Guns Save Lives – by Dan Cannon
A 19 year old mother of a 10 month old baby in Enigma, GA faced a terrifying situation earlier this week. Kayla Walker heard a noise at her back door on Tuesday afternoon just before 6:00pm. When she went to investigate, two men forced their way in the back door.
Kayla became involved in a physical fight with the men where she grabbed one of the suspect’s testicles and nearly managed to choke one of the men unconscious. However, that attempt was unsuccessful. Kayla then managed to grab a hammer and land blows on one of the men and get enough separation to retreat and grab her 10 month old child.
According to KFVS12 this is what happened next,
She then ran, grabbed her child, and went into a bedroom, where she grabbed a shotgun and pointed it at the men.
“He said, ‘This is my new house. I’m here to stay.’ I said, ‘Not at this residence.’ I put the gun to his face and the gun clicked and he ran,” she said.
Walker told deputies that she tried to shoot the intruders, but there was no shell in the chamber of the gun.
She reported that the man ran away through the woods, leaving a trail of blood behind him.
The suspects remain at large. Kayla suffered minor injuries, but was not seriously injured. She has some advice for other women who might be the victim of violent crime, also from KFVS, “They just need to know- don’t give up, fight back to the fullest no matter what.”
This story illustrates the importance of training with your home defense firearms. While things turned out OK in this case, it was not an ideal situation. If you’re going to store your home defense weapon with an empty chamber you need to be well practiced on charging it. Personally, I keep my home defense firearms ready to go, as in a round chambered.
This story also illustrates the importance of being prepared at all times. This incident happened in broad daylight when most people would not be expecting a home invasion to occur. Criminals don’t keep a schedule.
This is the 72nd defensive gun use we’ve documented in the state of Georgia and the 1,256th defensive gun use we’ve documented overall.
This incident is the most common type of defensive gun use. That is, one in which no shots were fired and no one was hurt. Despite this being the most common type of defensive gun use, these incidents are often not included in statistics about defensive gun uses. Many of these statistics and studies focus solely on justifiable homicides, which represent only a fraction of total defensive gun uses.
No round in the chamber is the same as an unloaded weapon. Some events need split second response, enough time to get the safety off. Practice, practice, practice. Next to speed is accuracy. If you ever need to shoot, shoot to kill. A wounded combatant is a more dangerous combatant.
Farmer Dave, thanks for the advice! I’m learning. Yesterday was my second time of even shooting a gun and I am in my mid-sixties. My husband says I am doing much better than he thought but at the same time he did offer me some good advice. We plan on going to the gun range at least twice a week.
Target practice is essential to learning how to use a gun. 😉 Good for you. 🙂 You are Never too old to learn. 🙂
As my Father use to say, “When you stop Learning, you’re Dead.”
Hi Angel, thanks for your comment and good advice. I really especially appreciate the comment from your father. He sounds like a very wise man. 🙂
“She reported that the man ran away through the woods, leaving a trail of blood behind him.”
DNA.
Fighters are survivors.
“This incident is the most common type of defensive gun use. That is, one in which no shots were fired and no one was hurt.”
Bet that hammer hurt.