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Book Review:
“The Man Who Hated Work and Loved Labor — The Life and Times of Tony Mazzocchi” This is a fascinating book about a labor leader who has had tremendous influence on our lives, but whose name is not even known by millions of Americans. Please read my review.

From:
The American Rifleman
January, 1996

Studies indicate that firearms are used over two million times a year for personal protection, and that the presence of a firearm, without a shot being fired, prevents crime in many instances. Shooting usually can be justified only where crime constitutes an immediate imminent threat to life limb or in some cases property. Anyone is free to quote or reproduce these accounts. Send clippings to: "The Armed Citizen," 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030

Plans to slay everyone in the Muskegon, Michigan, store and steal enough cash and jewelry to feed their "gnawing hunger for crack cocaine" fell apart for a band of would-be killers after one of their victims fought back. Store owner Clare Cooper was returning behind the counter after showing three of the four conspirators some jewelry, when one of the group pulled out a gun and shot him four times in the back. Stumbling for the safety of his bullet-proof glass-encased counter, Cooper managed to grab his shotgun and fire as the suspects fled. They were all later apprehended and the three present during the shooting face life imprisonment. (The Chronicle, Muskegon, MI, 8/23/95)

It was only 15 minutes after police visited his Wyoming, Minnesota, home to warn his family of two robbery suspects believed to be at large in the area, when Mike Stich discovered a man and woman hiding beneath a blanket in the bed of his pickup truck. With the police warning in mind, Stich had toted his wife's .25 cal. handgun with him when he went outside to move his truck. Noticing movement under a blanket in the truck's bed, Stich parked the truck, circled to its rear, and ordered the fugitive couple out of his truck at gunpoint. Stich commanded the suspects to stand against a tree while his son ran inside and had Stich's wife call police. (The Times, Forest Lake, MN, 9/21/95)

One assailant had already squirted pepper spray into the eyes of Daytona Beach, Florida, cab driver Harry C. Heck, Sr., and the other was threatening to slice him with a Bowie knife, when the former police officer did the only thing he could--he drew his .25 cal. Beretta tucked in the center armrest and fired. Heck's shots wounded one of his attackers as the other fled. The incident occurred just a week after another area cab driver was stabbed to death, and this was the second time Heck had used a handgun to thwart a robbery and protect his life. (The News-Journal, Daytona Beach, FL, 10/21/95)

Lisa Woods' ex-boyfriend had already broken into her Anderson, South Carolina, apartment once that night, hitting her in the head before police arrived, scaring him away. Four hours later, the man returned, brazenly forced his way into the home, and sprayed a friend of Woods' with Mace. When the homebreaker attempted the same treatment on Woods, she shot him once, mortally wounding him. The ex-boyfriend had already been put on trespass notice at the apartment complex where Woods lived because of prior harassment incidents. (The News, Greenville, SC, 8/25/95)

Joann Harrison decided to buy her first gun for protection after someone cut her telephone lines and slashed a window screen at her Anderson, South Carolina, home. Just three weeks later, Harrison was forced to fire that gun at an intruder who broke into her home after cutting power to the house. A single shot from her .22 cal. revolver sent the man fleeing to a nearby yard where he collapsed from a fatal bullet wound to the chest. (The Independent/Mail, Anderson, SC, 7/28/95)

Cincinnati, Ohio, grocer Delmas Joe Penley turned from the counter to make a sandwich for a customer when the man began savagely beating him on the head with a blunt object. His head cut and bleeding, Penley fought back, grabbing his .38 and shooting his attacker twice in the abdomen before stumbling from the store. When a police SWAT team entered the store three hours later, they found the suspect dead with a wad of cash from the register clenched in his fist. (The Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH, 9/30/95)

Charlotte, North Carolina, resident Joel Smith pulled behind his bank after discovering it was being held up and alerted police to the situation from his cellular phone. The self-employed contractor planned to follow the robber once he fled in order to give police directions. Instead, the armed bandit charged from the bank firing shots across the shopping center parking lot and headed right for Smith, demanding his truck. Fearful for his life, Smith grabbed his .45 from atop his console and fired, mortally wounding the crook. (The Observer, Charlotte, NC, 9/28/95)

As Hackensack, New Jersey, grocer George Jesus' wife looked on in horror, a trio of thugs never gave her husband the chance to respond to their demands for cash before one of them fired a bullet into his left eye. Despite the blinding injury, Jesus grabbed his .38 Smith & Wesson from a shelf above the register and began shooting back, killing one of the bandits and forcing the others to flee. The surviving suspects were later arrested. (The Record, Hackensack, NJ, 10/8/95)

Moving furniture for a friend in a U-Haul truck, 50-year-old John Carder had pulled over and was taking a nap in a Sun Valley, California, park when he was rudely awakened by an armed thug threatening to kill him. The highwayman robbed Carder of $140 and his wristwatch and left, only to return later searching for more valuables. Having had enough, Carder pulled a .380 semi-automatic pistol from beneath the seat and let his assailant have a few rounds. The wounded crook staggered off to his nearby house where he was later found dead. "Carder was nearly murdered. He probably would have been if he hadn't defended himself," said Det. Charles Uribe of the LAPD's North Hollywood Division. (The Daily News, San Fernando Valley, CA, 10/6/95)

Everything was going as planned for four men who had just ambushed a Wells Fargo truck as it made a pick-up at a clothing store. The truck's two guards were under the gun and helpless to fight back when the owner of the store and a security guard stormed from the business, firing shots at the bandits. The counter-assault created a diversion that allowed the Wells Fargo guards a chance to unholster their arms. In the ensuing gunfight, the perpetrators dropped the money and fled. No one was injured. (The Herald, Miami, FL, 9/12/95)

If you have had a firsthand “Armed Citizen” experience,
call NRA-ILA Grassroots at (800) 392-8683.

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Last Updated — June 20, 2008