"It was like a movie... I drew the gun halfway out..." 17-yr-old teen...

[SteveM]

defends home and property in the aftermath of the Bastrop, TX fires. As related to a Texas Monthly writer:

"'Y'all need to leave and get out of here now.'......a few unpleasant words were spoken, I said 'Y'all need to get your f____ asses off my place.' And they were like, 'Oh, you're just a girl. You won't do anything.' And I put my hand on the holster, unclipped the clasp, and told them. 'Y'all need to leave now.'"

"It was like a movie. The guy made a step toward me, and at that point I drew the gun halfway out, because I really don't want to shoot anybody -- I really don't -- but I was prepared. And he was like, *'Oh, do it,' And I was like, 'Do you really want to test me? Do you really want me to shoot your between the eyes right now?'

"I must have had a scary look on my face, because they got the picture and got back in their car and left. It was scary."
______________

The 17-yr.-old girl was trained in the use of the pistol by her boyfriend, and she alone was holding down the fort (castle?) as one of a few houses which survived the raging fires in her neighborhood. Her mom and boyfriend were off getting supplies, and she could only gain access to their home using back-country lanes. She witnessed the looters, 2 men and a woman, picking through stuff in her backyard and carport. She confronted them in the yard.

This is an example of the hundreds of thousands/few million incidents of self-defense using a gun; and like the vast majority, no shots were even fired. Perhaps she should have yelled from a window at first? Would the thugs (one of whom wasn't particularly worried) have then gone into the house to do a little human looting? There was no communication in the region; the nearest hospital in Smithville had one cell phone operating. I could find no other news stories about this incident in a brief Google; not surprising.

Texas Monthly, December 2011, "Trial by Fire." texasmonthly.com


*One of the looters proved to be a HyperPunk (personal definition, if requested).