If Only They Had A Gun

The California theater was packed for a 9 p.m. Saturday screening of the Martin Scorsese film when the moviegoer complained about a woman near him using a cellphone. The woman and two men with her left the theater. But sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said two men returned a few minutes later and stabbed the victim. “It was a vicious and cowardly attack,” Whitmore said. The victim, who was not identified, was hospitalized with serious wounds. Two other moviegoers who came to the victim’s aid were also hurt during the attack, officials said. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

Toledo police have issued a warrant for the suspect accused of targeting women in five robberies, including one that escalated to rape. In at least two of the crimes committed in the last 10 days, the suspect hid in the backseat of the female victim’s unlocked car and ordered her at gunpoint to drive to an ATM and turn over cash, police said. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

A woman was stabbed to death in front of her son by a former boyfriend who died of self-inflicted stab wounds after a police chase, Lebanon, Ohio police said this morning. Shena Lee Nolan, 32, was stabbed several times by her ex-boyfriend after an argument in front of her 8-year-old son at her apartment about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to Lebanon Assistant Police Chief Bob Hawley. The boy was not injured. “What kind of a person stabs a mother anyway, but then to do it front of a child?” Hawley reportedly said Thursday morning. Nolan was taken to Atrium Medical Center in Middletown, where she was pronounced dead. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

Mexican authorities reported Monday they have found the dismembered, burned body of a Mexican journalist kidnapped in 2007. Officials believe the journalist, Rodolfo Rincon Taracena, was killed by members of the Los Zetas cartel killed Taracena for his reporting on drug activity in the Gulf Coast city of Villahermosa. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

A Yonkers man, who reportedly raped and robbed a woman over a three hour period in an act of revenge against her boyfriend, has been sentenced to 20 years in state prison and 25 years parole. Kevin Denham, 28, had been convicted by a Westchester County Court jury of two counts of rape in the first degree, two counts of burglary in the first degree, two counts of criminal sexual act in the first degree, one count of robbery in the first degree, one count of assault in the second degree, and one count of criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, according to news reports. The attack reportedly took place on March 1, 2009 when Denham broke into the woman’s Yonkers apartment through a rear window and attacker her as she slept in her bed. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

A Woodhull, Illinois man is reportedly facing six felony counts for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting two women March 1 on Big Island in Rock Island County. Jason W. Kugler, 29, was reportedly charged in Rock Island County Circuit Court with six Class X counts, which each carry up to 30 years in prison upon conviction. He faces two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, two counts of armed robbery and two counts of aggravated kidnapping. According to the charges, Kugler was armed with a weapon when he committed the crimes. The robbery counts allege that he stole each victim’s purse. The two women are 25 and 23 years old. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

Joliet, Illinois police say a 47-year-old man died of stab wounds today after coming to the aid of the victim in an alleged domestic battery incident. Police Chief Fred Hayes said officers found Reuben T. Abbott, 0-100 block of York Avenue, lying in a pool of blood on the front porch of a home on the 100 block of Nicholson Street at 4:04 a.m. Abbott, who was unresponsive, “had been stabbed in the back, stomach and neck,” Hayes said. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

Police say that a gunman shot a 63-year-old man in the legs and his 39-year-old son in the neck at a business they own on the third floor of a Dallas office building. Dallas Police Lt. Andrew Harvey said the gunman pointed his gun at arriving police, who fired at him and missed. The suspect then shot himself, police said, causing critical injuries. “This is not a random offense. They were targeted. The suspect knew both of the victims,” stated Lt. Andrew Harvey. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

Prosecutors allege a New Hampshire man obsessed with getting a Harley-Davidson motorcycle beat his landlord to death, assumed his identify, and then stole his pickup truck in order to trade it for a motorcycle.  It is alleged that Paul McDonald traded his landlord’s new truck for the motorcycle and an older truck before fleeing to Vermont, where he was reportedly arrested.  Wilcox was found dead in June 2008 in the basement of the Danville home where McDonald lived as his tenant, according to police. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

A North Carolina man has been arrested and charged with raping a woman and carving the word “Mine” on her stomach, according to police. Keith Alan Campbell, 41, of Hickory, NC was reportedly charged with first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, assault on a female and two counts of communicating threats. The arrest warrant reportedly alleges that Campbell tied up the woman and used a box cutter to carve the word “Mine” on her stomach. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

A taxi cab driver was stabbed and critically injured Thursday night by a passenger in the West Town neighborhood during a robbery attempt, according to police. The attack occured at about 11:30 p.m. near Western Avenue and Hirsch Street, said Chicago Police Officer Hector Alfaro. The male assailant then fled the scene, and the cab driver was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, Alfaro said. No suspects are in custody. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

The victim, Patricia Hall, said two men she did not know forced their way into her home wearing masks and gloves. She also told investigators stole some items, and stabbed her before leaving. Hall is reportedly hospitalized and listed in fair condition. No suspects are in custody, police say. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

One arrest has been made in connection with a woman who was drugged and gang-raped on Saturday morning in Soweto, Johannesburg police said. “The woman was at her home when a group of men took her and drugged her. They took her to a house in Dobsonville where they took turns raping her,” said police spokesman, Inspector Kay Makhubele. He said the woman had sustained head injuries and had bruises on her body. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

A manager working at the Wendy’s at 1001 Dundee Ave. was stabbed in the parking lot outside the fast food restaurant at about 9 p.m. Friday night, police said. A suspect described as a Hispanic man in his early 20s reportedly stabbed the manager, a 33-year-old Carpentersville man, with a knife at least once “in the chest area and in the liver,” an Elgin police spokesman said. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

Spartanburg County deputies said that the victim said she was walking along Biblebrook Drive toward Sunnyglen Drive when a silver or gray, older-model car pulled up next to her. She said the two men inside the car asked her for directions. When she walked up to the car to provide directions, the men pulled her inside the car, drove to a dirt road off of Biblebrook Drive, raped her and then drove back to Biblebrook Drive where they put her out of the car, she says. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

Atlanta police reportedly say 4 children found their 35-year-old mother’s body on the bathroom floor, after coming home from school. Keith Meadows of the Atlanta Police Department reportedly says Yolanda Johnson had been stabbed four or five times. Her body was found Thursday afternoon in her apartment, which is near Georgia Tech. Meadows says there were signs of a struggle in the kitchen and bathroom. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

A 20 year old man is in the hospital after being stabbed in the back in Nottingham. The victim was attacked on Lavender Walk in St Ann’s in the early hours of Saturday. He suffered a punctured lung and was taken to Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Center. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

54-year-old Willie Anderson, of the 9400 block of South Michigan Avenue, was pronounced dead at 8 a.m. at Jackson Park Hospital and Medical Center, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Police responded to an emergency call at 7:09 a.m. to the 600 block of East 79th Street where they found Anderson on the sidewalk with multiple stab wounds, according to Officer Daniel O’Brien. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

Police spent Saturday searching for a man they believed rammed into two cars in separate incidents Monday morning, raping one woman who got out to investigate the crash and robbing another. Police say the crimes happened in Dilworth and Myers Park, and officers have urged women to use caution and even not to get out of their cars if they get into a wreck. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.

Police are searching for a man who stabbed his former co-worker during an armed robbery Saturday morning at a Lincoln Park car wash, on Chicago’s north side. The victim, a man in his 30s, was stabbed about 8:29 a.m. at a car wash at 1415 W. Shakespeare Ave., police say. The robber was the man’s former co-worker at the car wash and fled with an unknown amount of cash, according to police.  More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun for self defense, as these people did.