You Have to Ask Yourself: Why is this NATIONAL NEWS??

At the gym this evening I was watching CNN (not my choice, that's what was on the TV) while pedaling away, and one of the stories was about how a Florida father managed to shoot his 31 year-old daughter with a .357, mistaking her for a burglar. It's not on CNN's web page, but they had it also on the newscrawl on the bottom of the screen. The story is available on the web here:

Startled father accidentally shoots adult daughter

Pasco County, Florida - With her two children and her things piled high in her mini-van, Teri Lee Moody went to stay at her parents’ home on Hays Road near State Road 52 and the Suncoast Parkway.

But it was 5:10 in the morning, and they didn't know she was coming. Her mom heard a noise coming from the front door.

PASCO CO. SHERIFF’S SPOKESMAN DOUG TOBIN: “Her mother woke up, notified the father, the father got his 357 Magnum went to the front door, and apparently either got startled or somehow the gun accidentally went off and that’s when the shooting took place.”

Moody's children, ages 4 and 10 are staying with relatives. She's listed in fair condition at Bayfront Medical Center after being shot in the abdomen.

So what should you do if you hear a noise in the middle of the night? Pasco County Sheriff’s deputies say call 9-1-1 and stay put. They say you should not investigate the noise, or try to confront someone. (My emphasis.)

DOUG TOBIN: “5:10 in the morning something happens, everyone has a right to protect their person and their property and apparently that’s what this person was trying to do. But you also have a responsibility to make sure the gun doesn’t accidentally go off shooting one of your loved ones.”

Neighbors told us off camera, Moody's father, George Ingram, 54, is a nice, relaxed person, who tows stranded boaters for a living. Deputies say there are no charges pending against him.

(Yes, everyone has a right to protect their person and property - but don't actually try to. The State doesn't think anyone but they are qualified because a few individuals actually aren't.)

But that's NATIONAL NEWS!

Yet stories like this one NEVER air on CNN or CBS or NBC or ABC or even FOX:

Officials: No charges in Sunday shooting

Colorado’s Make My Day Law will likely keep an Aurora man from facing charges after he shot a gun-toting intruder in the face Sunday morning, police said.Police said the a 19-year-old man and another 20-year-old man were surprised about 10:30 a.m. Aug. 8 when two armed men barged into the house at 805 Oakland St. One of residents got a gun and a gunfight erupted inside the house. At one point, one of the intruders was shot in the face, and the two intruders fled.

The injured man later turned up at an area hospital for treatment and was arrested. He was later identified as 21-year-old Johnathon Vann. Police said neither Aurora man were injured. The other suspect was not identified and remains at large.

Charges are not expected to be filed against the resident of the house because he is protected under Colorado’s Make My Day Law, police said. The Make My Day Law allows residents to use “justifiable use of force” against intruders into their homes as long as residents have reason to believe that an intruder may commit a crime other than the illegal entry and have a legitimate belief that the intruder will physically harm them.

Police did not release details of the crime, and investigators did not say if the residents know the intruders.

(Gotta get a shot in at that irresponsible "Make My Day" law!)

Or this one:

Pistol-packer scares thieves

Tuesday, August 17, 2004 9:27 AM CDT
By LORI DUNN Texarkana Gazette

One of four burglars pointed a pistol at a Bowie County homeowner but then fled when the homeowner shot at him.

Investigators with the Bowie County Sheriff's Department are looking for the four men, who fled in a dark-colored four-door Ford Escort.

Investigators are not certain if the one thief was injured.

"He (the homeowner) is not sure if he hit him or not," said Bowie County Sheriff James Prince.

The incident occurred about 3 p.m. Monday on County Road 1303 off U.S. Highway 67.

"The resident had left the house for about 10 to 15 minutes and when he returned, he found four men in the process of breaking into his home," Prince said.

The burglars had taken guns and a DVD player, Prince said.

As the homeowner pulled into the yard, one of the suspects pulled a pistol on him, Prince said.
However, the homeowner had a pistol in his truck and used it to shoot at the suspect, Prince said.

Prince said the homeowner had every right to protect his home and property.

"Especially if he (a burglar) is pointing a gun at you," he said.

Or even this:

Senior citizen foils two burglary attempts

70-year-old man wrestles down one suspect, shoots at others

By LISA ROBERSON
Gazette Staff Writer

The message was clear, and it was delivered by a feisty 70-year-old man twice in one night last week.

That message -- I refused to be victimized. (Damned straight - ed.)

Robert Gillum thwarted a pair of burglary attempts Wednesday in his Douglas Avenue home, sending the would-be thieves scurrying away without any money.

According to a police report, the elderly man was alone inside his home watching television when, around 10:15 p.m., an unknown man came into his house demanding money. Gillum told officers the man, whom he could identify only as being 5 feet 6 inches tall with a medium build, raised his arm and may have had a handgun inside a sock.

Before Gillum complied with the intruder's request he lunged at the thief and the two began to wrestle. Gillum was struck once in the mouth with the intruder's weapon. After the struggle, the man ran from Gillum's home while Gillum called police.

"I know he had a gun, but I guess I'm a little crazy," he said. "I don't know why I did it. I just didn't feel like being screwed around."

The incident was shocking to Gillum, but before he was able to fully gain his composure, he was faced with another would-be robber.

And just like the first time, the elderly man wouldn't go down without a fight.

The second attempted robbery took place about 90 minutes later, and this time the attacker knocked Gillum to the floor, took his wallet and fled the scene. Gillum got to his feet, grabbed a .410-caliber Derringer from his living room and fired two shots at the suspect's vehicle as it sped away.

"He got away because I couldn't catch him," the elderly victim said.

Even after two attempts, the robbers may have actually left empty handed because after the first attack, Gillum switched wallets.

The latter suspect reportedly fled in a late-model, tan-colored Toyota or Honda with a black female in her late teens or early 20s inside whom Gillum could identify only as "Christy".

"I got my handgun and gave him a few buckshots," he said. "That man was lucky I didn't have it in my pocket. I would have killed him. No doubt about it.

"Oh, well, you can't win 'em all."

You'd think that last one would be national news material: A 70 year-old man? Two attempts in one night? That's not man-bites-dog enough?

I mean, jeeze, you'd think the media has an anti-gun agenda or something.