87-year-old woman fatally shoots man in her home (IL)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch ^ | February 7, 2006 | Doug Moore

[DaveLoneRanger]

An 87-year-old East St. Louis woman fatally shot a man early this morning as he was trying to break into her house.

Police said they found the man, Larry D. Tillman, 49, of East St. Louis on the enclosed front porch of the woman’s house in the 2100 block of Gaty Avenue. He had pulled the telephone wires from the side of the house, then removed security bars from a porch window.

As the man was breaking through a storm door that leads into the house itself, the woman fired several shots through her front door, striking Tillman once in the chest.

[DaveLoneRanger]

Police said that the woman ... could not call for help because the telephone lines were dead.

Precisely why you can't depend on the police for your only protection!

When the woman’s daughter arrived about 6 a.m. to bring her mother breakfast, she found the dead man on the porch, police said.

Oh, don't you HATE when that happens! Our dog has been finding moles recently, and I must admit it's nice to know they won't be causing trouble in the yard any more. There's a connection here, I just know it.

[ferri]

LOL!!!

go Granny is all i can say!

[Brad's Gramma]

Good for HER!!!!!

[ncountylee]

Nice happy ending.

[DaveLoneRanger]

(((Armed Citizen ping)))



You are being pinged because of your interest in every-day citizens using firearms to save life and limb. Freep-mail if you want on/off.

Visit the Armed Citizen Archives!

---

And in Freeper community news, the recent Armed Citizen story Two Bay Area Men Killed, Third Arrested in Clearlake Home Invasion (CA) contained a comment by Freeper xp38 saying "two out of three ain't bad."

Freeper conservative in nyc recently pointed out to me that the comment was quoted in a San Francisco Chronicle article/editorial on the subject.

[RichInOC]

State-of-the-art bang-bang, madam. Well done.

[lexington minuteman 1775]

Nice shot lady!

[Graybeard58]

Our dog has been finding moles recently, and I must admit it's nice to know they won't be causing trouble in the yard any more.

Is your dog for rent?

[RAY]

Equalizer!

[jazusamo]

That elderly lady didn't need the police, she just needed more ammunition to reload her gun. She did good.

[paul51]

great work grandma. another felon retired

[mylife]

GO GRANNY GO

[Robert A. Cook, PE]

Then again, she may have shot him because he tried to leave, and was close to gettin' away.)

[RockinRight]

Gotta love an old lady that can kick a$$ and take names...

[gathersnomoss]

Will Jimmuh show up at the funeral to bash Bush?

[joseph20]

I wonder what caliber she used.

[mylife]

Police said the shots were fired from a pistol, most likely a gun that her daughter had given her after a man broke into the elderly woman’s house in December, battered her and stole some items.

Good for daughter too

[Supernatural]

Pistol packin' mama...or in this case, grandma.

Point and shoot. Its pretty simple, but not everyone can do it. She could.

[PresbyRev]

When the woman’s daughter arrived about 6 a.m. to bring her mother breakfast, she found the dead man on the porch, police said.


Shot him and went back to bed?

[antceecee]

Batter me once- shame on you. Batter me twice - shame on me...BANG! BANG!
I guess she just wasn't going to take any chances with this second guy. Good for her.

[Panzerlied]

How long now before the State of Illinois:
1. Arrests her for owning a gun.
2. Charges her with the taking of a human life instead of running away!

Sarcasm mode: OFF

[Graybeard58]

If she didn't have an F.O.I.D. she will be charged.

[shiva]

Gadangit!!!!The ole lady is almost 90!!!!!!Way to Go!!!

[Cobra64]

I wonder what caliber she used.

At her age, probably a .38. Nothing wrong with that. Tho most around here seem to think .45 ACP or .454 Casull is the minimum requirement.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Freeper conservative in nyc recently pointed out to me that the comment was quoted in a San Francisco Chronicle article/editorial on the subject.

That should stand as a reminder that the world is watching. Make sure that what you say here isn't something you would be embarrassed by the world seeing.

Personally, I think two out of three is a sign you need more range time.

[Panzerlied]

And I thought I was being my usual smarta$$!

Sad, what we've come to, isn't it.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Good shootin', Granny.

[spunkets]

" Good for daughter too"

The story doesn't mention anything about the cops letting these women off the hook. Ma don't have a FOID and the daughter, who might have, gave her a gun to defend herself. The State cops are involved, so I expect they would screw the daughter. The absence of any mention of this in the story, and the fact IL screws poeple that shoot though the door, makes me think they will try to screw them.

[SALChamps03]

Amen. Go ahead sonny boy, make my day!!!

[hiredhand]

Are you having problems with Moles? We bought a couple of Rat Terriers a couple of years ago and haven't had a problem with Moles since! These suckers hunt them down, dig them up and EAT them!

They're amazing little dogs really. We have two...a male and a female. They hunt as a team. They can outrun ANY of our barn cats!... and THAT is a wild sight! I'd never seen a little dog that could outrun a cat!

You're in NC aren't you? Let me know if you're interested because we bought ours from friends over near Havlock, and I can put you in touch with them if you'd like.

[CindyDawg]

Kind of read like that, huh? Maybe the daughter can get her a cell phone too.

[SALChamps03]

LOL...nothing more to do here. Somebody will clean this up.

[mylife]

To bad it isnt TX

This sounds about as justifiable as it gets

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Oh, and a hearty Well Done! to this heroic lady.

Hopefully she won't lose any sleep over having disposed of that piece of filth.

There's a connection here, I just know it.

Sure, when you eliminate the vermin, they don't come back.

[hiredhand]

So he pulls off the phone lines, and security bars, and then starts breaking down the door?! Sheesh...I'd say he was asking to be shot! I'm glad she's O.K.!

[CindyDawg]

She probably stayed up, holding a gun all night, waiting until her daughter arrived.

[cubreporter]

Another American Citizen protecting her life and property. In this particular case a Granny. God love those Grannies.

[DaveLoneRanger]

I wonder what caliber she used.

The right one! (He's dead; that's all that matters.)

[mylife]

Yer gonna go infront of a grandjury regardless.

She's alive and the punk is dead

[Pontiac]

At her age, probably a .38. Nothing wrong with that. Tho most around here seem to think .45 ACP or .454 Casull is the minimum requirement.

Shooting through a door I would want something that penetrates better than a 45 ACP. A 454 Casull (I know you are gesting here) would over penetrate and probably kill someone across the street after passing through the door and the perp.

A 38 Special with ball amo would be about right (IMO) for this kind of a shot.

[mylife]

You are probably correct

[spunkets]

"This sounds about as justifiable as it gets"

You're absolutely right. The IL State Police are dirty though, when it comes to self defense. They don't allow it. Ma is protected by a recent IL State law regarding the FOID, but the daughter isn't. I think they will go after the daughter for giving Ma the means to protect herself.

[ER Doc]

ping

[griffin]

I can't believe you people are celebrating this! Why, this gentlemen had no trial! Maybe he was just trying to notify this lady of a potential illegal 'wire tap'. This may be (gasp!)......Bush's fault!

[Dustbunny]

Way to go Grandma !!

I keep a 16 guage double barrel shotgun close by.

[Graybeard58]

I'm in Illinois. I put about 100 lbs. of "Sevin" on my yard last year and that helped. My son has a dog that digs them up but he says the dog does about as much damage digging them as the moles make.

[mylife]

Ma is protected by a recent IL State law regarding the FOID, but the daughter isn't. I think they will go after the daughter for giving Ma the means to protect herself.

I wish no judicial trauma to the daughter but perhaps thats just what is needed to wake the rest of IL up!

The more Libs try to persecute innocents in defence of scum the farther they will decline in power.

Will Obama push to have the daughter prosecuted? I suspect not

[WVNan]

Home invaders need to be wary of widowed grannies. They most always have "protection". I know I will have if I ever have to live alone.

[mylife]

wire tap! bushes fault L0L

[therut]

This story is the reason that I took my 73y/o mother and got her a CCW. She has a handgun and shotgun ready if needed. I could not forgive myself if I did not. She feels much safer since my Dad died. I could not ever excuse myself if she did not have a firearm and a fighting chance. She may not win in the fight but she will not go begging for her life.