NRA member and county commissioner Greg “Lumpy” Lambert is known for his pro-gun stance, but that was apparently news to an alleged robber. Police say the suspect approached Lambert, who was wearing his “Friends of NRA” cap, and feigned interest in a car at Lambert’s car dealership. Lambert went inside to retrieve the sales paperwork. When he returned, the man pulled a handgun from his jacket. Lambert countered by producing his .380 pistol. “I told him to drop his weapon, and he said he didn’t want any trouble,” said Lambert. The robber laid down his gun and fled, but left behind his driver’s license which police used to locate and charge him. Chillingly, police linked the suspect to a murder committed 10 hours before Lambert disarmed him. (Knoxville News Sentinel, Knoxville, TN, 11/13/06)

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Authorities say Bennie Hall, Jr. went outside to warm up his car before work then returned inside to finish getting ready. He left the door open to keep his car in view, but briefly entered a back room to holster the .45 pistol he is licensed to carry. At that point he heard his car pulling away. “I looked, and the car was gone,” Hall said. He spotted the car turned around at the street’s dead end, and when it came past his house, he attempted to stop it by waving his arms in the air. Instead of giving himself up, the carjacker veered directly at Hall in an apparent attempt to leave no witnesses to the crime. Hall shot into the car, killing the driver. “Mr. Hall has a right to protect himself with deadly force if his life is in danger … Based on the totality of the evidence and circumstances, he was doing just that,” said County Prosecuting Attorney Joe Deters. (Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH, 11/18/06)

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Two hours after closing the convenience store where she works, Sophia Lynn Stewart went to sleep in a back room. Then she heard a crash. “It was real loud, like a bomb,” she explained. Police say a prowler used a rock to break a window and gain entry to the store. Stewart grabbed her .357 revolver and went to investigate. She saw a man in a dark hooded sweatshirt behind the counter. He threw an object at her, and Stewart fired three shots, causing her assailant to run from the scene. “I belong to the NRA. They teach me how to shoot safely,” said Stewart, adding she thought the suspect was too frightened for a return visit. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Pittsburgh, PA, 10/26/06)

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Matthew Schneider pulled into his driveway and got out of his truck when three teenagers approached and began an altercation. According to authorities, Schneider told the youths to vacate his property, but they began assaulting him, even slamming the truck door on his head. Schneider, who has a concealed carry permit, reached for his .40 pistol and fired twice at his assailants. “I thought they were going to kill me if I didn’t do something,” Schneider said. Two suspects fled, one of them wounded, while a third collapsed. Schneider says he prayed for the fallen suspect to survive, but he died at the scene. (Anchorage Daily News, Anchorage, AK, 11/04/06)

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John Kilgore took precautions to guard his home against invasion, including the construction of a gate and a sign warning that a security dog lived on the property. As Kilgore and his family unpacked from a vacation, police say a burglar thought he saw an opportunity to circumvent Kilgore’s safeguards, but apparently overlooked Kilgore’s final line of defense—a loaded firearm. The family left a door unlocked as they brought in luggage, and the burglar hurried inside. Kilgore’s wife stumbled upon the man in a bedroom, ran out screaming and pulled her two sons into another bedroom. Kilgore ran to his family’s aid, shooting the suspect as Mrs. Kilgore dialed 9-1-1. The intruder was listed in critical condition at the hospital. (St. Petersburg Times, St. Petersburg, FL, 11/28/06)