Even on the low end of estimates, hundreds of defensive gun uses take place across the country every day. The vast majority of the incident go unreported in the media, but here are three recent armed citizen stories that proved too compelling for local news outlets to ignore.
The first comes from Limestone County, Alabama, where a homeowner confronted a heavily armed and oddly attired car burglar last Wednesday.
The suspect was identified as Tanner Stewart Phillips, of Hartselle. According to authorities, Phillips allegedly broke into a car at the victim’s home. The homeowner confronted him, and Phillips allegedly pointed a rifle at the homeowner and chased him into the home.
From there, a resident shot a firearm, hitting Phillips multiple times. Before he fled the scene. According to law enforcement, Phillips was wearing a ski mask and a bulletproof vest and was armed with a pistol and a rifle.
Police haven’t said publicly whether Stewart knew the homeowner before he allegedly visited his home, but Hartselle is about a half-hour from where the incident took place in Athens, Alabama. It’s also pretty unusual for a burglar to wear a ballistic vest, and if your goal is get in and out of the burgled vehicle as quickly as possible, you’re probably not going to be carrying around a rifle
That suggests to me that there may be a motive other than burglary here, but we’ll wait to see what additional information is released in the coming days.
The second story worth mentioning happened in Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood last Thursday. Police were called to the scene on reports of a shooting and found a 33-year-old man when they arrived. A short time later, police got a call from a 27-year-old gun owner, who informed officers he was forced to shoot in self-defense.
According to police, the 33-year-old man forced his way into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment and assaulted the 27-year-old man, who is her current boyfriend.
Investigators said the younger man then shot the ex-boyfriend.
At last report the gun owner is still believed to have been acting in self-defense, though the investigation continues.
The last armed citizen story we’ll discuss in this post may also have and unhinged ex or estranged husband in a starring role. State Police responded to reports of shots fired in Beaver Dam, Kentucky on Friday evening, and the man who was shot appears to have been the initial aggressor.
KSP’s initial investigation shows that Samantha Fultz and Miles Snodgrass arrived at Fultz’s residence and were confronted by Billy Fultz.
A confrontation between Snodgrass and Billy Fultz led to Snodgrass discharging a firearm that struck Fultz in the abdomen, according to the release.
Lexington, Kentucky TV station Lex18 reports that Billy Fultz is the estranged husband of Samantha Fultz, and Miles Snodgrass is her current boyfriend. Interestingly, the Kentucky Online Offender Lookup says a man named Billy Fultz was convicted of stalking in Ohio County and started his probation on January 22, 2026. Beaver Dam is located in Ohio County, though the KSP has not yet confirmed whether Billy Fultz was on active probation for stalking when he was shot.
Sadly, it’s not just strangers we have to worry about when it comes to our personal safety. In fact, while stranger on stranger violence generally gets more press coverage, violence between friends, acquaintances, and family members is just as if not more common. In at least two of these cases the suspect was shot by their intended victim’s new boyfriend, and the incident in Alabama may very well turn out not to be a completely random encounter either.
Editor’s Note: The gun control lobby and their media allies continue to lie about gun owners and the Second Amendment.
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