be victimized at or near their home than victims under the age of 65.
Furthermore, according to the DOJ’s Office for Victims of Crime, when elderly people are victimized they usually suffer far greater physical, mental, and financial injuries than victims of other age groups.
“Elderly victims are twice as likely to suffer serious physical injury and to require hospitalization than any other age group,” the report stated. “Furthermore, the physiological process of aging brings with it a decreasing ability to heal after injury—both physically and mentally. Thus, elderly victims may never fully recover from the trauma of their victimization.”
Fortunately, many seniors have the tools they need to protect themselves, as shown by three self-defense episodes in the past few months.
In one such incident, an 80-year-old from Michigan recently shot a man who was attempting to rob his home while the homeowner was at the residence. When a 31-year-old intruder broke into the man’s Flint Township home one night in late April just before 9 p.m., the homeowner confronted the man and shot him. The intruder died at the scene.
The homeowner was taken into police custody while offices investigated the shooting and was subsequently released when investigators determined the shooting to be self-defense.
Only a few weeks before the life-saving Michigan episode, a 65-year-old Houston, Texas, woman used her firearm to protect herself from a home intruder. According to a report, the woman said a man forced his way into her home while she was sleeping, and came into her bedroom. When she grabbed her firearm, the intruder fled the home.
Shaken by the incident, the woman called a family member who lived close by to come to her home. In the meantime, the intruder returned to the home, where the woman held him at gunpoint. When the relative arrived, the intruder lunged at him, prompting the family member to shoot the intruder and end the violent encounter.
Only two weeks earlier, a 74-year-old Akron, Ohio, man used his firearm to protect himself and his family in a similar manner from a home invasion. According to a report, when a 16-year-old intruder broke into his home, the man confronted him and shot him several times.
The home invader was quickly taken to a hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. Thankfully, the elderly homeowner was unharmed, but there’s no telling how the episode would have ended had he not been prepared to defend himself.
While anti-gun advocates falsely claim very few people use firearms to defend themselves, it’s likely these three senior citizens would argue against that point.
