Defensive Gun Use weekly roundup: December 21-28, 2025
From 12/21/2025 through 12/28, here are GGWAG stories that made the news.
December 19, Binghampton, TN
Burglary suspect armed with axe shot outside Binghampton home
This is a weird one, because both the suspect and a witness claimed that the suspect’s injuries must have come from the axe he was wielding — but no, he was shot. Watch the video here to get a little more detail than is in the write-up. Maybe there’ll be some follow-up here when they figure out what happened.
December 19, Rochester, NY
3 police officers shot ‘without warning’ while responding to domestic call in Rochester
You need to read between the lines just a little bit here. The focus of the story — in all of the outlets I’ve seen — is on the three police officers who were shot. (We of course wish them the very best in their recoveries.) But this is also true:
Emergency services received a call from a man who said his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend was attempting to break into her home and possibly had a gun, according to the Rochester Police Department. The caller also told dispatchers he had a legal permit for a firearm and was carrying a pistol.
Officers arrived a short time later and located the suspect along the side of the house.
This suggests to me that the ex-boyfriend tried to break in and was unsuccessful because the current boyfriend was armed.
December 21, Fort Smith, AR
Man dead after reportedly trying to break into Fort Smith apartment
Self-explanatory.
December 21, Baldwin Hills, CA
Man fatally shoots suspected robber during attempted theft in Baldwin Hills
The headline doesn’t reflect the fact that the shooter evened 3-on-1 odds with his own firearm.
December 22, Hardin County, TX
Sheriff: Fatal shooting of man who broke door of parents’ home, made threats, justified
A tragic situation of a family member having to shoot another family member in self-defense.
December 23, Las Vegas, NV
Homeowner defends himself against two armed intruders, police say
Follow-up: Two suspects face multiple charges after being shot by Summerlin homeowner
December 24, Atlanta, GA
Argument over gun leads to Christmas Eve shooting in southwest Atlanta
This one has characteristics that could easily turn out to be problematic. Look out for possible updates.
December 25, Fowlerville, MI
Man killed by estranged wife’s acquaintance after opening fire at Livingston County home
December 25, Barnesville, GA
Home invasion shooter still on the run; identities released
Domestic violence from an ex-boyfriend. Not much to go on here, but it does say that there was an exchange of gunfire, and the bad guy ran away.
Use-of-force discussion: Las Vegas incident
You may remember this incident from December 17 last week. It’s always nice to see some use-of-force discussions generated by a real-world event, and that incident generated this discussion.
False positive: December 21, Kankakee, IL
Kankakee police investigate shooting death on city’s east side
This appeared to be a GGWAG story, but in fact the suspect, Travis Hayes, is the one who brought the shotgun to the residence; the resident gained control of it and shot Hayes, but didn’t have a firearm of his own. This is corroborated by several posts and this police report on Facebook.