Armed Citizen

Charles and Maureen Cassidy were asleep in their home in Stuart, Fla., when Maureen awoke to a suspicious noise. As she left the bedroom to investigate, Maureen discovered intruder Senewa Kahle inside the home. Maureen notified Charles, who retrieved his 9mm pistol and positioned himself near the bedroom door. Charles warned Kahle that he was armed and ordered him to stop. Kahle ignored Charles’ command and made his way towards the bedroom. Charles responded by opening fire, striking Kahle in the hip and causing him to flee. When police arrived, they found Kahle in a nearby yard, armed with a knife, and an accomplice waiting in a getaway car. This was not Kahle’s first brush with the law; he had previously been arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The Cassidys' neighbors, who along with the Cassidys are members of a retirement community, were supportive of Charles’ actions, with one stating, "If I couldn't take him out with my hands, I'd have to do something. We're getting up in age around here. We have to protect ourselves." (WPBF, West Palm Beach, Fla. 03/13/10)

Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog
For more stories of civilians using guns in self-defense visit www.claytoncramer.com/gundefenseblog/blogger.html 

During the decades the American Rifleman has published “The Armed Citizen” column, thousands of incidents of law-abiding Americans using firearms to halt or prevent crime have appeared in the magazine. Editorial space allowing, the total could have been far greater of course, as award-winning survey research shows that each year in the U.S. gun owners use firearms for protection as frequently as 2.5 million times.

This archive contains “Armed Citizen” entries from the present back to 1958. The database is searchable by key word and state and results are displayed in chronological order according to the month of publication in the American Rifleman.