Armed Residents Save Elderly Man's Life

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - Armed Gwinnett County residents packing heat, took action after hearing a man's cries for help. They credit their guns with saving the elderly man's life.

"Help, he is trying to kill me, help me, help me." Those are the chilling words Karen Duncan heard as she walked up her friend's driveway in Lawrenceville Monday afternoon.

"She kind of started running towards the house," said her friend, Ron Childress. "I could tell something was wrong and she hit the doorbell in a panic."

Childress said when he opened the door he heard the same terrifying words. Duncan said she grabbed her purse with her gun inside and took off to find the man. "As I got closer I realized that there is this elderly gentleman laying on the ground with a younger man on top of him with a knife," said Duncan. "I see blood and this big old knife."

Duncan said the man was trying to stab another man around 90-years-old. She said she told him to stop, but he did not listen.

"Finally I said, 'I'm getting ready to shoot you' and then he stopped and he looked at me and he tossed the knife away," said Duncan. Her friend, Childress, who is a former law enforcement officer showed up right behind her.

"I said 'put your arms out, put your legs out and stay right where you are, do not move,'" said Childress. While Childress pointed his gun at the man Duncan called 911.

Childress said he is convinced that if Duncan had not shown up when she did, the elderly man would have been killed and credits being armed with saving the man's life.

"You cannot protect everybody, police can't do it, they're good after the fact, but they're no good to you when it happens generally," said Childress. "They're not going to be there so you need to be ready to protect yourself and others because what happened yesterday is a perfect example of how a citizen can protect other citizens," said Childress.