The Gun Counter

Group of Thugs Target Seemingly Defenseless Woman — They Had No Idea She Had Been Frequenting the Gun Range
May. 24, 2013 5:30pm Jason Howerton

A group of thugs figured it would be easy to overpower one Kansas City woman. After all, her husband had just left to run an errand, leaving her all alone in the home.

They couldn’t have been more wrong.

The woman, later identified as Shirley Roberts, 52, immediately retrieved her gun after she heard someone jiggle the knob of the front door. She also witnessed two additional men heading to the back door.

Looking through the blinds, Roberts saw the men putting on gloves and preparing to force their way into her home. So she trained her firearm on the men and opened fire.

The criminals, scared silly, reportedly took off running. However, they also fired shots toward the house they attempted to break into.

Robert’s husband, Oscar Roberts, later said he and his wife have been going to the gun range to prepare for just that type of situation. “You’ve got to protect yourself,” he told KMBC-TV.

“I told her she’d done the right thing. We practiced that. She’s shook up, though. That’s the only thing about it, she’s very shook up,” Oscar added.

The practice at the shooting range seemingly paid off as police later arrested three men who went to the Research Medical Center, one of which was treated for a gunshot wound to the chest.

Police said the shooting seems to be justifiable self-defense.

“If you’re in fear for your life, most definitely we want you to protect yourself. We don’t want any harm to come to anyone,” Sgt. Marisa Barnes of the Kansas City Police Department told KMBC-TV.

Shirley Roberts, 52, immediately retrieved her gun...she trained her firearm on the men and opened fire...police later arrested three men who went to the Research Medical Center, one of which was treated for a gunshot wound to the chest

TheIrishman wrote:

Shirley Roberts, 52, immediately retrieved her gun...she trained her firearm on the men and opened fire...police later arrested three men who went to the Research Medical Center, one of which was treated for a gunshot wound to the chest

While I'm ecstatic that things worked out for the best with regard to the homeowner, I'm firmly in the camp of the late Paul Gomez believing a long arm would have served her better. Handguns are convenient for carry, but having had to "retrieve" her gun she could have just as easily grabbed a carbine or shotgun and saved us the expense of a trial and incarceration.

PawPaw wrote:Still, it worked out for her, and Monday Morning Quarterbacking is a lot of fun. I'm glad she got through it, even though she'll likely be traumatized for a while. We can only hope that the thugs are traumatized for a lot longer. In my opinion, she done good. She had a plan and followed it through.