A 92-year-old World War II veteran shot and killed a would-be burglar who had, apparently, picked the wrong house to burglarize.
Shortly after 2 AM, Lloyd Maxwell and two accomplices broke into the basement of Earl Jones’ Kentucky home. Jones, who served in the Air Force, heard the disturbance and grabbed his .22 rifle. Jones stated,
“Somebody got into the basement, this is a full basement and I was on the bed fixing to go to bed. And I’m very sensitive, I was in the military, you have to have good ears. And I heard something just as I sat down, ‘clonk, clonk, clonk,’ and I said well somebody is in the basement and he’s going to come upstairs. So I heard him when he was coming up the steps, I had the gun so I was sitting there when he opened the door.”
Jones fired a single round into Maxwell’s chest and the burglars took off while police were on their way. The police responded to a 911 call shortly thereafter and found the two men with Maxwell, who had died from his wounds. Both men were charged with crimes related to the burglary.
Jones has been robbed several times before, and he stated that he hoped this serves as a warning to anyone else that may view him as a target. He said,
“I’ve been robbed so much in the past five weeks, I said it’s going to have to be a message to the people. The only way you going to stop this is you have to leave one laying in the grass. That‘s the only way you’re [going to] stop it.”
Jones claims he had to recently purchase the gun used in the shooting because thieves stole his old one.
This is exactly the kind of story not covered by the media to the degree that it should. This kind of story is, by no means, rare. These things happen every day in America, but it’s important to remind people that firearms, in the hands of the responsible citizenry, are tools for self-defense. We hear incessant claims from the left that guns breed violence, but seldom hear of the countless lives saved each year by firearms. While Chicago drowns in a sea of unchecked violence, perpetrated by those that care not for law and order, it is no coincidence that Chicago is home to some of the strictest gun control measures in the country.
From time to time, it is important to share stories of proper usage of firearms to offset the liberal narrative that more guns equal more crime. Good for Mr. Jones.
