A .22 rimfire for self-defense?
It’s lacking in so many ways and there are vastly better options. However, a .22 on your person beats that 12 gauge you left at home. Such was the case this weekend in rural southeastern Illinois.
The Evansville, IN Courier-Press reported an Illinois Concealed Carry license-holder shot two young men who were out to administer a beat-down on some country road in the middle of nowhere in Wayne County, IL early Sunday morning.
It all started at a party earlier in the evening. From the newspaper report:
Erick B. Paula, 26, told police he shot the two men in self-defense after an earlier confrontation over racial remarks at a party. The two men, driving a black sport utility vehicle, cut off Paula’s vehicle as he was driving home around 3:30 a.m.
Nothing good happens after midnight. That goes doubly so where alcohol may be involved on either side of the equation.
Paula, who is black, said he encountered the two men — who are white — at a party earlier in the evening. He said the two had made racial remarks, and he had asked them to stop. The men later confronted Paula on Mount Vernon Road near the Fairfield airport.
Statements to police indicate the two men got out of their car, approached Paula and demanded to fight. Paula told the men he didn’t want to fight and that he had a concealed-carry licensed and was armed.
Sounds as though Mr. Paula did a fair job. Not sure why he didn’t just drive away, but whatever…
When the two men demanded Paula give up his weapon and engage in a fist fight, he pulled his .22 caliber gun and fired 10 rounds at the two, emptying the gun’s clip. Paula told police the two men were about a foot from him when he opened fire.
Suffering multiple gunshot wounds were Blaze A. Greenwood, 22, of Fairfield and Alex C. Barrowman, 23 of Crest Hill, Illinois.Yeah, I don’t think any wise and prudent man is going to give up his equalizer, particularly when it’s two on one.
Could these two young men be wannabe Klan members? Or were they just bullies out to make themselves feel better by intimidating and battering others. Either way, their plans didn’t work out so well, thanks to their intended victim lawfully carrying an equalizer.
Police, after investigating the situation, said no charges were expected against Mr. Paula.
As for the two bigoted thugs?
We can only hope. The cynic in me says Barack Obama’s Department of Justice wouldn’t be interested in investigating it as a “hate crime” as the “victim” stood up for himself and took care of business with a concealed carry firearm.
Good job, Mr. Paula.
Maybe our young toughs will think twice before they do that again.
Damned racist thugs.
Had the victim not been armed we might’ve had another one James Byrd, Jr., tragedy.
There’s a lot of lessons in this incident.
Thanks for posting.
God bless the USA and armed good guys of any color.
I’m glad our CCW license holder had his gun. The last thing our nation needs is a pair of white bully bigots sending an innocent black guy to the hospital or morgue.
If he had carried a 9mm or a .45, the bad guys might not have been able to drive themselves to the hospital.
But only old white guys carry guns! It must be true – the NYT said so!