Monday, September 11, 2006



IN: Homeowner shoots teen during robbery: "Police say a Kokomo man who answered his door after midnight found two would-be armed robbers on his porch. But he was armed, too. Police say one teenager is dead and another teen faces surgery after 61-year-old Michael Slonaker shot both suspects. The shooting occurred about 12:30am Wednesday. Police found 16-year-old Nathan Smith shot in the chest at the scene, where he was pronounced dead. His alleged accomplice, 17-year-old Justin Smith, went to the hospital with a wounded knee. He was being taken to Indianapolis for surgery. Slonaker told police he found two white males with a shotgun and a baseball bat waiting when he answered his door. Police say he fired two shots. Police say Slonaker is licensed to carry a firearm, but he doesn't need a permit to have one in his home."


Ailing NYC woman in scooter shoots would-be robber: "The man picked the wrong person to rob -- an ailing Harlem woman on a motorized scooter who pulled out a .357-cal. handgun and shot him in front of stunned passersby in broad daylight Friday, police said. Margaret Johnson, a 57-year-old licensed gun owner, was looking to fire her weapon, but it was supposed to be at a firing range, police said. She left her home with plans to go to the range. Instead, she was confronted from behind by Deron Johnson, no relation, police said. The 45-year-old ex-convict grabbed at the chain around the victim's neck, and snatched it from her, police said. But Margaret Johnson put up quite a struggle, police said, and was able to fire once from her handgun, striking the suspect in the left elbow. The suspect ran off, but was grabbed nearby by police and arrested. He was taken to Harlem Hospital Center in stable condition. Charges were pending. Margaret Johnson was questioned by detectives but will not be charged. "She was defending herself," a police source said. The suspect has nine previous arrests, police said. State records show he served eight years in prison for a drug conviction and was released in February 2003."


Another success for British gun bans: "A [black] teenager who was shot dead as he returned home from a youth club may have been mistaken for somebody else. Jessie James, a softly spoken 15-year-old who regularly helped his local pastor, was described by police as an innocent victim of gun crime who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was the youngest victim of lawlessness in Moss Side, the notorious inner-city suburb of Manchester, since Benji Stanley, 14, was caught in crossfire in 1993 as he queued for a takeaway meal. Jessie was hit by bullets from a semi-automatic pistol as he stopped to speak to a passer-by in Moss Side Community Park early on Saturday morning. He fell from his mountain bike close to a basketball court and died after being hit by three bullets. Two hit his torso and one lodged in his appendix."

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