Armed Dad Stops Attack On Daughter

 

A Georgia man is in the hospital after he was shot while allegedly attacking his girlfriend, and the woman’s father is one who pulled the trigger. Officials with the Habersham County Sheriffs Office say they were called to home Wednesday evening on reports of a shooting, and when they arrived they found 26-year old Justin Rachal with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. According to deputies, 55-year old Cory Merchant was taken into custody for the shooting, but investigators soon determined that Merchant was acting to protect his daughter from an assault.

After interviewing Merchant and his daughter, investigators determined Rachal had committed “several acts of violence against the victim.” They deemed the shooting “justified” to protect both the victim and the young girl at the residence from further harm.

The Habersham County Oct 6th jail report initially listed Merchant as charged, but the sheriff’s office pulled back the report and released a correction removing his name.

“We ended up not charging him because his actions did not constitute a criminal act,” Lt. Kogod tells Now Habersham.

Rachal, on the other hand, is facing several charges, including one count of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and third-degree cruelty to children.

The case is just one of several defensive gun uses reported around the country in recent days. In fact, the same day that Merchant defended his daughter from that domestic assault, police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana booked a 20-year old man accused of trying to rob a woman who thought she was selling him an Xbox. Dane Johnson is now facing armed robbery and attempted murder charges, but thankfully his intended victim was able to fight back during the attack.

The victim told police Johnson contacted her earlier that afternoon to buy an Xbox she listed on Facebook Marketplace. He agreed to meet at her apartment when Johnson got off of work later that evening.

When Johnson arrived at the apartment, he approached the victim and held a black pistol to her head, the affidavit said. The victim dropped the gaming console and fled to her car. Johnson picked up the Xbox and began shooting at the victim.

The victim was able to get her hands on her own pistol, fire several shots at Johnson, then flee to her car and call police.

Police were later notified of a man with gunshot wounds being treated at Oschner Hospital. He said he had been shot while walking on North Sherwood Forest Boulevard.

Officials took pictures of the man treated at Oschner and the victim immediately identified him as the man who robbed and shot at her.

In Sumter, South Carolina, a woman who was forced to shoot and kill a home invader will not face charges after police determined that she was acting in self-defense.

Sumter police said in a Facebook post that Eugene Rhinehart III, 31, was transported to Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital with a gunshot wound, where he later died. Police say Rhinehart entered the woman’s home on Robney Drive around 4:15 a.m. through an unlocked door, and then began punching a 43-year-old woman inside the house.

The woman managed to get to a firearm kept in the house, and shot Rhinehart.

It’s amazing how little coverage some of these defensive gun uses receive, even in the local press. I don’t know about you, but I find these stories of self-defense to be pretty compelling examples of the need to be aware and prepared to defend yourself. It’s a shame the anti-gun media doesn’t feel the same, but that’s one reason why we’re here; to shine a spotlight on the armed citizens that the CNNs and the MSNBCs of the world would rather ignore.

Armed Dad Stops Attack On Daughter – Bearing Arms