Gun Rule #1

 

Do you Remember the #1 Gun Rule? ‘Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he’s too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.’   Well, here’s the proof:  The 71-year-old retired Marine who opened fire on two robbers at a Plantation, FL , sub shop late Wednesday, killing one and critically wounding the other, is described as John Lovell, a former pilot for two presidents. He doesn’t drink, he doesn’t smoke, he works out everyday. Lovell was a man of action Wednesday night. According to Plantation police, two masked gunmen came into the Subway at 1949 N. Pine Rd. Just after 11 p.m. There was a lone diner — Lovell, who was finishing his meal. After robbing the cashier, the two men attempted to shove Lovell into a bathroom and rob him as well.  They got his money. But then Lovell pulled his handgun, opened fire, shooting one of the thieves in the head and chest and the other in the head. When police arrived, they found one of the men in the shop. K-9 units found the other in the bushes of a nearby business.  They also found cash strewn around the front of the sandwich shop according to Detective Robert Rettig of the Plantation Police Department. Both men were taken to Broward General Medical Center, where one, Donicio Arrindell, 22, of North Lauderdale died. The other, 21-year-old Frederick Gadson of Fort Lauderdale is in critical but stable condition.  A longtime friend of Lovell was not surprised to hear what happened. ”He’d give you the shirt off his back, and he’d be mad if someone tried to take the shirt off your back,” he said. Lovell worked as a pilot for the Marines, flying former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.  He later worked as a pilot for Pan Am and Delta. Lovell is not married and does not have children.  He is not expected to be charged, authorities said ”He was in fear for his life,” Rettig said. ‘These criminals ought to realize that most men in their 70’s have military backgrounds and aren’t intimidated by idiots.  The only thing he could be charged with is participating in an unfair fight. One 71 -year young Marine against two punks. Two head shots and one center-body-mass shot – good shooting! That’ll teach them not to get between a Marine and his meal. Don’t you just love a story with a happy ending?   (Florida law allows law-abiding citizens to carry a concealed weapon.)   Semper Fi

 

 

 

Trained-Armed-Lucky

After receiving a frantic call from a family member who resides close to the crime scene, I was very interested in the facts and slant given in the stroy.

 

What still sticks in my mind is the comment about the residents being armed and that they were lucky. The first reading seemed to say they were lucky that their gun was not used against them. But as the criminals were already armed, I believe they were lucky they were as well.

 

Time for Los Angeles to re-evaluate its anti gun mind set and encourage more residents to the trained, armed and “lucky”.

 

David Hernandez

Valley Village, CA 91607

 

Lucky or Prepared?

Woodland Hills intruder shot, killed

By Brandon Lowrey, Staff Writer

 

WOODLAND HILLS – One of several men who stormed a suburban home Friday was shot dead by one of the residents, who blasted the intruders as they entered, in an incident police were calling a home-invasion robbery attempt.

Three or four men kicked in the door of the house in the 24300 block of Burbank Boulevard, setting off the gunfight, Los Angeles police said. Aside from the one intruder killed, no one was injured.

“Obviously, these residents here do have a right to protect themselves,” said Los Angeles police Lt. Steven Sambar. “Those people are extremely lucky.”

Police were searching for two or three other suspects, described as African-American men in their 20s.

Gunfire and screams pierced the neighborhood’s usual quiet about 2:45 p.m., after the men first knocked on the home’s front door – then kicked it in, Los Angeles police Sgt. Jeff Nuttall said.

Inside was a couple in their 60s and their two sons in their 20s. At least one of the sons was armed, and he opened fire, hitting one of the intruders.

The man died in the doorway, clutching a revolver, Nuttall said. His identity was not immediately available.

The intruders shot back, but didn’t hit anyone, then fled. They may have escaped in a silver sedan, Sambar said.

Inside the home, shell casings from various firearms littered the floor and bullet holes peppered the walls, he said.

Police detained a man about a block away but said he was not considered suspect.

Investigators have no reason to believe the suspects knew the victims beforehand, Nuttall said.

Asked how often victims of home invasion are able to chase off their attackers, Nuttall said: “Unfortunately, it’s very rare.”

Violent crime is rare in this middle-class neighborhood of single-family homes, LAPD Lt. Steven Sambar said.

“We don’t have that type a crime in this area, so it’s very unusual,” he said.

A police barricade stranded neighboring residents, who were unable to return home for several hours until authorities finished combing the scene.

Only a car crash a couple of years ago had caused so much commotion here, said Sharon Friedman, a resident of eight years. “That was the most exciting thing that ever happened here,” she said.

“You don’t ever see any policemen around here,” said Carmen Kaplan, 68, who has lived in a nearby house for 37 years. “I tell everybody I live in the safest part of the Valley ever. My kids grew up here. I walk here every night.

“It’s just a very sad thing.”

brandon.lowrey@dailynews.com 818-713-3699