The CATO Institute on Feb. 15 published an interactive map of the U.S. showing incidents where lawfully armed citizens stopped or prevented violent crimes using their guns.
With President Obama leading a national debate on gun control, the focus of the debate has been in incidents like the Aurora, Colorado and Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shootings. These dramatic and horrific crimes capture the interest of the public and the media.
The other side of the argument is often overlooked. There are hundreds of examples where legally armed citizens have acted to prevent crimes or to even stop violent criminals while in the act of committing their crimes.
The CATO Institute compiled this data from around the country and Friday published an interactive map titled "Guns and Self Defense" showing over 200 such incidents, including six instances in Colorado and Connecticut.
These cases have not been covered by the national media, but include:
- Two masked men entered the store of Karar Jawad in New Haven, Connecticut on a night in November 2011. Both men were brandishing weapons. First they demanded money from the customer in line before pointing the gun directly at the chest of Jawad. Jawad leaned down and instead of grabbing money, took out his gun and fired at the robbers. The robbers stumbled and fled. Police later found one suspect at a local hospital where he was being treated for a gunshot wound.
- On December 16, 2005, Andrew Williamson of La Plata County, Colorado: was awakened shortly after midnight by a knock on his door. Williamson grabbed his shotgun and went to investigate. As Williamson opened his front door, Jason Egger forced his was in and tried to take Williamson's shotgun away from him. An accomplice, Jesse Handley, joined the struggle and the gun went off, shooting Egger point-blank. Authorities did not file any charges against Williamson.
- On January 3, 2012, Samuel Cutrufelli broke into the home of Jay Leone in Greenbrae, California and shot him in the face. Leone, who was 90 years old, was able to return fire, hitting Cutrufelli several times. Both men were hospitalized for an extended period after the gun battle. 'He's the one who busted my door in,' Leone said. When police found Cutrufelli bleeding in his car a short distance from Leone's home, he said he had shot himself and needed medical attention. Cutrufelli is now on trial for attempted murder and burglary.
- On December 20, 2005, two robbers, Kyle Hunter and Donald Brown, armed with a shotgun and a machete broke into a home in Granby, New York and tied up the home's five occupants. Two of the intended victims managed to get free and turn the shotgun on their captors. One robber received a birdshot wound; both were caught by local and state law enforcement officers after fleeing. The victims' names were not released by police.
In total, there are over 200 incidents displayed on the map (http://bit.ly/RK3nud).
Statistics on gun violence and crimes committed by people brandishing guns are collected and exposed by politicians and proponents of gun control as stricter gun control laws are proposed and passed like NY's SAFE Act.
The other side of the argument, where law-abiding gun owners prevent crimes and catch criminals do not generally receive the same amount of media attention.
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