Robert Thompson arrived at her home on 244 Carpenter St. and kicked in the front door, Epperly said. She and her son were inside the house.The result: the abuser is dead from a shotgun blast.
Thompson allegedly punched her in the back of the head several times, Epperly said. In defense, her son grabbed a .410-gauge pump shotgun and asked Thompson to stop hitting his mother, Epperly said. The teenager warned Thompson several times, asking him to stop, Epperly said. Thompson allegedly refused.
The negative tone of the headline doesn't surprise me. They call the abuser who was killed in what the police believe was a justifiable homicide, a victim. Once more, if you attack me (or my family) and I kill you in self-defense (or defense of another) you are no victim.
Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0
Update, July 6, 2006: Since someone asked in the comments....
The nominal bore of a .410 shotgun is .410 inch. Which is why it is properly called the .410 bore instead of the .410 gauge. In Europe it is sometimes called the 12mm, which is an inaccurate designation as a .410 bore has an actual diameter of approximately 10.4mm by metric measure. If the .410 had been named in the traditional fashion, by the number of lead balls .41 inch in diameter needed to make one pound, it would be about a 67-68 gauge.