As reported, an 82 year old woman from Sierra Vista, Arizona used her handgun to stop an attacker who was trying to beat her to death with her own cane.
The woman was reportedly walking to her car in a Wal-Mart parking lot when a man walked up to her and stated “This is your day. You are too old to be alive anyway,” before grabbing her can and beating her with it. The elderly lady was reportedly grabbed her self defense gun from her purse and fired, missing the attacker but causing him to flee. The woman was reportedly hospitalized for a few days, due to the injuries she received from the cane beating, but but suffered no permanent injuries. A suspect, reportedly identified as Stephen Prickett, was apprehended shortly after the attack and faces multiple charges including attempted murder, according to police.
It is a sad fact that criminals prey upon senior citizens, seeing them as easy targets. When senior citizens are unarmed, they are often overpowered by criminals who are much younger and at the peak of their physical strength. As a result, these elderly victims often suffer horrific crimes. But when senior citizens are armed for self defense, things often turn out much better. Here, an 82 year old woman successfully fended off a younger and stronger attacker who was in the process of beating her to death with her own walking cane. In another example, this armed 85 year old woman held a home invader at gunpoint, and made him call the police on himself. Similarly, this armed 93 year old man shot a home invader in self defense after the home invader began to attack him, while this armed 70 year old woman held an intruder at gunpoint until the police arrived to arrest him. This armed 91 year old man used his handgun to fend off two home invader who had broken in and threatened his wheelchair-bound wife with their guns. As a further example, this armed 84 year old man used his handgun to stop a criminal who repeatedly tried to enter his home through the front door, back door, and a window. While I could go on with many more examples, the point should be clear: armed self defense is a senior citizen’s best chance at stopping a violent criminal.
My thanks to Bill for pointing out this self defense case.