LAWRENCEVILLE, GEORGIA — An armed man came to the aid of his neighbors after hearing gunshots coming from their home. What was happening inside was terrifying.
On the afternoon of May 16th, a woman answered her door when three men armed with guns forced their way inside.
“He started saying where’s the money at, where’s the money at or I’m going to blow your head off,” she asked [the reporter] not to use her name. “They put me back on the floor put a pillow over my head and told me don’t look up don’t say nothing else.”
The woman’s 15-year-old daughter walked into the room to see what all of the noise was about. When the mother looked up at her daughter, one of them men fired a shot near her head to make her put her head back down. “You think I’m [expletive] kidding?!” he yelled.
The men then made sexual remarks about raping the woman’s 15-year-old daughter, and one of them men began touching her shoulder. The mother told reporters; “He hit her in the head with the gun and put it in her mouth and told her to stop crying or he was going to blow her head off.” At one point, the men threatened to take the teen with them and rape her.
Just before the three men left, one of them fired a shot at the teen, nearly shooting her in the face. It was so close, she could feel the bullet fly past her.
After hearing the shots, an alert neighbor grabbed his gun and went outside to find the three men fleeing from the home. Shots were exchanged between one of the suspects and the armed neighbor, with the suspect firing first. The neighbor told police he fired all 15 rounds from his magazine. One of this shots hit it’s mark, but he was struck twice. His injuries are not life-threatening.
The injured suspect was dropped off at the hospital by his accomplices and quickly taken into custody. He was identified as 23-year-old Isreal Bland.
Witnesses were able to provide a description of the car as well as the license plate, leading to the arrest of all suspects involved.
The suspects face a long list of charges including armed robbery, aggravated assault, sexual battery, and home invasion.
The mother says her own feeling of helplessness during the attack is countered by her daughter’s strength: “She got so strong that I drew my strength off of her. She was just so strong after they put the gun in her mouth and told her to stop crying she never cried again.”
As an armed citizen, it’s up to us whether to involve ourselves in situations such as this. It was pretty apparent to this neighbor that others were in trouble, and he took it upon himself to enter the situation and risking his life. And had he not, these thugs could still be out committing more crimes.
