Top 5 of 2025: Everyday people who turned the tables on armed thugs

Home invasion victim fights armed burglar, then turns the tables on him — with deadly results

A Houston home invasion victim fought an armed burglar on the night of April 9, police said — and the victim turned the tables on the crook, taking his gun away and then shooting him dead with it.

Police told KPRC-TV that three burglars targeted an apartment on Westridge Street near the NRG Stadium in the southeast part of the city a little after 9 p.m. One of the masked males knocked on the door while the two others tried breaking in through a window, the station said, citing a police news release. The residents called 911 by that time, KPRC reported.

Police said one of the burglars pointed a gun at the two tenants, and a fight ensued after one of the tenants knocked the gun out of the burglar's hands, the station reported.

During the fight, police told KPRC the burglar "pulled out a second gun from his waistband." But the 20-year-old apartment resident who was fighting the burglar wrestled the gun away from the suspect and shot him, the station said.

The two other burglars ran off by the time police arrived, KPRC said, adding that the third burglar, who was shot during the fight, died from his injuries. Police have identified the deceased burglar only as an 18-year-old male, the station said.

No charges have been filed against the homeowner, KPRC said, but police confirmed that the Harris County District Attorney's Office was contacted and that a grand jury would review the case.

Concealed-carrying garbage truck driver turns the tables on wannabe armed robbers — 1 of whom pays ultimate price

A concealed-carrying garbage truck driver turned the tables in late January on a pair of would-be armed robbers in Chicago, fatally shooting one of them and wounding the other, police said.

Chicago police told WLS-TV the shoot-out occurred around 5:15 a.m. Jan. 31, just steps away from a high school. The station, citing police, said a 28-year-old man working as a garbage truck driver was outside in the 900 block of South Homan Avenue when two males approached him, showed a gun, and announced a robbery.

But it seems the pair chose unwisely.

Police told WLS the suspects and the victim — who has a valid Firearm Owner's Identification card and concealed carry license — engaged in a shoot-out.

One of the suspects, 42, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene, the station reported. The other suspect, 20, was shot in the neck and was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital in critical condition, WLS noted.

The victim was taken to St. Anthony Hospital in good condition for an evaluation, the station said.

Police recovered two weapons from the scene, the station said, adding that Area Four detectives are investigating.

Gun-wielding thug demands Rolex from man. But victim allegedly is a retired wrestler — and the tables are about to turn.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told Blaze News that deputies responded just before 1 p.m. Oct. 22 to the 900 block of North Sweetzer Avenue in West Hollywood regarding an armed robbery call.

According to the victim, a dark-colored sedan was seen traveling down the street at a high rate of speed before stopping near his location, authorities said.

As you might expect, the driver didn't need directions.

The sheriff's department told Blaze News that an adult black male wearing a mask exited the vehicle holding a semiautomatic handgun and demanded the victim's Rolex watch. But the victim refused to comply, and a physical struggle ensued, authorities said.

Patrick McCloskey told KTLA-TV he was working from home when he heard a woman screaming from the sidewalk: "The chaos was so intense, I didn't know who jumped who. I ran to the door to see what was happening. At that point, I hear her yell, 'Get the gun, get the gun!'"

Apparently getting hold of the gun wasn't too difficult for the victim, as McCloskey explained to the station that the gunman "didn't know that the guy was a retired wrestler. So he was able to get the gun off the guy and wrestle him down."

Video of the incident's aftermath shows the victim — who didn't want to be identified — telling a deputy that he grabbed the gunman's wrist and put him on the ground before taking the gun away, KTLA reported. The victim's girlfriend then threw the gun over a nearby fence, and he held the suspect down until police arrived, the station said.

The sheriff's department told Blaze News that a second adult male suspect exited the vehicle during the struggle but fled the scene in the dark-colored sedan prior to the arrival of deputies. Responding deputies recovered the gun and took the suspect into custody without further incident, officials said.

"I was told the gun was loaded," McCloskey noted to KTLA. "The guy who is sort of the hero in all of this, who was able to pin the guy down, told me he saw a bullet in the chamber."

McCloskey added to the station that the retired wrestler showed no mercy in his struggle with the gunman: "At one point the guy's arm got dislocated, and he just held him down."

5 armed thugs force their way into residence — but gun-toting homeowner isn't about to back down

When five armed males forced their way into a residence in Los Banos, California, in late March, the homeowner also got himself a gun — and won the confrontation, shooting two of the intruders.

Police Chief Ray Reyna told KFSN-TV that "the homeowner approached the intruders with a gun he legally owns," after which the chief said a shoot-out ensued with the homeowner shooting two of the suspects.

A dispatcher on police scanner audio indicated that one suspect was wounded in the leg and another was wounded in the stomach, KFSN reported. The two suspects were in custody at a Modesto area hospital where they were expected to survive, the station said. Los Banos is about an hour south of Modesto.

KFSN said police were searching for the other three suspects who escaped the home through a bedroom window and then took off in a car.

The chief told the station that at least four people were inside the home at the time of the incident, and they weren't hurt.

Reyna added to KFSN that he has reason to believe the intruders are not from the area, and he said police are looking into a possible motive.

Thug picks wrong victim to allegedly point weapon at and chase — and the tables painfully turn on him

Deputies from the Oneida County Sheriff's Office in upstate New York responded to a reported physical altercation involving a weapon in Vernon on the evening of Dec. 1, officials said. Vernon is about 40 minutes east of Syracuse.

It was reported that an individual was acting erratically and pointed what was believed to be a handgun at two victims, officials said. The two victims tried to retreat into a nearby residence, but the suspect advanced toward them with the weapon, officials said.

A fight then broke out between the suspect and one of the victims, officials said, and the victim managed to get the weapon away from the suspect. Arriving deputies took the suspect into custody without issue, officials said.

The suspect was identified as Glenn A. Wallis, 40, of Vernon, officials said, adding that Wallis was taken to the Kurt B. Wyman Law Enforcement Building.

Wallis was charged with two counts of menacing in the second degree — a class A misdemeanor — along with one count of harassment in the second degree, which officials defined as a "violation."

However, officials said a member of the Criminal Investigation Unit also charged Wallis with one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, which is a class D felony. According to WUTR-TV, the weapon that Wallis was brandishing was a pistol-style pellet gun. Wallis was then taken to and held at the Oneida County Correctional Facility.