After being shot, 11-year-old boy uses gun to stop three burglars

The McAllen Texas Monitor has this story. As I have tried to point out after I wrote The Bias Against Guns, these incidents of children using guns to protect themselves and others are a lot more common then one would think from the news coverage that they get. Given how rare people think that these events are, one would think that such a rare heroic story would get picked up on the wires, but this one certainly didn't.

Boy, 11, shoots home invader
The Palmview child returned fire after being wounded by the intruder
January 15, 2010 10:02 PM
Jeremy Roebuck
PALMVIEW — An 11-year-old boy shot a man who broke into his home north of the city early Friday.

Three men burst into the house near the intersection of Minnesota Road and 8 Mile Line just before 12:30 a.m., Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies said.

The child and his mother were hiding in a bedroom when the gunmen tried to force their way in. One of the men shot through the door, striking the boy in the groin area.

The child, who was carrying a .22-caliber rifle, shot back, hitting one of the criminals in the neck. The men fled the scene shortly thereafter, investigators said.

Both the boy and the injured attacker remained hospitalized Friday afternoon. Authorities said the child was in stable condition and was expected to make a full recovery.

The wounded burglar was transferred to a San Antonio hospital under police guard.

Deputies have detained two other men believed to be involved in the attack.

Thanks very much to Karl Christensen for this link.