Defensive Gun Use weekly roundup (Free post!)
Featuring stories that hit the news April 25-May 2, 2026.
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Note that we don’t pretend that this represents every newsroom that covered any given story. And everyone is innocent until proved guilty.
To the stories!
Updates
Frisco, Texas
Last Thursday, a Collin County grand jury returned a no bill on Jason Bartik, 45, declining to indict him over a shooting from last October.
Around 8:30 PM that October evening, in what Bartik described as a road rage incident, he found himself with a tailgater who wasn’t taking the hint. Bartik brake-checked him, then pulled off into a high school parking lot.
The other driver, Robert Taylor, followed him. Taylor got out of his own vehicle, approached Bartik’s car yelling, then reached through the driver’s side window and punched him. Bartik shot Taylor twice, then called 911.
Responding officers found Taylor face-down in the parking lot; he was taken to the hospital, where he died.
Bartik was charged with murder, but the grand jury declined to indict him, accepting his claim that he shot in self-defense.
Collin County grand jury declines to indict man in fatal road rage shooting in Frisco (Dallas Morning News)
Arizona
Phoenix
This story is short on details about the defensive gun use — the report only tells us that there was a fight at a construction site in which one man shot another man and then called police to report that he fired in self-defense, and that the shooter was detained and questioned and the man who was shot later died and was named Timothy Ted McFarlin, age 47.
However, reporting on this incident does go into detail about exactly where across the street the construction site was located in relation to the Arizona Cardinals NFL Draft Party, and assures readers that the event and traffic in the area will not be affected by the investigation.
Worker dies from shooting at construction site near State Farm Stadium (KTAR News, 92.3 FM)
California
Fair Oaks
A Saturday afternoon argument at a home on the 8800 block of North Winding Way in Fair Oaks turned into a shooting. Both men involved were armed, and the 63-yr-old man shot a 47-year-old man multiple times — including once near his brain stem.
The 63-year-old man didn’t go far — when deputies arrived, they found the victim inside the home and the older man waiting for police in a neighbor’s yard.
The 47-year-old was taken to the hospital, where he remained in critical condition. The 63-year-old was detained but has since been released by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office “under the presumption of a justified shooting” — though the DA noted that a final determination is still pending further review.
Benicia
Late Thursday night on London Circle, something went wrong inside a Benicia home. Whatever the dispute was, it involved several members of the same household — including at least one juvenile. Someone fired a gun, then the police were called, with the police noting that “the incoming call for service was reported as an incident of domestic violence and it was indicated that the weapon was fired in self-defense.”
Police arrived around 10 PM to find family members performing CPR on a man.
Benicia Fire Department medics took over life-saving efforts, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene. Because a minor was involved in the incident, authorities declined to release further details — including names, relationships, or who pulled the trigger. The investigation is ongoing.
Missouri
Kansas City
Saturday morning at Lit Smoke Shop started normally enough — until Ashley Mack and Mia Shaw came through the door screaming.
Surveillance video shows the sisters entering loud and agitated. An employee moved to push them toward the exit. They swung at him; he swung back. Then Mack gestured as if producing a gun. The employee drew his own and fired.
Mack went down. Shaw picked up an object from the ground and opened fire into the shop — employees still inside — and someone shot back. When it was over, four bullet holes marked the front door, eight casings and three rounds littered the parking lot, and a passing pickup took a bullet to the passenger window frame.
Shaw drove her sister to the hospital. Mack had been shot in the abdomen, pelvis, and thigh, arriving in critical condition before surgery.
As it turned out, the sisters knew they weren’t welcome there — their brother had called to tell them they were banned from the shop. They went anyway. The employee told police the sisters had a pattern: visit a shop on the strip, then call their brother to escalate things. They’d been banned from multiple shops for exactly that reason.
Mack stabilized and was placed under hospital supervision. Shaw was taken into custody. Both faced charges of armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon, and second-degree burglary. The DA said the employee had a valid self-defense claim.
Sisters charged in weekend shooting at Kansas City smoke shop: Prosecutor (Kansas City Star)
Mississippi
Jackson
Early one morning around 3 AM in South Jackson, a man showed up at a home on Walker Avenue and shot a woman inside — she survived and was taken the hospital, while her attacker left. But apparently he wasn’t finished.
The man then stole a Nissan minivan from a nearby tire and truck shop, then drove it back to the same location hours later.
When he returned, he started shooting through the front door, and then kicked the door in. The man who lived there shot him at least twice in the upper body.
The homeowner was questioned and released. The man who’d kicked in the door, 25-year-old Darron Pointer, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City
Early Saturday morning, May 2nd, someone showed up at a home near Southwest 44th Street and South Pennsylvania Avenue in southwest Oklahoma City with robbery on his mind. It didn’t go well for him.
The homeowner, apparently uninterested in being robbed, produced a gun. The alleged robber was shot and left in critical condition.
The homeowner stayed at the scene. Oklahoma City Police arrived, processed evidence, and spoke with witnesses. Detectives began canvassing nearby homes and businesses for surveillance footage.
No names have been released, and police have not indicated whether the homeowner faces any charges. The would-be robber was taken to a hospital in critical condition. The investigation remains open.
South Carolina
Columbia
Around 11:30 AM on a Thursday, at the Colony Apartments in Columbia, South Carolina, a man pulled a gun on his victim and shot him in the shoulder.
The victim shot back, hitting his attacker in the leg.
Both men went to the hospital with non-life-threatening wounds. A solid day’s work for everyone involved, apparently.
The victim was treated and released. His attacker, 22-year-old Honor James-Everette — who had a conviction for strong-arm robbery as recently as 2024 — recovered well enough to be arrested. Witness statements, video, and other leads helped officers identify him within 24 hours. He was charged with aggravated assault and battery, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and unlawful possession of a gun by a convicted felon.
Tennessee
Memphis
A man walked into a Walgreens on Elvis Presley Boulevard in Whitehaven sometime after midnight and attempted to rob the place. He was not successful.
He was shot during the attempt. Memphis police responded just before 12:30 AM and pronounced him dead at the scene. No one else was injured. The investigation is ongoing — though the arc of this story is pretty familiar.
1 killed in overnight shooting at Whitehaven Walgreens, MPD says (WMC/Action News 5)
Texas
Houston
Two young social media content creators in their early 20s arranged to meet up in Northwest Harris County on a Tuesday morning to work on content together. The driver pulled up in a white Tesla and picked up his collaborator.
Whatever creative plans they had didn’t last long.
Inside the car, the passenger pulled a gun on the driver, allegedly to try and rob him. The driver drew his own weapon and shot the passenger.
Video from the scene showed the wounded man, dressed in dark clothing, running from the Tesla before collapsing in the road. The driver, in white, ran up to him moments later.
The passenger was hospitalized in critical condition and went into emergency surgery. The driver was uninjured. Two handguns were recovered. No charges were filed, pending review by the Harris County DA.
Washington
Kent
Several armed men had entered a house on Cambridge Way around 3 AM. A woman heard the intruders and woke her husband, who went to the safe by the bed, grabbed his gun, and headed downstairs to investigate.
When confronted with several intruders, he fired. He hit at least one intruder multiple times. The others fled the scene.
The homeowners were unharmed. The shot intruder was hospitalized in critical condition; his identity wasn’t released. The others remained at large.
Kent police noted in their public comments that Washington state follows the Castle Doctrine. Police were working the case in reverse: “We know what took place up to the point of the shooting, and now we’re trying to trace it backwards to say, okay, why was this house targeted?” A good question.
Wisconsin
Menomonee Falls
A Chevy Malibu pulled into a Woodman’s gas station and parked next to a Honda Accord at the pump. The driver was 19-year-old Ralph Stewart. His brother Rodrick, 18, got out with a gun in his hand and had a word with Ralph — who moved the car, reportedly to ease their exit.
The brothers approached the Honda’s driver and things got confrontational. Rodrick pointed his gun at the man in the Honda. Twice. The victim, uninterested in a third time, shot at Rodrick, who returned fire as the victim drove away. Authorities describe it as a miracle that no bystanders were hit.
The victim told police Ralph had robbed him a year earlier at a gambling session — raising the question of whether this was planned or a very unfortunate coincidence. Prosecutors said it wasn’t known whether the brothers knew the victim would be there.
Their mother identified both men to police and persuaded Rodrick to turn himself in. Both faced multiple felonies, including attempted homicide. It was Rodrick’s 18th birthday.
Wow. We used to live in Jackson; I _hated_ it, even though we lived in a relatively safe, middle-class area. Just _hated_ it. I feel bad for the parents who named their son "Honor" only to see him become a career criminal . . . And no better way to celebrate your birthday than getting shot at by someone you try to rob . . .