The Second Amendment in the South Bay

The Second Amendment is getting some well-deserved press in the local South Bay papers.

Finally!

In Hawthorne, CA, a former Leuzinger High School coach stopped a burglar in his home. . .by shooting at him:

90-year-old former UCLA running back holds intruder at gunpoint until Hawthorne police arrive

Read more of the story here:

A 90-year-old retired Leuzinger High School football coach fired a gunshot into a wall and held an intruder for police early Wednesday, minutes after he awakened to find the man in his Hawthorne home.

Jim Chadwick, who coached at the Lawndale high school from 1951 to 1960, said it was the first time in 40 years he ever had to pull out and load his .38 Special handgun.

That's part of the good news. Thankfully, law abiding residents of the South Bay do not have to routinely rely on their own guns to keep themselves safe. Crime is relatively low, and the murder rate falls in the negative range.

“He sat up on the end of the bed and he moved toward me,” Chadwick said. “I said, ‘Don’t move, I’m going to fire.’ So I fired into the wall just to let him know the gun was loaded. He sat back.”

It wasn’t clear why the intruder entered Chadwick’s house near Richard Henry Dana Middle School. He didn’t appear to be taking anything. Instead, the intruder laid down on a bed and might have been drifting off to sleep.

Chadwick said he awakened about 3 a.m. and noticed a figure in his bedroom. The figure moved into a lighted hallway near his 89-year-old wife’s bedroom so he quickly got out of bed, opened his gun chest and loaded the gun.

He then held the man at gunpoint until police arrived, but chose not to shoot him.

“A human life is worth too much to just go shooting someone,” Chadwick said.

This statement deserves considerable respect. Many pro gun control activists like to argue that gun owners have no respect or regard for life. The argument also continues that possession of a firearm carries too many fraught conseuences. Chadwick is 90 years old and demonstrated considerable caution and regard with this gun.

The man apparently had entered the house through an unlocked sliding door. It was not clear that his intention was burglary. He might simply have been looking for a place to sleep.

“That’s what went through my mind,” Chadwick said. “He might be one of the homeless near Costco. He left a pair of shoes in my bedroom and they were all wet. So it could be very possible he was homeless and came in to sleep. The police officer said he could have been drinking.”

Chadwick, who uses a walker most of the time, somehow got out of bed, loaded his gun in the dark, and walked without the walker during the confrontation. He did not use it when he walked outside to speak to the police.

President Obama issued a series of executive orders on gun ownership, which included items to targeted the elderly. Accounts like this one prove that everyone has a right to keep and bear arms, regardless of their age.

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In Redondo Beach, a resident protected his property with a firearm, and stopped a burglar:

A Redondo Beach homeowner who discovered a burglar stealing his motorcycle from his garage shot him in the leg when he confronted the thief, police said Wednesday.

The resident then chased the man and held him for police.

The confrontation occurred about 3 a.m. Tuesday in the 2000 block of Nelson Avenue. Police said the unidentified resident learned someone was inside his garage. He armed himself with a handgun and confronted the alleged burglar, who was pushing his motorcycle from the house.

“The homeowner attempted to detain Laurencio Gamboa Jr. at the garage, and a shooting occurred,” Redondo Beach police Sgt. Shawn Freeman said.

The resident fired once, hitting Gamboa, 33, of Redondo Beach in the leg. Gamboa turned and ran, but the homeowner chased him and detained him until officers arrived, Freeman said.

Gamboa was treated at a hospital for his wound and booked at the Redondo Beach jail on suspicion of burglary and vehicle theft. He was held on $50,000 bail.

The homeowner was not hurt.

Detectives plan to submit their reports on the shooting Thursday to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for review.

Gamboa is expected to appear in Torrance court Thursday.

The Second Amendment is not about deer. It's not about collecting and shooting. It's about protection it's about safety.

And most importantly, liberty.