Another Home Invasion Happy Ending

By Gerard Valentino

If journalists and police spokespeople describe a home invasion "gone wrong" as one in which the victim is murdered, I would suggest that the following is an example of a home invasion gone right.

The Columbus Dispatch reported last week that a home invader was shot and killed by an armed homeowner.

From the story:

A gunman who kicked in the door to an East Side apartment was shot to death by one of the tenants early yesterday, Columbus police say.

The shooting of Jermaine A. McCrary, 19, of Ashville appears to have been self defense, police said.

Sgt. Dana Norman of the homicide squad gave this account:

McCrary kicked in the door of an apartment at 2936 E. 5th Ave. shortly before 2 a.m. He tried to rob the tenants, a man and a woman, and pistol-whipped the man. One of the tenants shot him in the head with a gun that had been in the apartment.

The terrified residents ran out of the apartment, taking their gun with them, and ran several blocks west before finding someone to call police.

Neither required medical treatment. Norman would not say which one fired the fatal shot and would not release their names, for their safety.

Evidence is to be presented to a grand jury, but Norman said he doesn't expect either resident to be charged.

If the anti-gun minority gets its way, instead of two dead armed home invaders being killed, the homeowners in this situation would almost certainly be the victims of a violent crime. While cliché, it’s true that a person’s home is their castle. It is where they sleep, where their children play and where they retreat to get away from the outside world.

There is nothing more fundamental to living as free people as being safe and secure in your own abode. Whether that is a Chicago bungalow, a ranch house in Texas, or an apartment in New York, a home is where people have the ultimate right to be protected from the ills of society.

While Buckeye Firearms Association never wants to see anyone lose their life, there are few actions more justifiable than protecting yourself while in your own home.

The only possible “happy” ending for such a violent act by common criminals is for the homeowner to walk away safely. If the end result is the death of two predators than unfortunately, that is a small price to pay for society to pay to protect the sanctity of the home.

Our hope is that the homeowners in this case get the counseling they needs if necessary while understanding their action was morally justified.

Gerard Valentino is the Buckeye Firearms Association Central Ohio Chair, writes for the ValentinoChronicle.com and teaches the Ohio Concealed Carry class through Center Mass LTD.