A gas station clerk was working the register when a man walked in and confronted him. He slid a note to the clerk with the words "money now" inscribed on it and demanded the safe be opened. The clerk ran from the store and attempted to phone police, but his assailant quickly caught up with him. The suspect savagely beat the clerk, continuing even after his nose was broken. That's when a man driving by witnessed the assault and ran to the clerk's aid. "The Good Samaritan ... pulled out a gun to threaten the robber;' said Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood. "He is licensed to carry a concealed weapon. I applaud the Good Samaritan for getting involved'.' The robber fled, but was arrested because the witness wrote down his license plate number. (The Delaware County Times, Primos, PA, 08/19/10)

When an alleged intruder broke a window and began entering the home of 80-year-old Stephen Boyechko, he knew what to do-he hastily retrieved his .32-cal. Walther PPK pistol. "Why did you break my window?" Boyechko asked. Instead of answering the question, the intruder climbed inside and ran at the homeowner, who shot him twice and held him for police. The intruder is a suspect in a number of burglaries. Apparently in his latest heist he did not know with whom he was dealing. Boyechko is a veteran of World War II, but he did not fight for the United States. "I was in the Ukrainian underground;' he said. "I was 14. We fought the Germans and the Russians:' (The Leader, Corning, NY, 08/22/10)

Eight weeks pregnant, a gas station manager left work and walked to her car with a bag of money to make a bank deposit. She saw a man approaching as she entered the car, so she quickly locked the doors-but the man pulled a gun, demanded money and repeatedly kicked the car door. Terrified, the woman opened the door and handed him all of her money. Unfortunately, the gesture did little to appease the robber, who cocked his gun and continued to point it at the woman. Meanwhile, a man with a concealed-carry permit standing near the gas pumps saw the robbery unfolding. He drew his handgun, pointed it at the robber and yelled, "Back away from the girl!"The robber got away with the money, but the woman and her unborn child were not physically harmed. (The Observer, Westland, Ml, 08/12/ 10)

Perhaps an 11 -year-old girl seemed like an easy target to a trio of alleged burglars. Alyssa Gutierrez's cousins left to run an errand and shortly thereafter she heard a commotion at the back door. "I thought it was [my cousin] playing a joke on me, so I just turned the TV louder and ignored it;' Gutierrez recalls. But it was no joke. Three masked burglars, one of whom carried a rifle, pried the door open with a crowbar. Gutierrez ran to the bedroom, grabbed her mother's "little pink rifle" and loaded it. "My heart kept on pounding and pounding;' Gutierrez said. The suspects fled when they discovered she was armed. An off-duty officer spotted them jumping the fence and arrested them. Gutierrez had just learned to shoot a rifle a few days prior. "I felt proud of myself;' she said. (KRQE-NEWSl 3, Albuquerque, NM, 08/12/10) Loreigh

Loreigh McDaniel was on her porch smoking a cigarette with a friend when a man appeared from nowhere and put a gun to her head. "I thought I was going to die;' McDaniel said. The man forced the women inside the home, which McDaniel shares with her boyfriend, Michael Campbell. As they stepped inside, the attacker turned his attention to McDaniel's friend. "I saw my chance;' McDaniel recalled. She sprinted down the hall and out the back door. Then she heard a gunshot. And another. She feared the worst, but what McDaniel heard was her boyfriend springing into action. Campbell had seen the gunman forcing the women into the house, so he got his shotgun, walked down the hall and opened fire. The suspect fled, but was later arrested. (Fayetteville Observer, Fayetteville, NC, 08/03/ 10

His slumber disturbed by his barking dogs and screaming wife, Larry Kunzler quickly realized that two men wearing masks and carrying guns had invaded their home. They'd confronted Kunzler's wife in the mud room, pulled her hair and told her "not to fight it:' Kunzler's unarmed son entered the fray and wrestled with the men while Kunzler obtained his Glock .45-cal. pistol. He fired one shot into the ceiling so his wife and son could move away from the suspects, then opened fire on the intruders. He believed he hit both men, who fled the scene. "I bought the gun because I worked in the big city. I never thought I would have to use it in my rural home;' explained Kunzler, who works in Seattle.(Skagit Valley Herald, Mount Vernon, WA, 07/31/lO)

Studies indicate that firearms are used more than 2 million times a yead or 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.