NC: Man not to be charged in shooting of 80-year-old: "The man accused of shooting an 80-year-old man is no longer facing criminal charges. According to paperwork from the clerk’s office, prosecutors determined the shooting was a case of self-defense. But Edward Lail argues against the prosecutors’ findings. The 80-year-old Korean War Veteran said a man he did not know came into his home and started asking him about a woman. “I come back and he was in the kitchen, and I said, ‘I told you to leave my house. I don’t know you.’ He come out here. I followed him out here and I seen the car and I said, ‘Get out of my driveway,’” Lail said. Lail said he fired a warning shot in the air. Second later, the man returned fire, hitting the 80-year-old in the side. Deputies charged Christopher Hedrick with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. According to the dismissal papers, prosecutors said Lail initiated the use of deadly force by firing the gun twice, including one shot that went over Hedrick’s head. Prosecutors said Hedrick was justified in returning fire because he life was threatened."


OH: Indictment on murder charge rejected: "A Toledo man arrested for the Oct. 23 shooting death of an acquaintance during a memorial vigil will not face murder charges, according to a decision by the Lucas County grand jury. The grand jury declined on Friday to indict Martrece Dobson on two alternate counts of murder for the death of Justin Smith. The grand jury did indict Mr. Dobson, 24, on one count of carrying a concealed weapon. If convicted on the charge, he faces up to 18 months in prison. Jeff Lingo, chief of the criminal division for the prosecutor’s office, noted that testimony given to the grand jury is not public information. Instead he referred to the Toledo police investigation of the October shooting that revealed that Smith was pointing a gun at different people prior to being shot. “Police reports and witness statements would have revealed that the decedent pulled a gun and was brandishing it in a threatening manner at other people and was subsequently shot,” he said. Toledo police Detective Liz Kantura said that although she could not say what information the grand jury contemplated, “it is fair to conclude they considered self defense.”


NY: Clerk with gun foils robbery: "Police say a clerk at a convenience store in Syracuse was able to stop a robbery by pulling a gun on a man who had slashed him with a knife. The confrontation happened at about 12:40 p.m. Friday. Police tell the Post-Standard, of Syracuse, that a man entered the shop wearing a ski mask and began swinging a knife. The worker's arms were bloodied, but he was able to grab a rifle from behind the counter and hold the robber at gunpoint until help arrived. The 21-year-old clerk was treated at a hospital. The 31-year-old man captured by the clerk was charged with attempted robbery and assault."


Serviceman thwarts Chicago transit robbery: "A military serviceman nabbed three robbers at a CTA Red Line station on the Near North Side this evening after the suspects snatched someone else’s iPhone, according to Chicago police. The serviceman, who was waiting for a train at North/Clybourn station about 6:30 p.m., works as a security guard, and was on his way to his job when the robbery victim flagged him down on the platform, police said. When the serviceman chased the suspects up the stairs, one of them pulled out a replica gun, police said. This prompted the security guard to draw his gun, which the officer said he was allowed to carry, and the suspects then surrendered. The three were detained by the serviceman until Chicago police officers arrived to the scene, police said. The iPhone has since been returned to the robbery victim."