Dept. Of Righteous Shootings

From NE Austin (TX) — not to be confused with the City of Austin — comes this cheery news:

According to the Austin Police Department, at around 5:31 a.m., officers responded to a call in the 7600 block of Bethune Avenue, where a female resident reported a man attempting to break into her home through the door and a window. The caller then stated that the male suspect had entered the home, followed by the sound of gunshots.

Upon arrival at the scene, the APD officers and EMS medics found the male suspect dead. APD says the preliminary investigation indicates that the suspect was shot by one of the residents in self-defense.

The interesting part of the story to me is that the dead goblin is not, as one might think, a teenage choirboy, but a sixty-something asshole.  Whatever.  Asshole is asshole, regardless of age, and dead is dead.  (Thankee, Reader Brad for the alert.)

Dept. Of Righteous Shootings

From Reader Mike L. comes this heartwarming tale.

Executive summary:  Guy tracks his stolen truck with some tracking gizmo, confronts thief when he finds it, thief pulls a gun, whereupon lawful owner pulls his gun and sends thief off to his just reward.

Best part, though, is the handwringing response from the fuzz:

“If you are to get your vehicle stolen, I know that it’s frustrating, but please do not take matters into your own hands like this,” Soliz said. “ … it’s never safe to take matters into your own hands as you can see … by this incident.”

Not safe for the Choirboy, perhaps… but otherwise, a pretty decent outcome.

Random Thought

…about that guy in Houston who turned Replica Robber into Swiss cheese:  from the sound of the gunshots and the zero recoil, I’m thinking a small-caliber chambering —  9mm Luger at best, more likely a.380 ACP or even .32 ACP.

Which means he had to empty his mag to get the thing done (for the moment, we’ll ignore the coup-de-grâce shot right at the end).

And here’s something we all need to acknowledge:  when shooting a handgun in such a situation, bullet size matters.  Even velocity is not as important, because as all the smart kids know, the difference in velocity between (say) a .38 Special and .357 Mag bullet — when fired from a short-barreled carry revolver — is negligible.  You’re still left with a .36″ projectile to do your dirty work.

As hunters of dangerous game animals also know, you don’t use a .270 Win cartridge to hunt buffalo, even though its velocity is perfectly capable of penetrating a buffalo’s thick hide.  You want impact, and shock — and that comes from a heavier bullet delivered at .270-like velocity.

I’ll explore the personal implications of the above in a later post.

Dept. Of Righteous Shootings

Reader Mike L. sends me this happy tale, wondering if it’s Dept.-worthy.  If it isn’t… well, it most certainly is.  Herewith the story:

Goblin forces his way into a Louisiana home, threatens a woman and her kids, whereby she shoots him in a manner in which his body has assumed room temperature by the time the cops arrive.

Background:  said goblin (a.k.a. career criminal) was out on parole, original crime being armed robbery.  After being released, he appropriated someone else’s car and made his way over to his would-be victim’s house.

More details are unclear, but the district attorney is looking into the matter, no doubt before giving her an “attaboy” for ridding the parish of a violent asshole.