More stories of armed citizens making a stand!

His luck apparently on the wane, an alleged serial burglar was committing his latest heist when two armed citizens fired shotguns. Police say the fleeing suspect broke into a nearby residence where 11-year-old Nicole Mendolia was home alone. A concerned neighbor knew the suspect was in the area and called Nicole’s father, Anthony Mendolia, who hurried home. Nicole hid under the covers for about 20 minutes until her father arrived armed with a 9mm pistol and fired two shots at the suspect, who fled the scene. The suspect was turned over to police after treatment for a gunshot wound. Nicole wanted him to know, “ ... You really got what you deserved today. You really deserved to be shot ... Seriously, you need to go to jail. You got problems.” (10 News, Tampa Bay, FL, 08/02/08)

Though he held the door shut against a 20-year-old intruder for as long as he could, police say an 84-year-old homeowner then grew tired. In desperation, he yelled for his wife to retrieve his .45-caliber handgun. He fired one shot at the intruder, who will be arrested pending his release from the hospital. “You could tell [the homeowner] was devastated,” Hancock County, Miss., Sheriff’s Investigator Andre Fizer said of the 911 tape, “You could tell he was scared.” (The Sun Herald, Biloxi, MS, 07/29/08)

Martin Garrison was asleep on his brother’s couch when, according to police, five people intent on burglary pulled up outside. Two armed suspects invaded the home while their accomplices waited in the car. “I thought it was all a bad dream,” Roger Garrison said. “I didn’t know what their intentions were. It was scary.” When one of the burglars pointed a weapon at Martin, he drew a .25-caliber handgun from under the couch and shot one of the burglars three times. The wounded burglar died on the scene. Police were led to the dead man’s accomplices when they answered incoming calls to his cell phone. “My brother is still real upset about it,” Roger explained. “Robberies are something you hear about, but you never want to go through one.” (Star-Banner, Ocala, FL, 07/23/08)