These posts are based on our Good Guy with a Gun calendar. Today’s post is significantly updated from the calendar version.
It was 1 AM on a Monday. Aaron Scott was asleep in a back bedroom until he woke up to the sound of his mother screaming for help.
He got his gun and ran to her. There was a stranger in the house, and the stranger had a handgun. Scott fired twice, hitting the intruder in the back and the arm.
The intruder ran out of the house. He made it as far as the front lawn, where he collapsed.
It comes together when you know that Scott’s mother had just come home from a casino, and the intruder had followed her home. After she got out of her car, the intruder pointed a gun at her and forced his way inside, pushed her to the floor, and grabbed her purse off the dining room table. That was when she screamed.
“We do know the suspect was watching her, she was targeted,” Abington Township Police Chief Patrick Molloy said. “This was not a random crime. They knew there was cash in that purse.”
“They” is probably the genderless singular, but when this was being reported on, police were still looking into whether anyone else was in on it.
Officers got there fast. On their bodycam video, one of them can be heard shouting, “Everybody put your hands up, let me see your hands!” A handgun was recovered in front of the house, probably the one that had been pointed at the mother.
The intruder on the lawn was 26-year-old Khabir Shepard. He was treated at a hospital, released, taken to jail, and charged with robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and carrying a firearm without a license. Bail was set at $250,000 cash.
Molloy also described Shepard as “a convicted felon who should not have possessed a firearm.” But that can’t be right. If a common-sense gun law was designed to prohibit him from having a gun, then he couldn’t have had one, right? The handgun out front must have belonged to somebody else.
The chief had no such confusion about Scott:
He shot him twice until he was no longer a threat. He showed a lot of poise and skill and he very much likely saved his mother’s life or saved her from being seriously injured....
[Shepard] would’ve gotten out of the area and could be committing these crimes again today had it not been for the homeowner being able to take him down and the officers showing up very quickly.
“It becomes controversial when people see citizens using force, but in this case it was completely justified,” Molloy said.
There didn’t seem to be much confusion from the neighbors.
“The gunshot woke us up, and woke my daughter up too. She’s only nine,” said neighbor Philip Damore. “I’m glad the people around here are ready to protect their neighborhood.”
Another neighbor, Ellison James, a veteran, came outside after the gunfire. “It could’ve been much worse, but I’m happy that they’re both OK,” he said.
Nearly 20 months later, the county DA gave Aaron Scott a civilian commendation for exceptional service, “for his bravery in confronting an armed man, who followed his mother home from a casino and attempted to rob her at gunpoint.”
Sources
Primary
Six Civilians, 20 Law Enforcement Officers Honored With District Attorney’s Awards (Montgomery County DA)
News
There was some really good coverage on this story.
Great work by WPVI 6, the local ABC affiliate. They ran two articles, first on the arrest, then on the chief’s praise for the son.
Man shot, injured while allegedly forcing his way into Montgomery County home (Arrest)
Abington police chief praises woman’s son who shot suspect during home invasion (Chief’s interview)
Also very good work by FOX 29. They also ran two articles and also got some comments from Chief Malloy. They show bodycam in the second article, but I have to say that it’s pretty much worthless.
Man arrested after shooting during suspected home invasion (Brief)
Bodycam video shows officers arrive to home invasion, robbery turned shooting in Abington (Bodycam)
NBC10 ran two articles, first on the incident, then on the DA’s commendations.
Son shoots man who attempted to rob his mom at gunpoint in Abington Twp. (Incident)
20 officers, 6 civilians honored for heroism in Montgomery County on Wednesday (Commendations)
Glenside Local ran two articles, first on the incident, then on the DA’s commendations.
Son fires shots at burglar following an armed home invasion in Abington (Incident)
Two local civilians, four Cheltenham officers honored by DA Steele for extraordinary efforts (Commendations)
Additional coverage:
Man shot, arrested after following woman home from casino, breaking in, assaulting her (CBS Philadelphia)
Son Shoots Attempted Robber At Mother’s Abington Home (Patch)
2A / specialist media
We have the unusual situation of an industry magazine covering the case. Casino Visitor is Followed Home, Robbery Suspect is Shot (Casino.org)
Cam Edwards covered this incident at Bearing Arms. Man Shot After Following Woman Home From a Casino to Rob Her
So did Luke McCoy at USA Carry, with his video synopsis. Son Shoots Armed Intruder Who Followed Mother Home from Casino and Forced Entry
Abington Township PA, Home Invasion Ends in Justified Self-Defense Shooting ~ VIDEO (AmmoLand)
Wow, they actually gave him a commendation -- fantastic!