Southern California Woman Shot Dead While on Phone With 911 Dispatcher
Thursday, March 20, 2008
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WEST COVINA, Calif. — A woman was asking a 911 dispatcher for help when her pleas were interrupted by gunshots, then silence. She was shot to death.
The woman told the dispatcher someone was trying to break into her home in upscale West Covina, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Dan Rosenberg said. "Deputies heard gunshots followed by silence and an open phone line," he said.
Deputies arrived at the house, 20 miles east of Los Angeles, a few minutes after Wednesday's late morning call.
The woman, whose name was not released by police, had been shot several times. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.
"At this point we believe it was a burglary gone awry," Rosenberg said.
Investigators are trying to determine if anything was taken, Deputy Luis Castro said.
While police were investigating the shooting, a man arrived at the home asking about his wife.
When he heard that the woman had been shot and killed, he collapsed and started to cry, saying "No! She just called me. You lie."
The man was placed in a patrol car and taken to a sheriff's station, police said.
Witnesses said they saw one or more men running from the house, Rosenberg said.
Investigators used bloodhounds to conduct yard-to-yard searches.
No arrests had been made by Thursday morning, deputies said.
As a precaution during the search, a high school and an elementary school were locked down for about two hours, police Lt. Dan Brooks said.
There are some folks who will use this story, among others, to try to get guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens.
However, I will use this story to show why I think law abiding citizens should be able to have guns to protect themselves.
Are guns dangerous? Well, they cannot do ANYTHING by themselves. When loaded and in the hands of someone who doesn't know gun safety or in the hands of someone with murderous intent, I suppose you could say that guns are dangerous. But guns are tools. Unfortunately, in this world, there are people who do not live according to the rules set forth by society. When a law is put into effect that states that people cannot own guns (I believe it is very difficult to own a gun in California), there are people out there (criminals) who do not care what the laws state. This woman was apparently killed by someone who was robbing her house. I don't care what the rules in California are, I believe that thieves and criminals have NO chance of owning guns. But here we have a criminal with a gun.
This will not stop. Our world is getting darker, not better. It is my belief that all citizens of the United States should be allowed to own a gun and carry a gun for protection. Do I think that people should be licensed? I guess it depends on the reasoning for the licenses is. If it's to make sure that the owners are going to gun safety classes, then yes. By all means. We cannot have ignorant people handling guns. For goodness' sake, on one of the firearms forums I read, I have read about accidental (I'll call them negligent) discharges of the firearms. When handling a firearm, one needs to always be aware of the damage that can be done by the tool one is handling. But if the licensing is to keep track of the firearms the people own, then no, I am not in favor of licensing.
Had this woman had a firearm and been educated on the use of that firearm, we may have seen a different heading on that news article.
When criminals are aware that people are armed and not afraid to use those tools to protect themselves and their families, I believe they probably think twice about targeting them as a victim.
My prayers go out to the woman's husband and the rest of her family. I pray also that the criminals are caught. I also pray that the state of California takes a hard look at it's laws and make some changes to give power back to the people, the law abiding citizens.
