Good Guy with a Gun #6: Reeds Spring, MO
Original incident: November 4, 2023
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Reeds Spring, Missouri, is a small town in Stone County, about a half-hour drive northwest of Branson. About 1,100 people live there.
On November 4, 2023, Michael A. Ruhde showed up at a rural home in Reeds Spring, “acting erratically, incoherently and violently on his driveway after ‘crawling’ through the woods, scaring the home’s family,” according to the Springfield News-Leader.
Ruhde’s wife, Nathalie Lazart, told reporters that Ruhde had been depressed and had just sought help; if so, that’s a tragedy that he wasn’t able to turn his life around before this incident. In the event, though, the prosecutor’s report said that Ruhde was under the influence of methamphetamines at the time of the shooting.
The homeowner stood on the porch, apparently at the threshold of the house, trying to keep Ruhde at bay, while his wife called 911. He was holding his firearm. He gave Ruhde multiple warnings, but when Ruhde lunged at his gun and grabbed his arm, he fired the weapon and killed him.
Prosecutor Dan Patterson said, “It is clear from the evidence that (victim) reasonably believed force was necessary to protect himself and his family against death, serious physical injury, and commission of the forcible felonies of assault and/or burglary.” KY3 reports that he also said, “It was just straight self-defense.”
It was just straight self-defense.
— Green County Prosecutor Dan Patterson
There’s very little coverage of this incident. The one that wraps up the details, and which is the main basis of this summary, is from the Springfield News-Leader. They also had an earlier report — it’s nice to see follow-up, which happens all too rarely. KY3 gave a brief online and on-air mention from early in the investigation as well as a follow-up that touched on Patterson’s declaration of self-defense.
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