IL:Highland woman says she shot intruder to save her sister's life

stltoday.com ^ | 10 February, 2013 | Denise Hollinshed

[marktwain]

HIGHLAND • Debi Keeney says she was only trying to save her sister's life when she shot a man who had forced his way into her apartment.

She says her sister, Donna Carlyle, 47, was gasping as the man demanded money and put Carlyle in a choke hold after breaking in early this morning.

"All I could see was Donna's face going blue, like her life was being choked out of her," Keeney, 55, said in an interview this afternoon.

The alleged intruder, 33, is being treated at a local hospital for multiple gunshot wounds and is listed in critical condition, police said. They have not released his name.

[marktwain]

Much more detail in this follow up. The derringer was a 5 shot mini-revolver, as was speculated earlier by MHGinTN. Good work.

[Bogey78O]

She apparently needed more rounds to end the threat.

[refermech]

I have one of those in 22 magnum. Would definitely put a hurting on you!! Good shooting lady!!

[arthurus]

I used to have a double barrel derringer style “snake-eyes” .45 Colt aka 410 gauge little gun. With 410s in it the shells were almost as long as the barrels and the pattern was pretty wide. I used it for copperheads on some property I have out from town. Then I kept it for home defense loaded with rock salt and BBs. I never met the necessity to use it for defense but It didn’t take a lot of accuracy and it would hurt.

[BlueStateMadness]

This should be a lesson for everyone. Bring enough gun. 9mm is a good option, with the number of rounds most bottom feeders (autoloaders) can take in a mag as well as the potency of good bonded jacketed hollow point ammo. 45 makes bigger holes, but cavitation and penetration is important too. Also the number of holes and shot placement have a lot to do with good drainage. For best results go with a variety of center mass hits, your shots will vary with the adrenal dump. This is not a bad thing unless youre missing. If you can, practice failure drills on an appropriate target and distance. Think about having to defend yourself and the mechanics of it in advance. You should be comfortable with the notion that the continuance of your life may be at the expense of another’s. It also should be an automatic response when it all goes to $hit. So get some training. Learn to notice and avoid situations. Practice. Carry all the time. Its only silly until you have to use it. Then it gets real serious real quick. Make the concious decision to not be a victem.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

http://fox2now.com/2013/02/11/sister-that-shot-intruder-in-the-hospital/

The woman he had been choking is now in the hospital, as she had a preexisting heart condition, and the stress of being attacked has made it worse.

And something idiotic:

“If they’re (heart problems) tied to the attack, it could mean the difference between misdemeanor and felony charges for the alleged attacker, when the State’s Attorney considers evidence later this week.”

Misdemeanor? Breaking and entering, robbery and attempted murder, maybe even kidnapping?

If the perp survives his “unexpected” severe peritonitis from those amazing .22 bullets, he should be looking at 20-30 years in prison, unless there are even more charges.

[Gandalf_The_Gray]

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
"As I was closing the door behind me, this really big man pushed his way through the door," she said. "I started pushing back...He put one arm behind my arm and picked me up and threw me over my couch."

The two sisters look to be in the 300 Lb. range. The attacker must have been enormous! It does suggest that .22LR may not be the best choice when it all goes down, but enough of them will get the job done. Better the gun you have then no gun at all.

Wishing both ladies well and continued good health.

Regards,
GtG

[MHGinTN]

The sister who did the shooting looks more in the 240lbs range, at most. She isn’t more than 5-5. Hope she switches the cylinders out and loads 22 magnums from now on. If she’s not going to make head or nech shots, she needs a bit more velocity.

[MHGinTN]

The sister who did the shooting looks more in the 240lbs range, at most. She isn’t more than 5-5. Hope she switches the cylinders out and loads 22 magnums from now on. If she’s not going to make head or neck shots, she needs a bit more velocity.

[Gandalf_The_Gray]

Hope she switches the cylinders out and loads 22 magnums from now on. If she’s not going to make head or neck shots, she needs a bit more velocity.

I agree that the .22LR is way underpowered for up close and personal social occasions and she needs something with more zapp. Problem is if she has a North American Arms mini revolver the "window" in the frame where the cylinder is pinned is a different length for .22short, .22LR, and .22 magnum. The cylinders are made just slightly longer then the cartridge so a magnum cylinder won't fit in the frame of a .22LR (too long) and a standard .22LR cylinder won't work in a magnum frame (too short). NAA does make a .22LR cylinder to fit in a magnum frame, I suppose if you shoot a lot it's worth while but for a purse gun you'd never need the extra cylinder.

In the real world she should consider something in a .25NAA, .32NAA, or .380ACP Guardian. NAA produces some fine guns, a bit pricey but beautifully made and powerful for their frame size. The .25NAA and .32NAA are proprietary cartridges, the .25 being a necked down .32 and the .32 being a necked down .380ACP. They both have impressive ballistics.

Regards,
GtG

[MHGinTN]

If she’s recoil sensitive why not the Bersa 32 acp Thunder ... ten or eleven rounds, single double action, decocking mechanism, and there are some good 71 grain 32 acp rounds now. S&W is now making a nice eight round 22 magnum revolver, too.