Fearing homeowner has gun, BURGLAR dials 911

by Gerard Valentino

According to a recent report at USAToday.com, the mere inference of an armed victim was enough to force a burglar to cower in a bathroom and then dial 911 so the police would protect him. The incident took place in Portland, Oregon and was set in motion when a hapless crook was still in the process of robbing a home when the homeowner returned.

From the article:

Timothy Chapek, 24, was already in the house in southwest Portland when the owner, accompanied by two German shepherds, arrived, according to police.

Chapek, fearing the homeowner was armed, locked himself in the bathroom and called 911.

The owner, upset about an intruder in his[sic] home, also called the emergency line to report the burglary.

As it turned out, the female homeowner wasn't armed, but just the thought of an armed victim was enough to deter the criminal from confronting the homeowner. Although not statistically relevant to the gun debate, this incident is anecdotal evidence of the power of a gun in the hands of an honest citizen.

It also furthers the pro-gun argument that criminals prefer unarmed victims.

Cases like this are the Achilles heel of the anti-gun movement because they can't combat the benefit the mere thought of a gun brings to a situations like this.

Anti-gunners can use conjecture to claim that armed victims can lead to more shoot-outs and force criminals to be more brazen, but there are few, if any, examples they can point to.

The truth about guns in America remains a one-sided debate because nearly 40 years of gun control has failed to create any appreciable benefit to public safety. Criminals continue to attack innocent unarmed people with impunity, and cower when confronted by a citizen who takes up arms in self-defense, which is why gun control activists continue to lose at the ballot box, court room and in the legislature.

Gerard Valentino is a member of the Buckeye Firearms Foundation Board of Directors and the author of "The Valentino Chronicles – Observations of a Middle Class Conservative," available through the Buckeye Firearms Association store.

Listen to the 911 calls:
"I Just Broke Into A House And The Owner Came Home," Intruder Tells 911 Operator