Balancing the equation.

Older people, so often victimized by younger, stronger criminals, are balancing the equation by exercising their right and arming themselves against potential criminal attacks. According to News Channel 5 in Nashville, Tennessee, late on September 30, 67-year-old Douglas Dabbs pulled into the driveway of his home and was exiting his pickup truck when two armed men came up to him in the darkness and tried to rob him. Nineteen-year-old Nibeyu Demissew Yosef and 23-year-old Jermichael Jerome Burgy brandished weapons and demanded money from Dabbs. The homeowner refused and, reaching back into his pickup console, withdrew a pistol designed to fire .410 shotgun rounds and opened fire on the thieves.

Yosef was wounded and transported by ambulance to Southern Hills Medical Center in Nashville, where he died shortly after arriving. Burgy took off running during the shooting, but police later located him also at Southern Hills Medical Center, where he was recovering from a non-critical gunshot wound to the head. Police said Burgy admitted to being with Yosef during the robbery attempt, so police charged him with attempted aggravated robbery.

Burgy, a convicted felon, was held on $80,000 bond. He had previously been found guilty of aggravated assault in 2006 and is on probation for that offense. Burgy also was convicted for unlawful gun possession and driving without a license. Yosef had been issued a total of four state misdemeanor citations in 2007 and 2008. Police said they were looking into whether this robbery may be linked to other recent robberies in the area.

Nashville police said that though Dabbs does not have a handgun carrying permit, the homeowner shot in self-defense when the armed suspects tried to rob him. No charges were anticipated.