Bystander shoots knife wielding burglar/child attacker.

[GreenStormCloud]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/theblotter/2015509669_bainbridge05m.html

Man shot on Bainbridge street was reportedly a burglar

Bainbridge Island police officers responding to a shooting Monday morning in the 500 block of Wood Avenue found a man holding a gun on another man who was on the ground bleeding from gunshot wounds on his lower body.

Victims and witnesses said the injured man had been discovered in a residence on Stetson Avenue, according to a police news release. The man was allegedly rummaging through kitchen cabinets and drawers when the homeowner confronted him.

When the man armed himself with a large kitchen knife and came toward the homeowner, the homeowner retreated to the backyard. When the man then attempted to reach for the homeowner’s children, the homeowner armed himself with a large claw hammer, after which the man fled into the street, the release said.

Another resident saw the man, still armed with the knife, walking on Stetson Avenue toward Wood Avenue. On Wood, the man with the knife confronted a third man who was sitting in his vehicle. The third man had a firearm, and as the man with the knife moved closer, the man in the car fired three rounds, all of which struck the man with the knife, according to the release.

The suspect survived the three shots, all to the lower abdomen, and is recovering in the hospital.

My child is grown and lives in another state, but if some armed burglar had tried to reach for her when she was a child I would have wanted more than just a claw hammer.

[jeepnstein]

1. If that's all you've got...

then that's what you use.

[MineralMan]

2. If I were facing a guy with a knife, I'd prefer an ordinary corn broom

to a claw hammer. Truly. If I had to grab a household tool as a defensive weapon against a knife, I want something long to work with.

Think about it. The guy with the knife has it in his dominant hand. I've got a broom. He's going to get nowhere near me, and I'm going to cause him no end of pain. A face full of broom straw, right in the eyes.

[Kolesar]

3. OP would ask the assailant to wait five minutes for him to retrieve his properly stored firearm

Let's get to the point: OP is trying to make some allegation that "somebody" would have told him not to own any firearm and quite likely would have confiscated his firearm. That is the bullshit argument that the gun-lobby has used to keep hunter/firearms owners up in arms, contributing to their god damned NRA, and voting Republican.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

8. More anti rights nonsense from you

The OP does not say anything like you claim.

[GreenStormCloud]

11. I am never more than a few seconds away from a loaded firearm.

In our house we have a concealed gun in each room, two in the bedroom. One on my wife's side of the bed, one on mine. When away from home I carry concealed on me. My point in the OP is that legal gun owners sometimes have to use their guns to protect themselves and others.

There are posters here, and organizations that desire to ban all handguns and even all private gun ownership. There are certain posters who frequently post examples of gun crime so I sometimes will post a story of a gun properly used in defense. I post only a fraction of the stories that I find. Most are too ordinary for posting. That this burglar started to attack a child and was shot by a bystander made it more newsworthy, at least to me.

[MineralMan]

12. Goodness...

I would not live in a place that required me to do that. Not a chance.

[ileus]

18. Safety first...good on you for being extra careful.

For now I have young kids so I must always keep my firearms on my person or locked up. One of these days I hope to enjoy the freedom you have....

I remember the days before kids when I could keep my shotgun beside the front door for shooting coyotes out of the yard.

[Remmah2]

5. My wife has wacked me w/a broom several times.

It's not as effective as you might think. ;).

[MineralMan]

10. It's not a matter of whacking. Pole weapons are used by

jabbing, not swinging. I'm a quarterstaff person. The most effective use of pole weapons is in blocking and jabbing. A broom is a pole weapon. The bristles on the broom end, jammed into the eye area, would be a very effective disabling tool. Imagine the pain and instant blinding effect.

Each thing has its own use, if suddenly needed as a weapon. Swinging broom is pretty useless when faced with a guy with a knife.

[rrneck]

19. If your opponent

can't see, can't breathe, or can't run the fight's over. A broom is a good weapon.

[MineralMan]

20. There are lots of weapons around in most homes.

It's just that most people don't think of how common objects can be weapons. To use common objects as weapons, you have to have visualized that use in advance.

You're right, though. A broom is a pretty decent one to grab. It's confusing to the other person, besides. Odds are that person has never thought of a broom as a weapon, and doesn't understand how it can cause lots of pain and misery.

Knives are poor weapons, in general. They require very close proximity to be used. They also limit the use of your dominant hand. It's very easy to paralyze a wrist and hand temporarily. A blow with a broom handle would do the job nicely. But, I still like shoving the corn end of the broom into the face and eyes best. A fast poke will no doubt temporarily blind the assailant. Then, you strike the side of the wrist with the handle, causing the assailant to drop the knife. What follows wouldn't be pretty. I'm not very nice in such circumstances, I'm afraid. My normal good manners just disappear.

[GreenStormCloud]

21. The broom jab would be easily blocked.

As you jab with the straw end the attacker can easily and safely sweep his other forearm across the broom knocking it aside, grab the handle and pull it while stepping forward. Now he is inside the reach of your broom and can make a slicing attack on your arm.

[MineralMan]

22. Not necessarily. Remember, he has the knife in his dominant hand.

I have surprise on my side. What AM I going to do with a broom, he's thinking. Most guys holding a knife aren't really knife fighters, really.

You don't credit me with any skills. I have some skills, from my fascination with the quarterstaff over the years. Now, I'd rather have the quarterstaff in my hands than a broom, but...needs must.

Now, if you're a skilled knife fighter and are very aware, you could be right about the defense against the broom. But, it's an unexpected weapon, and the inexperienced knife fighter isn't sure what I'm going to do with the silly thing, and his dominant hand is holding the knife.

I'm not going to telegraph this move to him. It will be combined with a feint, and any other distraction I can improvise.

[oneshooter]

24. I would prefer my 6' long, 1 1/2" thick oak staff. n/t

[rrneck]

25. True.

While a broom is a useful weapon, and there are many more around your average house, truth to tell my first choice is a 1911 or a Remington 870.

[jeepnstein]

6. And you would be right.

Keeping distance is the right answer. Oh, and of course going for the eyes is dead on. The tactical version of that would be a "pointy stick".

But you have to work with what you've got some times. The most important weapon is riding between your ears, or at least it is on most of us.

[WatsonT]

4. According to this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1417973&mesg_id=1417973

All he needed to do was to calm the situation down, maybe put up some tape and discuss things with the knife-wielding lunatic.

And failing that perhaps shoot him in the leg with spetznaz type marksmanship.

[eqfan592]

13. Dude, if you were spetznaz...

...you wouldn't even NEED a gun...

[friendly_iconoclast]

15. Dear God, there's a boatload of derp on that thread n/t

[GreenStormCloud]

23. That poster forgot the sarcasm tag.

The other guy that wanted cops to shoot for the leg was a real ignoramus.

[ileus]

7. musta been a 9mm...

[GreenStormCloud]

9. Probably FMJ. N/T

[Hoopla Phil]

14. k and r

[eqfan592]

16. K&R

Though it is sadly not enough right now against the ignorance patrol that is around the forum today.

[AzWorker]

17. ".....I would have wanted more than just a claw hammer"

Agreed, and there are many that would pat you on the back and say 'good job' if you were forced to bash in his skull until his brains leaked out, but on the other hand, if you were forced to use a firearm in self defense under the exact same circumstances, some of those very same people would shun you.

Odd..

[spin]

26. Exactly. Welcome to DU. (n/t)

[Kolesar]

27. Oh, they would shun you, that would make you so sad!

They are so mean!