Pastor Shoots, Wounds Intruder at Detroit Church
Lawrence Adams went to Westside Bible Church on Sunday evening and found the intruder inside the building, said Detroit police Sgt. Eren Stephens. The man began swinging an object at the retired police lieutenant, who pulled out a handgun and shot him in the abdomen, he said.
"The pastor identified himself as a retired policeman. The guy kept swinging," Adams' wife, Iris, told The Associated Press Monday. The pastor, who was not injured, was licensed to carry the handgun, police said.
Police have not released the alleged intruder's name but said he was being treated at an area hospital. His injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
Iris Adams said the church's security company called her at home Sunday after a burglar alarm at the building was triggered. She telephoned her husband, who went to the church with his sister, she said. The nondenominational church has had burglars in the past.
"Normally, they would break out one of our windows," Iris Adams said. "Our alarm has always gone off."
Lawrence Adams retired in 2006 after 25 years with the police department and was promoted to senior pastor at the church, where the couple had been members for several years, in 2007, his wife said.
Concealed carry permit holder saves manager from dangerous car attack
Police say that 41 year old Loucinda Carroll and a friend went to the Sunfresh store to shoplift meat, and that the manager caught them in the act. The manager is said to have followed the shoplifters to the parking lot to get their license plate, while yelling at them to stop and for someone to call the police. Police say that Carroll drove the vehicle into the manager, striking her in the legs and pinning her to the hood of the car. Fortunately for the manager, William Miller was nearby, and had a concealed carry permit. Miller used his truck to block the parking lot exit, drew his handgun, and repeatedly told Carroll to get out of the car, according to police. Fearing for his own life and the life of the manager who had been attacked with the car, Miller fired at Carroll, striking her in the shoulder, and putting an end to the violent attack, police say. The local prosecutor has indicated that Carroll will be charged once she is released from the hospital, and that Miller will face no charges for his lawful and heroic actions.
Firstly, the value of concealed carry should be apparent yet again. Had there not been an armed citizen in the area, this manager could have been crushed or dragged to her death. Fortunately for the manager, there was an armed citizen nearby, and tragedy was averted. Armed self defense works, as both the statistical and anecdotal evidence makes clear.
Secondly, I would like to point out a problem with the KMBC-TV coverage of this self defense shooting. The title for the KMBC-TV story was "Bystander Not Charged In Shoplifter Shooting" and blurb below that tile was "Loucinda Carroll Accused Of Stealing Meat From Independence Grocery Store." This title and accompanying text are grossly misleading. The title starts by focusing on the fact that the concealed carry permit holder was not charged for firing in self defense and defense of another, which is neither surprising nor newsworthy. Miller's actions in self defense and defense of another were completely lawful, so of course he won't be charged. The title also refers to Carroll as a "shoplifter," suggesting that Miller opened fire to stop her from allegedly stealing some meat from a grocery story. Instead, Miller shot Carroll because Carroll was allegedly running down an innocent person, posing a deadly threat to that person and to Miller. Similarly, the blurb below the title reinforces these inaccuracies. While it is good that KMBC-TV covered this self defense shooting, as such cases receive too little media coverage, the misleading title and blurb are unfortunate.
Granny makes the burglar call 911:
He thought I was a cop:
Ok, Im not a cop, but I did appreciate being mistaken for one.
Yes, it did worry me and it still does because it happened not 300 feet from my back yard. Im also glad i decided to take the 357 and not the 9mm too. I usually dont take the smith as its bulkier than my 9m, but last night, it paid off big time. Im just glad I didnt have to pull or worse, use it. I know people are getting desperate in theses times , and I only think its going to get worse before it gets better.
An encounter:
It happened Tuesday night or Wenesday morning depending on how you look at time of day. It was 2:30 am and I was at the White Castle located at Lindbergh and Tesson Ferry to pick up a lunch order for myself and other workers from the job site I was working at. I had placed my order at the counter and was waiting for it to be filled when a rather trashy looking young man came up and said " Hey Man! Give us five bucks for food". I explained to him that I didn't have five dollars to give him; he then called me a liar and said he saw me with money. I then told him that I was picking up food for several others, it was their money and not mine, and that I wasn't giving away what wasn't mine to give. He gave me a dirty look and stomped out the door. I got my order and walked out the door towards my parked car. The young man and approximately five others were standing by two cars parked on the lot. He and another young man left the group and approached me as I walked across the lot. He got about 35 feet away from me and said loudly " I told you to give us five bucks, ____". At that point I shifted all of the bags to my left and and reached into my pocket and got a grip on the pistol I had slipped in there when I had gotten out to go into White Castle. When they were about 24 feet away I pulled the pistol just far enough out that they could see I was armed and told the men " take two more steps my way and it is going to get real bad for you real quick". They stopped and turned around real quick and headed back towards the cars and the other men. The loud mouthed punk shouted out to his buddies " the ___ has a gun in his pocket". I proceeded to my car without turning my back on them, got in, placed the gun on the passenger seat, and lowered the windows in the front doors (just in case I had to shoot through them), started my car and left. They immediately followed me south on Lindbergh and as I approached I-55 the cars pulled along side of me and the punks shouted out a few rather rude things. Unfortunately for them I had to make a immediate right turn at the Target store entrance and they were unable to make the turn with me and had to proceed down Lindbergh. It was strange as I wouldn't normally carry the gun into the White Castle with me. I just had a bad feeling when I pulled up and saw the group of men by the cars in the parking lot. I am surprised how focused everything became during the incident. The adreniline kicked in hard and I became very aware of the position of the young men approaching me and of the other men by the cars. I became ready and very intent on placing two shots into the center of the chest of the loud mouthed punk closest to me and then dealing with the others as needed; if they had stepped those additional two steps towards me. After I returned to the job site and was handing out the food orders I guess the adreniline finally faded out and I got the shakes. You think and plan about how you will react if trouble happens. It is totally different from what I had thought it would be like. Totally different! I am not exactly a small man and in my much younger days worked as a bouncer in several bars. I actually used to like getting into a good fight now and then. This was a totally different from those days and has me rethinking some thoughts about how to react and how to handle the results of those reactions. Much to ponder there.
