CCW owner defended self from armed attacker with fatal shots

[tonb]

First read this slanted story.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2007/04/cleveland_man_caught_in_gun_co.html

Cleveland man caught up in gun debate
Posted by Damian G. Guevara and Patrick O’Donnell April 23, 2007 19:56PM
Categories: Breaking News, Crime

Damon Wells is the man gun supporters imagined when they fought for the right to carry concealed weapons.

He had a permit to carry his gun, and he had the gun on him when a pair of teenage thieves approached him Saturday night on his front porch.

When one of the youths pulled a gun, Wells whipped out his and shot one of the boys multiple times in the chest, police said.

Arthur Buford, 15, died after stumbling away and collapsing on a sidewalk near East 134th Street and Kinsman Road.

City prosecutors decided Monday that Wells, 25, was justified and would not be charged for what appears to be the first time a concealed-carry permit holder has shot and killed an attacker.

Nonetheless, the shooting reignited the debate that roared three years ago when Ohio's concealed-carry law took effect.

Gun supporters said the weapon saved Wells' life. Opponents said it took Buford's - that the 15-year-old might be alive if a citizen had not been armed.

An angry throng of about 30 youths gathered Monday and set up a memorial at the intersection where Buford, a freshman at John F. Kennedy High School, died.

His cousin, Tameka Foster, 21, questioned why police refused to punish Buford's shooter. "They let that man run out freely," Foster said. "My cousin is dead."

Buford's accomplice disappeared after the shooting and had not been caught Monday night. Police found a .38-caliber handgun in the mail chute of a nearby house. They believe it belonged to Buford or the other suspect, Lt. Thomas Stacho said.

Police took a .40-caliber Smith and Wesson firearm from Wells, the police report shows.

Both sides of the gun debate said it was sad that a teenager died.

"It's tragic," said Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearm Association. "Anytime somebody dies it's tragic, but it's hard to have any sympathy when he chose to have a gun and go threaten somebody's life."

Irvine said it was "great that a potential victim is able to continue his life instead of having a criminal take it."

Toby Hoover, of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, said she had not heard of any other fatal shooting involving a concealed-carry permit holder.

"This is one of the few where they actually used it to stop a crime," Hoover said.

But, she said, "there's still a dead kid here."

A man who answered phone a number for Wells refused to comment and hung up. No one answered the door at Wells' home.

Plain Dealer reporters Jesse Tinsley and Brie Zelter and researcher Cheryl Diamond contributed to this story

[tonb]

Then read this commentary on the errors in it

http://buckeyefirearms.org/article3688.html

Ohio CHL-holder protects self with gun; lazy media buys lie that it's a "first"
Posted on Tuesday, April 24 @ 13:10:00 EDT by cbaus

By Jim Irvine and Chad D. Baus

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that another innocent life has been protected thanks to Ohio's concealed handgun license law.

From the story:
Damon Wells is the man gun supporters were imagining when they fought for the right to carry concealed weapons.

He had a permit to carry his gun, and he had the gun on him when a pair of teenage thieves approached him Saturday night on his front porch in Cleveland.

When one of the youths pulled a gun, Wells drew his and shot one of the boys several times in the chest, police said. Arthur Buford, 15, died after stumbling away and collapsing on a sidewalk near East 134th Street and Kinsman Road.
Arthur Buford proved the point that age does not matter when deadly force is involved. We have seen far too many times that those under 18 are capable of committing heinous crimes. It does not matter to a crime victim, or to the family of a dead victim, how old the murderer was.

How many times have we heard, "If it saves just one life it's worth it"? Apparently, not to family members of the armed robber who suffered life ending injuries after pulling a gun on a law-abiding citizen, on the man's own front porch.

Again, from the story:
An angry throng of about 30 youths gathered Monday and set up a memorial at the intersection where Buford, a freshman at John F. Kennedy High School, died.

His cousin, Tameka Foster, 21, questioned why police did not punish Buford's shooter.

"They let that man run out freely," Foster said. "My cousin is dead."

Buford's accomplice disappeared after the shooting and had not been caught as of Monday night. Police found a .38-caliber handgun in the mail chute of a nearby house. They believe it belonged to Buford or the other suspect, Lt. Thomas Stacho said.
Arthur Buford was committing multiple crimes. He was in possession of a firearm (possibly a stolen one) as a minor. He was committing aggravated robbery with gun specification. He was committing aggravated menacing. He may also have been in the process of committing attempted murder or murder (the gun was loaded). His accomplice can now be charged with murder.

Damon Wells broke no laws. He was on his own front porch. He was apparently able to properly articulate to police that Buford was close enough to kill him, had the intent to inflict death or great bodily harm, and had the means to carry out an attack. One must be able to state all three items before deadly force is justified.

The story continues:
Both sides of the gun debate said it was sad that a teenager died.

"It's tragic," said Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association. "Anytime somebody dies, it's tragic, but it's hard to have any sympathy when he chose to have a gun and go threaten somebody's life."

Irvine said it was "great that a potential victim is able to continue his life instead of having a criminal take it."
When a criminal pulls a gun during a crime, they are making a decision that someone is going to die. Damon Wells did not choose to take a life; he simply decided that if someone was going to lose his life, it was not going to be him. That mindset should be applauded.

If all crime victims responded to deadly force with deadly force, one wonders if a 15 year old "boy" would think about another career.

Journalistic Errors

The Plain Dealer has had quite a week when it comes to coverage of firearms issues.

On Wednesday, April 18, it appears that the Plain Dealer’s Terry Oblander relied on incorrect information from the Brady Campaign in his article “In Ohio its really easy to buy a gun.” (The Brady’s “report cards” are chocked with information that is just plain false in many cases, severely misleading in others.)

On Thursday, April 19, Plain Dealer reporter Patrick O'Donnell failed to do the proper research on Ohio law and falsely reported that the state's ban on firearms at college campuses doesn't apply to private universities (it does, and the newspaper has since published a correction).

Another major error has been published in the story covering yesterday's armed robbery attempt, written by - guess who? - Plain Dealer reporter Patrick O'Donnell (and Damian G. Guevara):
City prosecutors decided Monday that Wells, 25, was justified and would not be charged for what appears to be the first time a concealed-carry permit holder has shot and killed an attacker.
Not only is this not the first time an Ohio CHL-holder has killed an attacker anywhere in the state, it isn't even the first time in Cleveland. There have been at least two previous situations in which a criminal attacker has died when an Ohio CHL-holder defended themselves in Cleveland, and the Plain Dealer has covered the previous stories!

The most memorable was in 2004, when a store owner shot and killed one of his attackers during a rare ambush-style robbery just one day after the Plain Dealer published his name as a CHL-holder in the newspaper. The other, more recently, involved a convenience store owner in Cleveland who killed an armed robber after the violent criminal shot the store owner's 19-year old son in the forehead.

After Mr. O'Donnell's erroneous April 19 story, Buckeye Firearms Association contacted the Plain Dealer and offered to help the newspaper fact-check its stories. O'Donnell did indeed call Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman Jim Irvine in preparation for the story, and Irvine informed the reporter, both verbally and in writing, of the fact that this was not the first time an attacker has died after being shot by an Ohio CHL-holder!

Is it possible that Mr. O'Donnell made the same mistake his co-worker, Terry Oblander, appears to have done on April 18 by believing the gun ban lobby instead of checking his facts?

Once more from the story:
Toby Hoover, of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, said she had not heard of any other fatal shooting involving a concealed-carry permit holder.

"This is one of the few where they actually used it to stop a crime," Hoover said.
A complete list of known incidences involving Ohio CHL-holders defending themselves (including at least five previous cases where the attacker died) is available on our website here.

For its part, the Associated Press (AP), which just yesterday named the Plain Dealer as Ohio's "best large newspaper", seems troubled that a 15 year-old criminal died at the hands of his intended victim, a "man carrying [a] hidden gun". The AP has taken the Plain Dealer's erroneous reporting one step further by quoting Hoover's statement in a wire report that is sent to hundreds of media outlets across the state (and beyond) - but not before removing all comments from the Plain Dealer story that provided balance for the pro-gun position!

A more detailed, and damning, evaluation of the Plain Dealer's treatment of gun owners will be published on this website in the near future.

[jumbopanda]

Wow...I just don't understand how people can support a thug who pulls a gun on someone. Would they be gathering to mourn Damon Wells if he had been shot and killed by the kid? The very idea of these little bastards suggesting that a man should be punished for defending his life is absolutely infuriating. Someone needs to beat all of their asses.

[randy]

There's not a dead kid there's a dead bad guy.

[Biff...]

WTF, this guy defended himself. I could care less for that peace of s*** that got nailed. People have the right to defend themselves (PERIOD)

[mur]

I think Wells just saved about a hundred other people from getting robbed. At 15 years old, already commiting armed robbery, WTF

I would have done the same thing, sad, but true

[mltrading]

If I were Mr. Wells, I'd do the same thing.

I for sure will shoot whoever tends to shoot me.

[Can'thavenuthingood]

I didn't see any mention of the kid Arthur Buford having a gun ILLEGALLY or if the gun he had was stolen.

This guy will probably be harassed by the kids now. Any one of them hoping he'll pull the gun again and its lawsuit time. They get taught wonderful things in school.

Bad guy dead.

Vick

[R_P_Rizzo]

Wow...I just don't understand how people can support a thug who pulls a gun on someone. Would they be gathering to mourn Damon Wells if he had been shot and killed by the kid? The very idea of these little bastards suggesting that a man should be punished for defending his life is absolutely infuriating. Someone needs to beat all of their asses.

AMEN

They would all be gathering to say he was a good kid and why does he have to go to jail. Cousin Tameka is obviously going to raise her kids in the same manner. Hold families accountable for what they release on society.

[Bad Voodoo]

CHL has nothing to do with it in this instance. Potential victim was on his front porch when he blasted the perpetrator. He had the same right as any one of us in CA would have to do the same. Someone walking onto my porch pointing a handgun at me is going to get the same treatment.

-voodoo

[scewper]

That's absolutely disgusting how these people try to defend this thug. "my cousin is dead" HELLO?? Your cousin is a criminal who tried to rob someone with a gun, this guy Wells did their neighborhood a favor.

Gun supporters said the weapon saved Wells' life. Opponents said it took Buford's - that the 15-year-old might be alive if a citizen had not been armed.

Sure that makes plenty of sense... It's too bad this kid didn't survive, now he wont be able to rob anyone else at gunpoint.

[The SoCal Gunner]

Punish a guy for defending his life from a dirtbag who had a gun? These people need to get sense beat into them or shipped out of this country.

[CalNRA]

"my cousin went to rob the guy with a stolen gun. but now he is dead. Why oh why? he had so much going for him!!!"

[24_minutes_to_1000]

My imprecatory prayer to the Almighty is that violent harm visit the households of EVERY person who sides with or empathizes with a violent piece of excrement who is shot in defense while attempting bodily harm on an innocent individual.

May they all suffer greatly so as to understand that evil people exist, and that coddling the evil bastards makes them more violent.

[jerryg1776]

Wow...I just don't understand how people can support a thug who pulls a gun on someone. Would they be gathering to mourn Damon Wells if he had been shot and killed by the kid? The very idea of these little bastards suggesting that a man should be punished for defending his life is absolutely infuriating. Someone needs to beat all of their asses.

Its because they were not on the other end staring down the barrel of the thug,s gun. I bet they would feel a differently if they were the victim and were shot. If you play chicken on the freeway and get hit by a truck, well tough ****.