84-year-old man fends off intruder in Ridley Township

[shiloh]

I did not see this posted elsewhere on the forum; apologies if I missed it somewhere. Good for this gent to defend himself in a horrible situation.

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2...c594335685.txt

84-year-old man fends off intruder in Ridley Township
Wednesday, December 2, 2009

By CINDY SCHARR
cscharr@delcotimes.com

RIDLEY TOWNSHIP — Don Kaighn doesn’t want to be portrayed as a hero or a vigilante.

“I was just protecting myself,” said the 84-year-old, standing next to a dresser mirror that was shattered during what appeared to have been an all-out gunfight in the bedroom of his Franklin Avenue home.

A bullet also pierced a rifle case next to Kaighn’s bed during a violent home invasion Monday night. All around the bedroom and out into the hallway, investigators left behind numbered stickers indicating where bullet holes were found.

Kaighn, a World War II veteran and a longtime member of the National Rifle Association, said he was bruised and had pulled a muscle, but was not seriously injured.

“I got a little too much exercise trying to chase her out of the house,” the octogenarian said, maintaining a sense of humor after his difficult ordeal.

According to police, a woman knocked on Kaighn’s door around 9:45 p.m. Monday saying her car had broken down. She asked to use the phone. After speaking to someone on the phone in the dining room, the woman began walking toward the front door.

Instead of leaving, she turned and sprayed Kaighn in the face with a can of starter fluid. She whacked him over the head with the can as he stumbled into the kitchen of the twin home, police said.

When the suspect turned the kitchen table over, Kaighn reached into a drawer and took out a small Colt pistol he said he had purchased for his late wife. The suspect turned and ran upstairs, with Kaighn following right behind. He knew there were more guns in his front bedroom.

“She was in the front bedroom with the lights out, so I couldn’t see her,” Kaighn said. “She said stop or I’ll shoot.”

Kaighn said he fired, then the suspect returned fire. Several more shots were fired. Both Kaighn and the suspect missed their intended targets, police said.

“I put two bullet holes in the wall over my bed,” said Kaighn.

Kaighn’s next-door neighbor, Gabe Verticelli, said he and his mother were eating dinner when they heard what sounded like gunshots.

“We heard three loud gunshots, then another and another,” he said, standing on his front porch Tuesday.

Kaighn fled downstairs and dialed 911. The dispatcher told him to stay on the phone until police arrived.

“When you’re waiting, it seems like hours,” Kaighn said.

When police arrived, the elderly man met them at the door, still holding the Colt .32-caliber six-shot. Kaighn was placed in a patrol car for his protection as police searched his house. The Emergency Response Team was called in, but the suspect had escaped with two of Kaighn’s pistols and some other items, police said. Investigators believe she lowered herself out of a bedroom window and ran.

“On the one hand, I’m glad she didn’t get hurt, but on the other hand, I wish she hadn’t gotten away,” Kaighn said. “I made a number of tactical mistakes, but she behaved like a professional thief.”

Kaighn said he did not recognize the suspect. He added that no one was aware he had guns in his house except for his pals at the shooting range and two or three employees of the cleaning service he has used for years.

The suspect is described as a black woman, 25 to 30 years old, about 5 feet 9 inches tall with a thin build and a medium complexion. She was wearing dark clothes with a hooded jacket trimmed with fur around the hood.

Kaighn, who has lived in his home on Franklin Avenue for nearly 50 years, said he was miffed that two of his guns could possibly be sold illegally.

“I’m sorry there are two guns out on the street now,” he said.

[cgbudde]

good for him for putting up a fight. Too bad this woman took 2 of his guns. Maybe she will accidently shoot herself.

[ByAnyMeans]

good for him, even realizes the mistakes he made and hopefully never has to try again.

[adymond]

I want to find this man and give him a case of beer.

[Nic]

I wonder how she knew he had guns, in that bedroom, and where to find them in the dark...

[StraussiE WousiE]

The roots of this crime must be traced back to somebody he knows, and that person knew about his guns.

I'm sad to say there are too many people that know where to find my guns, but I don't have a big arsenal.

Things brings up a good subject, should you let people who "broke down" into your home. How should you treat that situation.

[1861]

I wonder how she knew he had guns, in that bedroom, and where to find them in the dark...

She probably has a friend /relative working for the cleaning service .

[whenheavenfell]

When police arrived, the elderly man met them at the door, still holding the Colt .32-caliber six-shot. Kaighn was placed in a patrol car for his protection as police searched his house.

for his protection... riiiiiiiight.

[shiloh]

She probably has a friend /relative working for the cleaning service .

That was my thought as well.

[SierraPapa]

yeah..i'm definitely leaning towards the cleaning service.
+100000 rep to the ol' man!