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Gun in purse scares away robber--by itself
The York Dispatch ^ | 12/20/2007 | Brock Parker

Posted on 12/21/2007 5:44:12 AM PST by Nextrush

A York City woman scared off a robber Wednesday when the handgun she was carrying accidentally fired during the struggle for her purse.

Wanda D. Clark, 32, of West Jackson Street, was at the Hess Gas Station at 253 S. Queen St. at 9:09 pm Wednesday when she had an argument with a man she knew.

The man, whose name has not been released by police, then struck Clark and grabbed her purse in an effort to take it, police said.

But Clark resisted, and she grabbed the purse in an effort to keep it away from the man.

During the stuggle, a handgun Clark was carrying in her purse went off, shot through the purse and scared the man away, said Sgt. John Veater.

Veater said police don't know what the bullet struck, but they checked with local hospitals and did not learn of anyone who had been treated for a gunshot wound.

Clark does have a license to carry a gun, and she told police that the gunshot was caused by accident during the struggle, Veater said.

Police aren't sure if the man fled the area on foot or in a vehicle, Veater said.

But an investigation into the attempted robbery is ongoing, he said.

"We know who the guy is," Veater said.

.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; US: Pennsylvania
KEYWORDS: armedcitizen; banglist; gunrights; guns; secondamendment
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This gas station in the City of York has a reputation as the robbery center of the neighborhood.

But this time the victim had a firearm and it deterred a crime.

Her situation proves a point about the right to keep and bear arms.

1 posted on 12/21/2007 5:44:13 AM PST by Nextrush
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To: Nextrush

Imagine that. She didn’t have to kill him.

But that won’t make into Sarah Brady’s statistics (43 times more likely, etc).


2 posted on 12/21/2007 5:45:27 AM PST by Larry Lucido (Hunter 2008)
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To: Nextrush

Hey baby, is that a gun in your purse or are you just happy to see me?


3 posted on 12/21/2007 5:49:16 AM PST by goodwithagun (My gun has killed less people than Ted Kennedy's car.)
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To: Nextrush

The gun scared the robber away all by itself. I guess some guns are “good guns.” They don’t all go on killing rampages.


4 posted on 12/21/2007 5:49:40 AM PST by Tenacious 1 (I put my foot in my mouth once. I think I'll just leave it there, lest it happen again.)
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To: Nextrush
Where the hell is the City of York?

Looked all over the website - - doesn’t tell you.

Is the City of York famous? Should I know where it is?

5 posted on 12/21/2007 5:50:12 AM PST by Beckwith (Dhimmicrats and the liberal media have chosen sides -- Islamofascism)
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To: Nextrush
I'm glad the robber was scared off and the woman wasn't hurt. It worked out in her favor on this occasion, but a gun should always be carried in a holster that covers the trigger guard, even in a purse or a pocket to prevent it from being fired accidentally.

Maybe she did, and the gun came out in the struggle. However, it is something to keep in mind.

6 posted on 12/21/2007 5:52:13 AM PST by untrained skeptic
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To: Beckwith

South Central Pennsylvania, between Harrisburg and Baltimore.


7 posted on 12/21/2007 5:52:49 AM PST by Andrew Byler
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To: Tenacious 1

Journalism majors really don’t feel any pressure to stick to the facts of the story when they write a headline, do they?


8 posted on 12/21/2007 5:56:41 AM PST by Teacher317 (Eta kuram na smekh)
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To: Nextrush
I don't know what kind of gun the lady had in her purse that could be fired during a "struggle".

While I don't carry a gun in my purse (I prefer my waistband), none of the guns I own would "go off" without a pretty steady pull on the trigger. I suppose if the gun had a bullet in the chamber and the trigger was cocked, this could happen--but who would have that in their purse?

Has anyone else got a few doubts about this story--or am I missing something?

9 posted on 12/21/2007 5:57:02 AM PST by basil (Support the Second Amendment--buy another gun today!)
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To: Beckwith
**** Where the hell is the City of York? Looked all over the website - - doesn’t tell you. ****

Your comment intrigued me.
So I highlighted the address given in the article, clicked the 'Map This' extension in my Firefox and wha-la, the map went right to the address in York, Pennsylvania.

10 posted on 12/21/2007 6:04:35 AM PST by Condor51 (I wouldn't vote for Rooty under any circumstance -- even if Waterboarded!)
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To: Nextrush
Clark does have a license to carry a gun,

Hmmmm... I wonder who she is. They don't give those out to regular folks In N'Yawk , do they?

11 posted on 12/21/2007 6:10:14 AM PST by Kenton (All vices in moderation. I don't want to overdo any but I don't want to skip any either.)
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To: basil
I don't know what kind of gun the lady had in her purse that could be fired during a "struggle".

I don't have the answer to that question, but it worked!

More guns, less crime.

12 posted on 12/21/2007 6:10:27 AM PST by TYVets (God so loved the world he didn't send a committee)
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To: Nextrush

Accidental discharge at a gas station doesn’t make for a good-sounding story.


13 posted on 12/21/2007 6:13:47 AM PST by wastedyears ("I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery." - Thomas Jefferson)
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To: Condor51; Andrew Byler

I could have Googled City of York and found out.

My point is that I don’t want to have to look up key elements of a news story that should be an integral part of the story.

You know, who, what, where, when, why, how much and how often.


14 posted on 12/21/2007 6:14:39 AM PST by Beckwith (Dhimmicrats and the liberal media have chosen sides -- Islamofascism)
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To: basil
**** I don't know what kind of gun the lady had in her purse that could be fired during a "struggle". ,,, Has anyone else got a few doubts about this story--or am I missing something? ****

'Old' model revolvers, like the snub nose Colt Detective Special (which I still have) don't have a safety and can fire if the hammer falls on a round from a strong 'jar' - like falling to a hard surface. So her gun firing in her purse during a struggle makes perfect sense. IIRC the old S&W snub nose .38s were the same - no safety.

As such, the 'carry rule' was load five and keep the chamber under the hammer empty. And since I carried it in my front pant waistband, this is what I did (had to protect 'the boys' from possible harm).

15 posted on 12/21/2007 6:21:56 AM PST by Condor51 (I wouldn't vote for Rooty under any circumstance -- even if Waterboarded!)
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To: Condor51

you had boys in your pants?


16 posted on 12/21/2007 6:42:14 AM PST by teeman8r
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To: teeman8r

LOL!


17 posted on 12/21/2007 6:43:37 AM PST by wastedyears ("I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery." - Thomas Jefferson)
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To: basil
While I don't carry a gun in my purse (I prefer my waistband), none of the guns I own would "go off" without a pretty steady pull on the trigger. I suppose if the gun had a bullet in the chamber and the trigger was cocked, this could happen--but who would have that in their purse?

Hmmm...my thoughts exactly. Everyone knows about some revolvers and blows which COULD cause an AD, but I agree-we ain't hearin' the whole story, me thinks.....

18 posted on 12/21/2007 6:44:00 AM PST by China Clipper
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To: Beckwith
A story with no recognizable place name is a pet peeve of mine too. You shouldn’t have to wonder or search for the location.
19 posted on 12/21/2007 6:45:51 AM PST by Ditter
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To: Kenton

“I wonder who she is. They don’t give those out to regular folks In N’Yawk , do they?”

Maybe one of Rudy’s ex’s or Bloombergs current squeezes.


20 posted on 12/21/2007 7:18:11 AM PST by A Strict Constructionist (We have become an oligarchy not a Republic.)
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