''God's grace'' (and concealed firearm) saves Indiana woman's life

Woman shoots alleged abductor

Gary woman says she believed she was going to be killed.

Northwest Indiana Times
October 9, 2003

MERRILLVILLE -- A 28-year-old Gary woman said she knew what it meant Tuesday when she noticed the man holding a gun to her head was wearing gloves.

She figured she was going to die.

"I've called police on him before. He's tried to threaten me and my entire family. ... He was going to kill me," she said. "He's a friend who wanted to be more than a friend, and it's not possible."

But, the outcome of the incident took a turn when the woman pulled out her own 9 mm pistol and shot her abductor in the mouth, police said.

The woman, whom The Times chose not to identify, remained shaken Wednesday afternoon and said she hoped the three-hour ordeal would be the end of seven months of harassment.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

The 24-year-old Merrillville man who allegedly abducted her was taken to The Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus in Gary, Merrillville police Detective Cmdr. Tim Wardrip said.

Her attacker's condition was unavailable Wednesday, and Wardrip said he had not been arrested or charged. The incident remains under investigation.

The identity of a second man, who fled when the shooting took place, is not known at this time, Wardrip said.

The woman said she was sitting in her car about 9 p.m. at CVS Pharmacy, 5301 Broadway, when two men in another vehicle blocked her car from moving.

A security officer came out of the pharmacy, and the men moved their vehicle, she said. But once the security guard went back inside the building, the men allegedly blocked her vehicle again and forced her into their car at gunpoint.

She said they then drove to an isolated wooded area in Gary and parked, with one of the men continuing to point a gun at her head.

While they were still in the car, a man came out of a nearby house and approached the vehicle.

She said while her abductor rolled down the car window and was momentarily distracted, she pulled out a handgun she had on her hip.

"I shot him and took his gun," the woman said.

"I keep my gun on my hip, and I had it where I could ease it. It paid off. I had one in the chamber so I was able to get one round off," she said.

The woman said she started carrying the gun because of the harassment involving her abductor during the past seven months. She said she believes the man was wearing gloves because he intended to kill her and didn't want to leave fingerprints behind.

She said time seemed to be standing still during the incident and she prayed to God to take control of the situation.

After the shooting, she said she grabbed the man's gun and ran to a nearby house in the 4200 block of Tyler Street to call police.

"It wasn't luck. I'm blessed, honestly blessed. It was God's grace. I had an angel with me," she said.

Gary police responded to the 11:55 p.m. call, but the case was turned over to Merrillville police because the abduction took place in Merrillville, Wardrip said.

Commentary:
This woman can thank God for one other thing: that she doesn't live in neighboring Illinois or Ohio.

Had she been attacked in Toledo, Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, or any small town in Ohio, state law, and obstruction by Gov. Taft and Senate Republican would have been responsible for her defenselessness.

And while she'd have the Ohio State Highway Patrol's advice that she could have just driven away from this attack in her car, this attack proves yet again that many CAN'T DRIVE AWAY when attacked in their cars.

Not only does Indiana allow licenseholders to carry a concealed firearm in a vehicle, they require absoluely NO training in order to qualify for a license. It's been this way for years, and they have NO problems.

This potential victim chose not to be. How many are made victims in Ohio because they are refused this same right to choose?

Click here to read the story in the Northwest Indiana Times.