Grandmother shoots intruder in north Arlington
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 10:13 am
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/13121933.htm
"Posted on Wed, Nov. 09, 2005
Grandmother shoots intruder in north Arlington
By BILL MILLER and NATHANIEL JONES
Star-Telegram Staff Writers
A 66-year-old grandmother shot an intruder in her north Arlington home early Wednesday as he grabbed for her gun, she told police.
Susan Gaylord Buxton said the training she received to earn her concealed-handgun permit saved her life.
"If I didn't have a gun to protect myself, I probably wouldn't be here," she said.
The man, identified as Christopher Lessner, 22, was under police guard Wednesday at Harris Methodist Fort Worth, where he was being treated for a leg wound, said Christy Gilfour, Arlington police spokeswoman.
Buxton said she used a .38-caliber revolver. Gilfour confirmed that the woman has a gun permit.
Lessner was shot sometime after 12:30 a.m. He had initially fled from officers at about 11:15 p.m. Tuesday during a traffic stop on Interstate 30 at Fielder Road, Gilfour said.
Buxton told officers that she was letting her dog out about 12:30 a.m. when she noticed a muddy footprint on her back porch.
Buxton told police that she usually carried her gun because she was afraid of coyotes attacking her dogs.
She said her 28-year-old granddaughter, who was in the house, heard glass breaking. Buxton also noticed that her cats were out of their room and that items in another room had been moved, police said.
When she yanked open the door of her front closet and pulled a coat away, she saw the face of a man, who motioned for her to be quiet, the woman said.
He then "jumped out of there like a jack-in-a-box,'' she said.
She told him to get on the floor or she'd shoot. He fumbled with the front door with one hand and reached for the gun with the other, Buxton said.
She then fired her revolver, which was loaded with hollow-point bullets, she said.
Buxton said she could have killed the man because her concealed-carry instructors taught her to aim for the torso. But she said she aimed for his leg. He was hit in the upper leg, police said.
"He said, 'Ow, you shot me!''' Buxton said.
Police said the woman fired another shot but missed.
Gilfour said officers searching for the suspect heard a gunshot, and dispatchers soon directed them to a 911 caller on Northaven Court, a cul-de-sac southwest of I-30 and Fielder.
"We found him a couple houses to the east, lying on a balcony,'' Gilfour said.
The black Chevrolet pickup Lessner was driving was reported stolen out of Euless, Gilfour said. She did not know his address.
During the traffic stop, Gilfour said, officers tried to pull the truck over for speeding, but it turned north onto Fielder and into a neighborhood north of the interstate.
Officers said Lessner leaped from the moving truck on Parkcrest Terrace, which is just east of Randol Mill Park.
"The suspect climbed an eight-foot fence, jumped over a chain-link fence and ran into a heavily wooded area,'' Gilfour said.
Officers combed the neighborhood for about one hour and 15 minutes, street by street, with a Fort Worth police helicopter overhead and search dogs. At some point the man crossed to the south side of the interstate.
Gilfour said Lessner faces charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, evading arrest, criminal mischief and criminal trespass.
She said police "do not anticipate" filing charges against Buxton"
"Posted on Wed, Nov. 09, 2005
Grandmother shoots intruder in north Arlington
By BILL MILLER and NATHANIEL JONES
Star-Telegram Staff Writers
A 66-year-old grandmother shot an intruder in her north Arlington home early Wednesday as he grabbed for her gun, she told police.
Susan Gaylord Buxton said the training she received to earn her concealed-handgun permit saved her life.
"If I didn't have a gun to protect myself, I probably wouldn't be here," she said.
The man, identified as Christopher Lessner, 22, was under police guard Wednesday at Harris Methodist Fort Worth, where he was being treated for a leg wound, said Christy Gilfour, Arlington police spokeswoman.
Buxton said she used a .38-caliber revolver. Gilfour confirmed that the woman has a gun permit.
Lessner was shot sometime after 12:30 a.m. He had initially fled from officers at about 11:15 p.m. Tuesday during a traffic stop on Interstate 30 at Fielder Road, Gilfour said.
Buxton told officers that she was letting her dog out about 12:30 a.m. when she noticed a muddy footprint on her back porch.
Buxton told police that she usually carried her gun because she was afraid of coyotes attacking her dogs.
She said her 28-year-old granddaughter, who was in the house, heard glass breaking. Buxton also noticed that her cats were out of their room and that items in another room had been moved, police said.
When she yanked open the door of her front closet and pulled a coat away, she saw the face of a man, who motioned for her to be quiet, the woman said.
He then "jumped out of there like a jack-in-a-box,'' she said.
She told him to get on the floor or she'd shoot. He fumbled with the front door with one hand and reached for the gun with the other, Buxton said.
She then fired her revolver, which was loaded with hollow-point bullets, she said.
Buxton said she could have killed the man because her concealed-carry instructors taught her to aim for the torso. But she said she aimed for his leg. He was hit in the upper leg, police said.
"He said, 'Ow, you shot me!''' Buxton said.
Police said the woman fired another shot but missed.
Gilfour said officers searching for the suspect heard a gunshot, and dispatchers soon directed them to a 911 caller on Northaven Court, a cul-de-sac southwest of I-30 and Fielder.
"We found him a couple houses to the east, lying on a balcony,'' Gilfour said.
The black Chevrolet pickup Lessner was driving was reported stolen out of Euless, Gilfour said. She did not know his address.
During the traffic stop, Gilfour said, officers tried to pull the truck over for speeding, but it turned north onto Fielder and into a neighborhood north of the interstate.
Officers said Lessner leaped from the moving truck on Parkcrest Terrace, which is just east of Randol Mill Park.
"The suspect climbed an eight-foot fence, jumped over a chain-link fence and ran into a heavily wooded area,'' Gilfour said.
Officers combed the neighborhood for about one hour and 15 minutes, street by street, with a Fort Worth police helicopter overhead and search dogs. At some point the man crossed to the south side of the interstate.
Gilfour said Lessner faces charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, evading arrest, criminal mischief and criminal trespass.
She said police "do not anticipate" filing charges against Buxton"
