> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://johnwlittle.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Gun Control Gets Personal - URL: https://johnwlittle.com/gun-control-gets-personal/ - Published: 2007-04-22T19:19:07.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-21T11:19:51.000Z - Description: After witnessing a violent attack on a neighbor, I recount an armed standoff that ended without a shot and explain why it reinforced my view that guns can save lives. - Author: John Little - Tags: Guns I was coming back from sushi with a friend and preparing to parallel park in front of a building in Midtown when my day turned into an episode of 24\. Just as I shifted into reverse, I heard a scream. I looked to my left and saw a scary-looking guy grab my neighbor, punch him, and throw him to the sidewalk. This is a nice part of town, surrounded by some not-so-nice parts. Still, we don’t see much violence. The area is full of sidewalk cafes and upscale shops. This was a departure from the norm, and it was about to get worse. I slammed my car into park, jumped out, and yelled something in an attempt to break things up. The attacker kept going. I didn’t want to get into this fight, but his partner was moving in, and it was obvious I was going to have to do something. My neighbor didn’t stand a chance. The attacker shoved him down the sidewalk, then slammed him hard onto the pavement. I decided to sprint toward the attacker’s back and try to spear him to the ground. Before I could, my neighbor came up with bloodied arms and legs, a .380, and a perfect shooting stance. “Don’t fucking do it. Back away,” he screamed. He was amped, and I was now in the middle of it. Literally. I didn’t know what had started the fight, and I didn’t know my neighbor well enough to be comfortable with him going Jack Bauer in my presence. I had a whole lot of factors to weigh and decisions to make in a few seconds. Everything up to that point had happened in about 15 to 20 seconds. My neighbor didn’t seem like a threat to me, so I held my ground and tried to be a voice of reason, or at least a witness. I told the attacker he was going to get shot, that he should leave, and that police were on their way. He wouldn’t back down. The whole thing was far more intense than I can convey in a blog post. It was bad enough that my parking attempt had turned into a prime-time crime drama. The fact that the attacker and his buddy weren’t running scared made it worse. My neighbor remained in his shooting stance, telling the guy to leave. The attacker didn’t care. He stood about ten feet away, extremely agitated, talking trash and acting like he was going to charge. “You won’t shoot me, pussy,” he screamed. We both kept telling him to back down before things got out of hand. His partner finally got the message and took off, but the rest of us were stuck in a no-win situation. Eventually, the attacker backed across the street. My neighbor lowered his gun, but neither of them stopped talking trash. I asked my neighbor if he was licensed. He was. Then I told him not to shoot the attacker as he was leaving, because that seemed like a very real possibility. I didn’t want his fear and anger to turn a confrontation he had survived into something much worse. Unfortunately, we were about to discover that the attacker wasn’t done. Just when it looked like he might leave, he charged back across the street at full speed. I was genuinely afraid for my safety at that point and tried to get out of the way, but he headed straight for my neighbor. The gun came back up. My neighbor retreated until his back was pressed against the building. I thought we had reached the point of no return. When an unarmed attacker is willing to charge a man with a gun, there is good reason to be scared. My neighbor kept shouting, “I fear for my safety. I will shoot you.” I braced for the shot, fully expecting it, but the attacker backed off at the last possible moment. Another foot and I was sure he would have been shot. I suspect most people, myself included, would have fired during that second charge. My neighbor gave this guy every opportunity to walk away. He didn’t go far. He crossed the three-lane street and grabbed a large rock. Given everything that had happened, I expected him to charge back and resume the fight. Instead, he threw it at us. I warned my neighbor, and the gun came up again, but the rock struck a parked car and did quite a bit of damage. Luckily, that was the end of the confrontation. The attacker ran off, and police rolled up a couple of minutes later. A lot of police. An off-duty officer who lives in our building was first on the scene and coordinated the search for the attackers. The police gave my neighbor surprisingly little trouble, though there were plenty of witnesses praising his restraint. Almost to a man, the officers we spoke with said they would have used deadly force in the same situation. From where I stood, I could understand why, especially after that second charge. I didn’t learn what had prompted the attack until later. My neighbor had seen the attacker and his buddy mugging another man. He yelled out his window for them to stop and called 911\. While he was talking to the dispatcher, they moved out of view, so he went down to the sidewalk to see which direction they were headed and relay it to police. Unfortunately, they hadn’t gone far. They immediately attacked him instead. He’d had his concealed-carry license for just two weeks, and I’d say he did quite well. He has only minor cuts and bruises. Nobody is dead. The initial victim was able to run away. And I didn’t have to get in there and scrap with these thugs in what would have been one ugly brawl. Whoever trained him did one hell of a job. I know this story won’t change any minds, but sometimes guns save lives. I got to witness that firsthand this afternoon.