Wednesday, August 6, 2014

This gun also saved lives


In January 2013, I wrote an essay on this blog called This gun saved lives.  It was about a woman who was at home with two small children when a stranger broke into the house.  The woman was armed with a handgun, and on the advice of the police, she and the children tried to hide in the attic of the house.  The intruder apparently heard them, because he went upstairs, looking for them.

Unfortunately for the intruder, the woman was armed with a handgun, and she had been taught how to use it by her loving husband.  The intruder was shot five times and later arrested.  The woman and her two children were not harmed because she defended herself.


This is what happened at a Philadelphia hospital in late July

As reported by the website Philly.com on July 26th.  I copied the first seven paragraphs of their article and added a comment after the sixth paragraph.
A troubled patient opened fire on a caseworker and psychiatrist in a small office at a unit of Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Delaware County on Thursday afternoon, police said, leading the doctor to draw his own weapon and shoot the assailant.

The confrontation left the caseworker, 53-year-old Theresa Hunt, dead and the 52-year-old psychiatrist, a veteran doctor at the hospital whom sources identified as Lee Silverman, with a graze wound to the head.  The patient, Richard Plotts, was in critical condition Thursday night from three gunshot wounds.

The violence sent a shock wave through the normally quiet campus of the medical center on the border of Darby Borough and Yeadon.  Police vehicles swarmed the scene and armed officers charged through the building - the Sister Marie Lenahan Wellness Center, across Lansdowne Avenue from the main hospital - to evacuate doctors, nurses, and patients waiting for routine appointments.

Authorities said they believed Silverman shot Plotts three times in the torso and arm.  Silverman was expected to be released from the hospital Thursday night and recover fully.

Plotts, of Upper Darby, who appeared to have a long criminal record, was undergoing surgery Thursday night at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.  If he survives, he will be charged Friday with murder, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan said.

It was not clear why Silverman, a doctor for nearly 25 years, was armed at the office.  Bernice Ho, a spokeswoman for Mercy Fitzgerald, said Thursday it was against hospital policy for anyone other than security guards to carry weapons.

[I bet the hospital administrator is already rethinking this policy.]

Donald Molineux, chief of the Yeadon Police Department, said that if Silverman returned fire and wounded Plotts, he "without a doubt saved lives."
Without any doubt whatsoever.  This doctor, armed with nothing but a handgun, his firearms training, and some simple common sense, saved lives.

Other news sources have reported that Mr. Plotts had over a dozen extra bullets in his possession when he was shot.  It's not too hard to draw the conclusion that he intended to kill more than just one person.


And this is what happened in a Baltimore hospital in September 2010

As reported by ABC News on September 16, 2010.

Please note that when this doctor was attacked by a man who had a handgun, the doctor was unarmed, and so, he was badly wounded.

Please also note that this article has its' own links to other articles.
A gunman upset over news about his mother's medical condition opened fire inside Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital Thursday morning, wounding a doctor before fatally shooting his mom and then turning the gun on himself.

Warren Davis, 50, the alleged gunman, grew "overwhelmed" when the doctor told him about the care of his mother, Jean Davis, and pulled a small semi-automatic handgun from his waistband at about 11:11 a.m., according to Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld.

"[Davis] was receiving some news about the care and condition of his mother just outside the doorway of [her] room and he became emotionally distraught and reacted," said Bealefeld.
Davis then "fired a single gunshot that struck the doctor in the lower chest, upper abdomen," said Bealefeld.

ABC News has confirmed that the injured doctor is Dr. David Cohen, an orthopedic physician who specializes in spine surgery, osteoporosis and scoliosis, according to his biography on the hospital's website. He was rushed to the operating room and is expected to make a full recovery.

"The doctor collapsed just outside the doorway of the room and Mr. Davis was last seen running into the room brandishing the handgun in the direction of his mother, who was confied to her bed," said Bealefeld.

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Hillary, the timely presence of the U.S. Sixth Fleet could have made a very big difference on September 11th, 2012.

Just look how much difference one Philadelphia doctor made a few weeks ago when he was armed with one handgun.

Only one person died from angry gunfire, and the angry gunman was injured, arrested, and he will be prosecuted on the charge of murder.