Neighboring business owner stops credit union robbery by two armed men

The fact that the individual who stopped this robbery was outside his business when he saw what was happening indicates that it is a concealed handgun permit holder who stopped this robbery.  From Phoenix, Arizona:

. . . Two armed suspects wearing masks entered the Desert Schools Credit Union near Cactus and Tatum around 3 p.m. and attempted to rob it, police said. A witness then opened fire on the suspects. It is not known if the suspects returned fire. 

Authorities said one of the suspects was shot and transported to a local hospital where he died. The second suspect fled the bank and stole a vehicle from someone at gunpoint, damaging several cars as he fled. 

That suspect struck a mini-van, which then ran into a wall near 44th Street and Thunderbird. Two people in the mini van were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The suspect was taken into custody. 

The owner of the salon next door to the bank said it was another business owner who opened fire. . . .

"Find My iPhone" App helps find woman whose care tumbled hundreds of feet down an embankment

From SF Gate:

 28-year-old woman from Campbell whose car tumbled hundreds of feet down an embankment on Mount Hamilton east of San Jose was rescued and taken to a hospital Tuesday morning after she spent more than 12 hours stuck and injured, officials said. . . . 

On Monday afternoon, just after 2 p.m., Campbell police officers received a report from General Motors’ OnStar system saying there had been a rollover accident involving Melissa Vasquez’s Chevrolet Cruze in the area of White Oaks Road and Shelley Avenue in Campbell, said Capt. Gary Berg. . . . 

Officers spent two hours searching the area, Berg said. But the pegged location wasn’t right. Police had OnStar honk the car horn remotely, to no avail. A second strategy — having officers run sirens in different locations to see if they could be heard over the OnStar system — also failed. . . . 

Officers then contacted Vasquez’s cell company, which provided a location of her phone within a 7-mile radius of downtown San Jose, Berg said. Authorities were still unable to locate the car. Campbell police officers broadcast the vehicle’s description to all agencies in the county, he said. 

Then, just before 3 a.m. Tuesday, Campbell police officers received a missing person’s report from Vasquez’s stepmother, with whom she lives, officials said. She said she hadn’t heard from her. 

Officer Dave Cameron met with the stepmother and asked if Vasquez had Find My iPhone, an app that allows you to locate your misplaced iPhone using cell signals. The stepmother responded that Vasquez owned an iPad — but she didn’t know where it was. . . .

The officer was able to find the woman's iPad, guess her password, guess that she used the same password on her iPhone and they use the "Find My iPhone" app to figure our where she was.

“Amazingly, Officer Cameron was able to guess the correct password after only 3-4 tries using his knowledge of commonly used password combinations,” officials said.
The Find my iPhone app was also locked. But the same password opened it up. 

Cameron activated the “lost phone” feature and saw a map of the location of Vasquez’s iPhone — 14555 Mount Hamilton Rd. . . . 

Pennsylvania state representative uses his permitted concealed handgun to stop four armed robbers

This event occurred on Tuesday night.  From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

The two alleged assailants were caught a few blocks away, and two additional teenagers were later arrested as accomplices, Harrisburg police said Wednesday. 

Arrested were Jamani Ellison, 17; Jyair Leonard, 15; Derek Anderson, 17; and Zha-quan McGhee, 15. They were charged with attempted homicide, conspiracy, robbery, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and carrying a firearm without a license. They were charged as adults, police said, and officers recovered the gun they used. . . .

Flynn and Bizzarro were returning from a late dinner with four other lawmakers at a Second Street Restaurant about 11 p.m. when a male "pointed a gun first at Flynn and then at Bizzarro and demanded their wallets," according to the statement. 

A second male in the meantime was across the street, shouting directions to the gunman.Flynn drew his handgun and "exchanged shots" with the gunman. The lawmakers and the assailants then fled in opposite directions. 

Bizzarro and Flynn made it back to the front of their residence and called 911. Flynn told an responding police officer that he had fired his gun and handed over his weapon."Bizzarro and Flynn expressed relief that nobody was struck by gunfire, and they thanked the Harrisburg police for the remarkably quick response," the caucus statement said. . . . .

Concealed handgun permit holder saves young woman being brutally attacked by rapist

This is a dramatic story from last Friday in Flint, Michigan.  From MLive:

The mother of a woman who told police she was attacked inside an eastside home said she is thankful for neighbors who rushed to her daughter's aid, including a man who held the alleged attacker at gunpoint then chased him down and helped hold him until police arrived. . . .

"If it wasn't for all these people who cared enough to help her, and not turn the other cheek like so many people would, my daughter would be dead right now." 

Jessica Abels, who lives near the spot on Cronk Avenue near Illinois Avenue where the woman was found walking bloodied and naked, said she looked out the window when she heard a woman screaming for help around 2 p.m. Sept. 26. 

She saw the woman jump out the window of a nearby vacant home, she said.
"Her eyes were all swollen and she had blood all over her and in her mouth," Abels said. "She was pretty messed up." . . . 

Several area residents offered the 21-year-old woman clothing and comfort while a man who holds a valid concealed pistols license ordered the suspect out of the house at gunpoint, according to Flint police. 

The man took off running but was chased down by the gun-wielding citizen who, with the help of an undercover auto theft police officer, tackled and held him down until police arrived. 

Jeffery McSwain, Jr. was arrested and charged with one count of assault with intent to commit sexual penetration. During a preliminary exam on Wednesday, Oct. 8, a Flint District Court judge ruled McSwain will stand trial in Circuit Court on the charge, a 10-year-felony. . . .

Washington Post: U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner implicated in Virginia big corruption scandal

If the Washington Post gives this scandal 1/4th the coverage that it gave former Senator George Allen's macaca quip, Warner will be toast.  McAuliffe has already been implicated in the scandal to bribe state Senator Puckett to stay in office.  Now it appears that Warner was also directly involved.  From the Washington Post:

The son of a former Virginia state senator has told federal investigators that U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner discussed the possibility of several jobs, including a federal judgeship, for the senator’s daughter in an effort to dissuade him from quitting the evenly divided state Senate. 

Warner was part of a string of high-powered Virginia Democrats who in early June pressed then-state senator Phillip P. Puckett not to go through with plans to give up his seat in the middle of a bitterly partisan battle over health care. 

A Warner spokesman acknowledged Friday that the conversation occurred, but he emphasized that the senator had made no explicit job offer. 

Puckett eventually resigned, throwing control of the chamber to the Republican Party and dooming Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s top legislative priority — expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The incident also triggered a federal investigation into Puckett’s surprise exit, which came at a time when Republicans were planning to give Puckett a job on the state tobacco commission and confirm his daughter to assume a judgeship. 

On June 6, three days before the state senator’s resignation became official, Warner called Puckett’s son, Joseph, and discussed an appointment to the federal bench as well as a potential corporate position for Martha Puckett Ketron, according to Joseph Puckett’s attorney, Charles E. “Chuck” James Jr. of Williams Mullen. 

James said that Warner suggested a post for Ketron at CGI, at high-tech firm Warner helped lure to Southwest Virginia when he was governor a decade ago. . . .

UPDATE: After the initial article in the Washington Post, little discussion is occurring.  However, Jennifer Rubin as this online discussion.

Then things got very interesting when Warner was implicated in a scandal. The Post reported: “The son of a former Virginia state senator has told federal investigators that U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner discussed the possibility of several jobs, including a federal judgeship, for the senator’s daughter in an effort to dissuade him from quitting the evenly divided state Senate.” Gillespie told Right Turn, “The report that Sen. Warner may have suggested a federal judgeship or other job in relation to a political decision is deeply troubling. We all need more answers on this matter, and he owes Virginians a full explanation of his actions” 

At issue is whether the state senator was bribed by one side or the other in his decision to resign and thereby switch control of the state senate to Republicans. Warner’s response was less than a full-throated denial: “Warner spokesman acknowledged Friday that the conversation occurred, but he emphasized that the senator had made no explicit job offer.” Not explicit but perhaps an obvious effort to induce her father not to resign his seat. (“Warner was part of a string of high-powered Virginia Democrats who in early June pressed then-state senator Phillip P. Puckett not to go through with plans to give up his seat in the middle of a bitterly partisan battle over health care.”) . . .

Armed gunman got more than he bargained in St. Louis, stopped by armed store clerk

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

An armed gunman got more than he bargained for when he tried to hold up a store clerk at a BP Gas Station in the 3100 block of South Grand early today. 

St. Louis Metropolitan Police provided sketchy details and said the shooting happened at 1:30 a.m. when the clerk managed to fire two shots at the gunman wounding him in both legs. The man was taken to a local hospital. His condition is not known. . . . 

Thanks to Tony Troglio for the link.

DC forcing people to reregister and re-finger print gun owners, new fees

DC claims that it lost all the finger prints of everyone who has registered their guns in DC.  Emily Miller has the story available here.