Interesting case. Why didn’t the gun fire when the woman first pulled the trigger? Two possibilities. One: the cartridge in the chamber of the gun may have had a “hard primer”, one that did not ignite when first struck by the firing pin and consequently needed multiple strikes to make it ignite and detonate the main powder charge in the cartridge, propelling the bullet out of the barrel. Two (and most likely): the woman had the gun’s safety on so that it wouldn’t fire no matter how many times she pulled on the trigger. After frantically pulling the trigger numerous times she must have finally managed to flick off the safety lever allowing the hammer to fall on the firing pin, driving the firing pin into the cartridges primer and causing the gun to fire a shot into the perpetrator’s throat.. FYI: the gun is a Beretta Tomcat .32 ACP caliber. It has a safety lever on the left side of the gun that is accessible to the shooter’s right hand thumb (see photograph below). You disengage the Tomcat’s safety by pushing down on it with your thumb. Since the Tomcat is double-action all you have to do for the first shot is pull the trigger and it will cock the hammer and then immediately release the hammer permitting it to strike the firing pin detonating the cartridge in the firing chamber of the barrel. The gun will then cock the hammer as it loads a fresh round from the magazine in the grip into the firing chamber automatically for each subsequent shot so all you have to do is pull the trigger to fire. The Tomcat can also be carried “cocked and locked”, with the hammer already cocked, the safety on and a cartridge in the chamber. As seems to be the case in the police evidence photograph above, so that could be the way the woman carried it, although it may also be carried with the hammer down and the safety on. Lesson Learned: when you carry a handgun with a safety lever on the frame like the Tomcat you should practice thumbing off the safety as you “present” (AKA “draw”) your gun and point it at your target. Best to wait until you have the gun pointed at the target to depress the safety. Less chance of accidently pulling the trigger prematurely and shooting yourself as you draw from concealment that way.
When seconds count, you’d better have a way to defend yourself because no one else will be there to help.
According to reports, it came down to a matter of life and death when a Kentucky woman was followed by a man in the mall. When she entered the garage elevator, as shown in the video below, the man followed behind. Neither of them said anything to each other and the woman knew instinctively what was about to happen.
As soon as the elevator door opened she bolted for her car.
The stalker, John Ganobick, gave chase.
Surveillance cameras played in court this week from the Fourth Street Live food court show the chilling moment when Ganobick began to follow the woman.
She told Louisville Metro Police she sensed instantly that she was being stalked.
‘The victim asked the suspect what floor he needed, and the victim described the suspect as being out of it, possibly high or drunk, but when he said the sixth floor, the victim stated she became nervous,’ states the police report read out in court.
Appearing in court sporting a breathing tube that is a reminder of his injuries after the attempted attack, Ganobick has been charged with attempted murder, robbery and kidnapping.
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She told police when the elevator reached her floor, she started running to her car, but he chased her.
The woman got in her car and he pushed in behind her and put his hand over her mouth, according to ABC 7.
Ganobick slammed her head into an unknown object, told her to ‘give me all your money’, and showed her a knife, the arrest report said.
‘The victim stated she was afraid that she would be raped or murdered and as she fell across the passenger seat of her vehicle, she was able to reach into her purse and grab her gun and attempt to fire a shot at the suspect,’ the report states.
During the violent struggle the woman, who was being held at knife-point, reached into her purse and pulled out a gun.
According to the woman she pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire. So she kept on pulling the trigger till it did.
‘Fearing for her life, the victim kept pulling the trigger of her gun, which finally fired, and struck the suspect in the neck.’
He recoiled, but according to the woman, collected himself despite his injury and started to come towards her again.
‘The victim described being afraid that the suspect was turning to come back at her and she kept pulling and struck the suspect in the buttocks,’ states the police report.
Surveillance footage captured the man coming down the parking garage’s stairs bleeding from the neck.
Video Report:
Despite the size of the attacker this small tool was the great equalizer in this fight:
Even this tiny, small caliber weapon was powerful enough to stop a predator from inflicting injury or death on his perceived prey.
For those who would ban this woman from carrying a firearm to protect herself, we suggest considering what would have transpired had she not had a weapon to defend herself. Perhaps she would merely have been robbed. Or, she could well have been kidnapped, raped and murdered.
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