Elderley Veteran vs Home Invader

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Waveski

Waveski

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Interesting story with an outcome that indicates that a seemingly helpless victim is not always helpless.
I am going to conclude that the shotgun involved in the fight was an unloaded display item as it was not discharged ; of course I could be wrong , perhaps the quarters were to close for discharge.

The comments by the Sheriff really caught my attention ...

https://www.foxnews.com/us/south-carolina-invader-elderly-woman-dies-scuffle-husband
 
Addendum : Here is a photo of the victim couple in better times , taken from a Daily Mail article...

Vietnam veteran, 82, bludgeons a knife-wielding home intruder, 61, to death with the butt of his shotgun after suspect attacked his wife
  • Herbert Parrish, 82, and Lois Parrish, 79, were both injured when Harold Runnels Jr, 61, forced his way into their South Carolina home
  • Lois said the man knocked on their door pretending to be looking for his dog, then pulled out a large knife and began attacking them
  • Lois suffered injury to her index finger and was slashed in the forehead
  • Her husband, a Vietnam War veteran, grabbed a shotgun off his wall and proceeded to strike Runnels in the head
  • Police found the suspect covered in blood and unconscious; he died at the hospital hours later
By Associated Press and Snejana Farberov For Dailymail.com

Published: 16:07 EST, 16 February 2021 | Updated: 16:13 EST, 18 February 2021



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An 82-year-old Vietnam War veteran from South Carolina has been hailed a hero for protecting his wife from a knife-wielding home intruder by bludgeoning him to death with the butt of his shotgun.

Herbert Parrish and his wife, 79-year-old Lois Parrish, told the Aiken County Sheriff's Office that a man from a neighboring mobile home park knocked on the back door of their home on Dicks Street in Jackson, South Carolina, on Monday afternoon under the pretense of looking for his lost chihuahua.

Lois said she told the man, later identified as 61-year-old Harold Runnels Jr, that she did not see his pet and went to close the door, at which point the suspect forced his way inside.

39450110-9267499-image-a-10_1613660802435.jpg
 
Boy, at 61, you'd think the perp could have chosen a less strenuous line of work....welp, problem solved....Kudos and respect the CSM!
 
While it's fun to celebrate a successful self defense action, we need to stay on topic for the forum. What can we learn from this?
 
A few things stand out to me here:

1. What purpose do some of the sheriff's comments serve, outside of politicking.

2. Don't answer your back door. Without seeing the layout of their home, I see no reason to open your back door to someone you don't know. I wouldn't open the front door, either, but someone deciding to knock at the back door should raise some flags.

3. Have your firearm on you and ready to go. Glad he was able to win this one, but he's also fortunate the intruder didn't have a firearm.
 
The local sheriff stated : "Of course, folks have the right to defend themselves if their lives are in danger, but the best thing to do is to call for help" ... note the "but".

A reasonable LEO - and the vast majority are reasonable - will admit that there is a lag in time from a 911 call and police response. Police are subject to logistics and the laws of physics. There was no time for these people to "call for help" !!!
Self defense against an immediate threat is the top priority.

Another lesson : A shotgun can be a formidable and effective weapon without it being discharged.

One more : Years ago , when Herbert Parrish proposed to Lois and she said "Yes" , she made a good decision.
 
Not answering your door to anyone you don't know strikes me as too paranoid. I live in an apartment, the front door opens inward, the storm door opens outward so it's between me and anyone on the outside.
Yes, he is from the era when the bayonet was park of Basic Training, and since the issued rifles were the M-1 and M-14, those butt strokes hurt.
 
Glad for a reasonably good outcome (better would have been the offender not choosing to attack...). As we celebrate an individual's survival it's wise to remember that most elderly would have had a very different outcome and it makes them particularly easy targets for bad actors.

As a retired cop (who's also a VN vet...) I hope someone points out to that local sheriff just how incompetent he makes himself sound... Yes, every enforcement agency prefers a cleaner outcome, and rarely admits that most incidents will be long over -before their first officer is on the scene - but their statements after the fact really come off badly.

You can never tell about the fight in some individuals.... Here's hoping I live out my life without that kind of excitement.
 
A good sales point for a door bell camera.
Seems to me there’s a good chance the lady knew the man, at least by sight, wasn’t it noted he was a neighbor or at least lived nearby.
 
BLACKHAWKNJ said:
Not answering your door to anyone you don't know strikes me as too paranoid.
Click to expand...

There are those who would say that owning firearms strikes them as too paranoid.

Your circumstances are not applicable to everyone. At my property up north I see few good reasons, if any, for someone to visit me unexpectedly.

And in 2021 with the availability of doorbell cameras, I don't see a good reason to open my door to someone I don't know.
 
Shanghai McCoy said:
Don't open your door,front or back, to anyone who you don't know or want to talk to.
Click to expand...
Good idea.

BLACKHAWKNJ said:
Not answering your door to anyone you don't know strikes me as too paranoid. I live in an apartment, the front door opens inward, the storm door opens outward so it's between me and anyone on the outside.
Click to expand...
I always answer the door, unless I can see that it is someone doing a survey.

SnowBlaZeR2 said:
And in 2021 with the availability of doorbell cameras, I don't see a good reason to open my door to someone I don't know.
Click to expand...
Nor do I.
 
Jeff White said:
we need to stay on topic for the forum. What can we learn from this?
Click to expand...

Having skills beyond shooting are valuable, but having the will to use the skills is vital. Mr. Parrish reacted promptly and violently to a violent attack using what he had at hand instead of freezing or deciding he needed to run for a loaded gun.
 
Waveski said:
A reasonable LEO - and the vast majority are reasonable - will admit that there is a lag in time from a 911 call and police response. Police are subject to logistics and the laws of physics. There was no time for these people to "call for help" !!!
Click to expand...

Then there are instances of a recent report that about 30% of 911 calls in St. Louis, MO, were either put on hold or dropped entirely.
People will ALWAYS need to be their own first line of defense.
 
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