News stories of civilian self-defense seldom receive adequate media coverage. After all, armed good guys stopping violent felons does not make headlines like the lives of innocents being taken. Bias and agendas play their part, but the media does not cover an event that did not happen, such as a case where a good guy stopped a violent event before it resulted in the loss of innocent life. However, these are exactly the type of stories we need to highlight to educate non gun owners before they head to the voting booth.
If at First You Don’t Succeed, Hit the Same House Tomorrow—and Get Shot!
Reno, NV – Two not-too-bright teenagers broke into a house on Saturday, February 8. The house, located on the 900 block of Bates Avenue, was occupied by a 14-year-old. The two punks beat the boy up, robbed the house, and said that they would be back. The Reno Police Department said the two intended to “return and inflict further harm.”
Then, assuming that nobody would do anything to stop them, they broke into the same house in the early morning hours of February 10. They were looking for the same 14-year-old, and intended to beat him up again. Officer Travis Warren said the two were, “Essentially making good on their threat.”
However, this time, there was an adult at home. An adult who had a gun and confronted the violent thugs. One of the two thugs pulled out a gun out and pointed it at the adult. At that point, the adult was afraid the punks would kill him or the 14-year-old and shot several rounds at them. He hit both of the thugs. One was ‘incapacitated’ and is in critical condition. The other was hit in the leg but ran out of the house. He showed up later at a hospital, where he was arrested.
Reno Police aren’t releasing the names of the two young thugs, since they’re both juveniles. Meanwhile, the adult is not facing any charges at this time as he was acting in self defense.
Young Thugs With Guns Can Be Deadly, Too
When we first heard this story, we thought, “Good grief, an adult shot two kids for what looks like a school yard fight that spilled over to home.” But then when we read more about it, this guy was totally justified. You come into another man’s home with a gun, intent on causing harm? You had better be ready to pay the price, punks.
When an Armed Good Guy Isn’t Home, but the Dog Is…
Richmond, VA – The would-be burglar at the heart of this story better hope he can treat his own wounds. If anyone shows up at the local hospitals with an unusually high number of dog bites, they’re sure to have to answer some difficult questions. And the burglar also left behind a good bit of DNA at the scene of the crime.
This story begins with a family dog in Richmond, Virginia. Oden, a German Shepherd, was home alone when the rest of the family was out. That’s when the burglar broke in. From the looks of the house, the burglar got in fine, but had some trouble getting out.
When Tristan Murrin and his mother returned home, Oden met them at the door.There were drops of blood by the dog. They followed the trail in and found the gruesome scene.
“We looked upstairs and you could see trails of blood coming from upstairs, going all the way down,” Murrin told WRIC.
This wasn’t the first break-in in the neighborhood, but it may well be the last. Oden, though, isn’t normally aggressive.
“He plays with the kids, the cul-de-sac knows him,” Murrin said. “The community loves him, the kids come up to him and want to touch him and play with him.”
He wasn’t playing this time. “I think the dog did its job,” he said. “He knew that someone was not supposed to be in my house and no one was home and he knows that [the intruder] wasn’t supposed to be in there and was doing something that he wasn’t supposed to be doing. And so he knew to act upon it.”
Images from the attack have been shared millions of times. Murrin is hoping that the images will help the public identify the person who broke into his house.
“My best friend Oden who is a German shepherd, protected my home and belongings when I wasn’t there, I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Murrin wrote in his post.
“Such an amazing breed that’s why everyone who doesn’t have an actual dog should consider on adopting or buying a dog. Please share and like to get the story out.”
Complete self-defense requires you to take multiple approaches that create layers. Dogs naturally have better hearing and sense of smell and are a welcomed addition to most any security plan.
Minneapolis, MN – February 13, 2020 – The Viridian Weapon-Mounted Camera (WMC) provided the key evidence in the Wilbarger County, Texas trial of Walter Orellana for unlawful deadly force against a police officer. Viridian officials attended the trial where prosecution evidence was presented of the April 2019 incident in which Vernon, Texas Police Corporal T.J. Session was shot by Orellana while conducting a felony arrest warrant. Session returned fire in the incident.
The Vernon Police Department had previously deployed Weapon-Mounted Cameras (WMCs) for all of its officers, and the Viridian WMC on Session’s firearm captured the incident. This video and audio footage was presented to the Wilbarger County jury on the first day of trial.
The dramatic evidence admitted from the WMC showed the defendant grabbing and pointing a sawed-off shotgun at the police officer during an exchange of gun fire. The jury viewed the detailed 1080HD quality video obtained from the unobstructed view of the officer’s firearm. One compelling moment was when the prosecution asked the officer involved to show the jury his duty firearm to display the WMC and demonstrate its Instant-On capability.
It was vital that the Vernon PD had this evidentiary tool to provide the answers crucial to determining what happened in this unfortunate incident,” said Viridian General Counsel, Matthew Plowman. “This trial perfectly illustrates why Weapon Mounted Cameras are critical in police officer Use of Force incidents for agencies and municipal officials to allow the courts to determine the facts.
Viridian President and CEO Brian Hedeen said, “This is a historic event. This is the first Officer Involved Shooting in the world to be captured by a gun camera. We solute the heroic actions of Corporal T.J. Session, the other Vernon PD officers and all police officers across the country.”
Session’s testimony concluded the witness portion of the trial. The case is expected to be submitted for jury deliberation following closing statements.
Viridian General Counsel, Matthew Plowman, can be reached at 763-406-7808 for any inquiries regarding this case and the use of WMCs as evidence. More information on FACT Duty WMCs can be found at ViridianWeaponTech.com/FACT-
Do you have a story of armed good guys that shows the importance of firearm ownership for self-defense? Share it in the comment section.
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Our 95 pound sable GS is named Bacchus and is part of our home protection along with being our pet and treated as such until he is needed otherwise. ?