Jewelry store shootout. (Exercising the Right).

On July 9th, a man and woman entered Norton's Jewelry in downtown Marietta, Georgia, and asked to see some expensive items. They left without making a purchase, but owner Ronnie Norton, 54, felt uneasy, suspecting that they may have been casing the store. He mentioned the incident, along with his concern, to wife Barbara that night.

The next afternoon, as they were preparing to close the store, Mrs. Norton noticed two men loitering outside. She told her husband, who promptly retrieved a .32-caliber handgun from its carrying case and slipped it into his belt. As the Daily Oklahoman for July 17th noted, "Norton always carries a gun or keeps one within arm's reach."

The two men eventually entered the store. One asked to see a $2,500 wedding set. As Mr. Norton walked toward the safe, with one of the men close behind, Mrs. Norton noticed the latter place his hand in his pocket. Suspecting the worst, she bolted for the front door, but was grabbed and thrown to the floor by the other man (who was also armed) before she could escape.

When Mr. Norton turned around, he found himself staring at a 9mm pistol pointed at his chest. As described by Daily Oklahoman reporter Ed Godfrey, "The gunman ordered Norton to the floor but he refused," whereupon the thug "repeated the order and waved the weapon in front of Norton, giving the jeweler a chance to grab the man's wrist and push the gun away."

During the ensuing skirmish a shot rang out and Dexter B. Dunnum, 23, slumped to the floor, seriously wounded. Norton believes that Dunnum may have been one of the persons who had raised his suspicions the day before.

As Dunnum fell, his accomplice began shooting at Norton, who initially thought that the shots were coming from Dunnum. When Norton realized they were coming from the accomplice, he ducked behind a counter and began trading shots.

Norton was not injured. Apparently, neither was the accomplice, who ran from the store, jumped into a waiting car with two other men who had stayed outside during the robbery attempt, and escaped.

Dunnum also attempted to flee, but collapsed and died on the sidewalk in front of the store. According to state Corrections Department records cited by the Daily Oklahoman, Dunnum's criminal record included convictions for first-degree robbery, grand larceny, and possession of stolen property.

Norton thought that he had killed the gunman with his own weapon, but it was subsequently confirmed that the fatal shot had come from Dunnum's gun during the scuffle. The news surprised Norton, as "I had it visualized I had pulled my own gun and done it."

Mr. Norton told reporter Godfrey that once the gunman pointed the gun at his chest, "From that point on, all I could think about was him shooting me in the back of the head. I thought I was going to die, and I had to do something."

Ronnie Norton now keeps a gun with him everywhere he goes, and told Godfrey that he may start carrying two. "I have it on me when I go to the shower," he asserted to underscore the point. "I will have it on me from now on. I don't ever see me not having that gun...."