Category: Crime thwarted
‘You done f**ked up, son!’ Cop rubs it in after capturing homicide suspect armed with handgun modified as fully automatic
Atlanta police officers from a special unit were seen on dashcam and bodycam videos converging upon and tackling a homicide suspect who was armed with a handgun modified as fully automatic, police said in a video released earlier this month.
Police said officers with the Auto Crimes Enforcement Unit were alerted to a homicide suspect driving in the area of Pickfair Way SW near Ashwood Avenue NW on Oct. 28.
‘Ram our f**kin’ car?’
The officers located the suspect’s vehicle and then used their patrol vehicles to box in the suspect’s vehicle, police said.
However, the suspect rammed patrol vehicles in front of him and behind him in an attempt to escape before fleeing from his vehicle while armed with a handgun that had been modified to be a fully automatic weapon, police said.
Image source: Atlanta Police Department video screenshot
While running from his car, the suspect threw the gun into an adjacent wooded area, after which officers took him down to the street.
Image source: Atlanta Police Department
“Get your ass on the ground!” one officer yelled at the suspect.
Once lying upon the street, the suspect quickly gave himself up, telling the arresting officer, “You got me!’
But the officer rubbed in the arrest just a bit, telling the suspect as he handcuffed him, “You done f**ked up, son! … Ram our f**kin’ car? We ain’t the normal police, pimp!”
Content warning: Language:
Police said the suspect was identified as 37-year-old Keith Hawkins, who was wanted for his involvement in a homicide that occurred at 700 Eloise Street SE on April 9.
Hawkins was charged with murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (two counts), possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a machine gun, willful obstruction of law enforcement officers, and operating a vehicle without insurance, police said.
Image source: Atlanta Police Department
Hawkins was taken to the Fulton County Jail for processing, police added.
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Dad springs into action after crook breaks into his home in middle of night — then heads to where his kids sleep
“Heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs,” Kevin Root recalled to KDVR-TV about a heart-stopping 3:30 a.m. encounter at his family’s Denver home last month. “As a parent, you know your kids’ footsteps, and this was not any of our kids.”
The unsettling noises woke up Kevin and his wife, Sarah, the station said — and Kevin got up to find out where the sounds were coming from.
‘It feels unsettling that something so invasive and violating is permitted to happen and the person is back on the street.’
“We had our door slightly cracked, and I saw the shadow go by, and that just is a sinking feeling,” Sarah added to KDVR.
Turns out an intruder had broken the lock on the Roots’ front door — and now he was on the staircase, the station said.
“As I heard him coming up, I said, ‘Who is this?’ I just yelled, thinking, ‘Let me just let him know, like, we know you’re here. We’re awake,’” Kevin recalled to KDVR.
The Roots told the station the intruder kept silent and was heading to where their children were sleeping.
“As a mom, it’s just your worst nightmare,” Sarah shared with KDVR. “It’s terrifying.”
Neither parent had any idea if the intruder was armed, either, the station said — but Kevin knew there was only one thing to do.
“There comes a moment where you’re like, ‘This is me. I’m a husband and a father; it’s on me to do something,'” he told KDVR.
The station noted that while Sarah called 911 from their bedroom, Kevin got physical: “It was just one of those, like, ‘This is my moment.’ So I jumped out of the bedroom, and I pushed him down the stairs.”
More from KDVR:
He says the man fell all the way to the bottom, knocking some pictures off the wall and leaving a dent in the molding. He took a video as police arrived minutes later while the man laid on the floor.
The man eventually went peacefully into custody; all he took from the home was a fall decoration from the porch.
“We’re just thankful that everyone is OK,” Sarah added to the station.
Charley Cooley, 36, faced a felony second-degree robbery charge, KDVR reported, adding that his record shows he already had been arrested in September for another felony robbery charge in connection with an incident earlier in 2025.
Fox News reported that after his September arrest, Cooley was released just days later.
“We found out later about his criminal background, and that stirred up a whole new layer of emotion,” Sarah added to the cable network. “It feels unsettling that something so invasive and violating is permitted to happen and the person is back on the street.”
But it gets even worse.
The Denver District Attorney’s Office told Fox News that a judge set Cooley’s bond at $5,000 property/surety or $500 cash following the break-in at the Roots’ home.
Sure enough, Cooley posted $500 cash, the cable network said, citing KDVR.
“Multiple offenses, and he’s been released both times,” Kevin shared with Fox News. “The reality is he’s back out and has a history of doing this.”
Sarah added to the cable network that “we hope there’s justice and that he’s placed somewhere that prevents him from hurting anyone else.”
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Man fatally shoots 2 in Texas — tells cops pair followed him, tried to block his car, physically attacked him
Two males were fatally shot Friday night in Texas — and the man who pulled the trigger said the pair followed him, tried to block his car, and physically attacked him.
Deputies with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office told KTRK-TV the shooter said he acted in self-defense.
‘Looks like the 2 attackers had road rage. Is he not supposed to defend himself? Whatever it takes.’
Deputies responded around 8:45 p.m. to reports of a possible roadway shooting on Greengate Drive near Spring Stuebner Road in the Spring area, KHOU-TV said.
First responders told KTRK they found two males with gunshot wounds in the 22100 block of Greengate Drive; one died at the scene, and the other was taken to a hospital where he died.
The shooter said the pair followed his car for a while and tried to block him when he reached the neighborhood where the final confrontation took place, the sheriff’s office told KTRK.
Deputies added to KTRK that all three exited their vehicles, and the man who pulled the trigger said the pair started kicking him and his car.
“The shooter in the incident stayed on scene and surrendered himself to arriving deputies,” Sgt. Jason Brown noted to KHOU. The man who pulled the trigger is cooperating with investigators, the sheriff’s office told KTRK.
The fatally shot males have been identified as 57-year-old Timothy Underwood and 59-year-old Keith McDonald, KTRK said, citing the sheriff’s office.
No charges have been filed, officials told KTRK, and the shooter was not in custody.
However, the case was under investigation, and the district attorney’s office will review it, the sheriff’s office told KTRK.
When asked if the two males were armed, Brown told KHOU, “Not that we know of. We’re still in the process of going through the scene … but as of right now, we don’t believe that they were armed.”
Reactions under KHOU’s Facebook post about the fatal shootings were mixed:
- “They don’t have to be armed to do bodily harm or even kill you,” one commenter said.
- “They do if you’re in a car … because why don’t you just jump the curb to get away,” another commenter countered. “How are unarmed men going to hurt you if the doors are locked?”
- “FAFO,” another user bluntly noted before later adding, “Looks like the 2 attackers had road rage. Is he not supposed to defend himself? Whatever it takes.”
- “IDK … call me crazy, but if I felt my life was in danger, I would not park my car and get out of it … would you?” another commenter wondered. “Self-defense doesn’t work here. He was trigger happy and probably had road rage.”
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Armed Florida homeowner fights back against 4 thugs who reportedly try to force their way into his residence
Four unidentified individuals arrived at a south Florida home Saturday evening and tried to force their way inside, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office told WPLG-TV.
However, the homeowner was armed with a gun and opened fire.
‘Everyone has a duty and a right to defend themselves when attacked. Good job homeowner!!!’
Indeed, gunshots and a male hollering in pain are audible on two home surveillance videos that are part of WPLG’s report. The station in a separate story said it all went down in the area of Southwest 141st Street and 110th Avenue in Miami-Dade’s Richmond Heights neighborhood around 6:40 p.m.
The homeowner struck one of the subjects in the upper body, deputies told WPLG, adding that the other three individuals fled the scene in an unknown direction.
The wounded male died at a nearby hospital, the station said, adding that the Homicide Bureau of the sheriff’s office has taken over the investigation.
The mother of the fatally shot male told WPLG the next morning in the separate story that she’s “in shock, disbelief” and “hurt.”
The mother, who did not provide her name, added to the station that while she was told that her son “tried to break into someone’s house,” she also noted, “That’s not him.”
Commenters under WPLG’s Facebook post about the mother’s reaction offered a number of opinions in the aftermath:
- “I am truly sorry for this mother, but the son apparently was involved with the wrong people and participated in a fatally stupid crime,” one commenter wrote. “No doubt that the homeowner feared for his life with four men trying to force their way inside. Either she really didn’t know her son at all, or he was easily misled.”
- “I’m pretty sure she is distraught,” another user observed. “But the bottom line is her son committed a crime. I feel bad for her, but not for him. Break into my home and find out.”
- “Everyone has a duty and a right to defend themselves when attacked,” another commenter declared. “Good job homeowner!!!”
- “The son should have made better choices, and he would still be here,” another user noted.
- “Play FAFO in Florida and this is the result!!!” another commenter exclaimed. “Love our freedom to protect ourselves.”
Authorities were continuing to search for the three remaining suspects, WPLG reported, adding that those with information can call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
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Elderly NYC man fatally shoots career criminal who allegedly lunged at him — and gets prison sentence for infuriating reason
An elderly New York City man has been sentenced to prison after he fatally shot a career criminal who allegedly lunged at him in 2023 — and for a reason many will find infuriating.
Charles Foehner, 67, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of criminal weapons possession in a deal to end his case more than two years after he fatally shot would-be thief Cody Gonzalez, who charged at him near his Kew Gardens home in Queens, the New York Post reported.
‘If we respected people’s constitutional right and provided practical means for citizens to exercise that right, Mr. Foehner would not be in the position he is in today.’
More specifically, Foehner will spend four years in prison after admitting to carrying an unlicensed revolver, the paper said, adding that Foehner’s attorney blasted the city’s “draconian” gun laws.
The Post said the Queens District Attorney’s Office decided not to prosecute Foehner — a retired doorman — for Gonzalez’s killing after he told police that he defended himself from a mugger who lunged at him late at night holding what looked like a knife, except it was a pen.
More from the paper:
But prosecutors slapped Foehner with a slew of weapons raps for the unlicensed handgun and for an arsenal of illicit handguns, revolvers and rifles inside his home in the quiet neighborhood.
Foehner took the plea deal to avoid a trial, where he faced 25 years in prison on gun charges that are not hard to prove, said his attorney Thomas Kenniff after Thursday’s hearing in Queens Supreme Court.
Kenniff called Foehner a “hero” who was put in an “impossible position” by what he called “draconian” Big Apple gun laws that make it difficult for “law-abiding citizens” to obtain permits to carry firearms.
“If this was a state and a city that had its affairs in order, Mr. Foehner would be getting a plaque, not a prison sentence,” Kenniff told reporters on the courthouse steps, the Post said.
Foehner’s attorney added that lawmakers in New York City and the state capital have “repeatedly frustrated the rights of law-abiding Americans, New Yorkers, that possess firearms,” the paper reported.
The Post said attorney Kenniff is known for successfully defending Marine veteran Daniel Penny from charges of fatally choking a homeless man who threatened New York City subway passengers in May 2023.
“If we respected people’s constitutional right and provided practical means for citizens to exercise that right, Mr. Foehner would not be in the position he is in today,” Kenniff also said, according to the paper.
Following his arrest on the heels of the 2 a.m. fatal shooting in a driveway near his home at 82nd Avenue and Queens Boulevard, Foehner told police he had been carrying the gun in question to protect himself from crime in New York City, the Post noted.
More from the paper:
Security footage showed the alleged robber Gonzalez — who had at least 15 arrests dating back to 2004 and a record of mental illness — continuing to charge at Foehner even after the senior pulled his gun.
Foehner took the deal Thursday with the understanding that he’d be sentenced to four years in prison at his sentencing date Jan. 14, his lawyer said.
Until then, he’ll remain “at liberty” and will be able to celebrate Christmas with his wife, Judge Toni Cimino ruled — over objections from the Queens DA’s Office, which had pushed for him to spend the holidays at Rikers Island.
“While we very much respect DA Melinda Katz and the fine prosecutors she assigned to this case, we were disappointed that the DA’s Office sought to have Charlie remanded before sentencing,” Kenniff noted Thursday, according to the Post. “We are grateful that Judge Toni Cimino agreed to let Charlie rejoice with his wife in the light of this Christmas season before he begins his sentence.”
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Vietnam vet says he had to ‘get aggressive’ and grab his gun when his female tenant started screaming
Earlier this week, Blaze News reported about a 79-year-old Los Angeles landlord who fatally shot a naked intruder after the culprit body-slammed him to the ground, breaking his legs.
Well, George Karkoc — the Vietnam veteran who opened fire to protect not only himself but also his tenant, whom he heard screaming prior to the deadly confrontation — spoke to KTLA-TV from his hospital bed about the ordeal.
‘I just thought, “I need to get aggressive,” so I ran into the house and got my gun.’
The incident took place around 7:15 a.m. Nov. 7 in the 4500 block of Tujunga Avenue at a Studio City apartment, authorities told KABC-TV.
Surveillance video captured the intruder walking naked around the neighborhood, KABC said, adding that video also shows him at the front door of a home and grabbing a sign, then continuing to walk.
But soon the suspect entered an apartment — and that’s when things got frightening.
Karkoc told KTLA he heard his female tenant screaming and knew he had to act quickly: “I just thought, ‘I need to get aggressive,’ so I ran into the house and got my gun.”
The station said Karkoc confronted the intruder and tried to reason with him, begging him to stop. But the naked intruder rushed at Karkoc and body-slammed him, KTLA said, breaking both of his legs in the process.
Now seriously injured and pinned to the ground, Karkoc told the station he had to defend himself and that he shot the intruder three times.
Karkoc was rushed to a hospital in serious condition, KTLA said, adding that he was stable after undergoing surgery. The suspect was declared dead at the scene, the station said.
“This incident, although horrible, brought me a great feeling that I was able to do something to protect other people,” Karkoc told KTLA.
On Veterans Day, a group of Los Angeles police officers visited Karkoc in the hospital and thanked him for his service.
Karkoc’s tenant, Chloe Dzielak, tearfully recounted to KTLA what she saw — and was grateful for her landlord rescuing her.
“He was protecting me,” Dzielak told the station, adding that “he saved my life. I don’t know what would have happened if he wasn’t there.”
Dzielak also told KTLA that while she was terrified and screaming, Karkoc was calm — even while speaking to the naked intruder.
An “Inside Edition” reporter asked Karkoc if his military experience aided him as he assessed the stressful situation, and Karkoc replied, “I certainly know my training helped me.”
KTLA added that family members have organized a GoFundMe for Karkoc. His son said his legs, ankles, and hips are full of pins — and there’s a long road to recovery for him. What’s more, Karkoc’s wife has late-stage Parkinson’s disease, and Karkoc’s son added to the station that the couple may need an in-home caretaker for both of them until his dad heals.
“He just keeps his head and takes care of other people around him,” Karkoc’s son added to KTLA. “He’s a hero.”
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Gun-wielding homeowner wastes no time after he says burglar kicked in his door at midnight, ran toward him when told to stop
A North Carolina homeowner told WRAL-TV he was in his bathroom getting ready for bed around midnight Wednesday when he heard someone kick in the door of his home in southeast Raleigh.
The homeowner told the station that when he got to the living room, the intruder was standing there.
‘If somebody breaks in your home, you have to protect yourself.’
“I had my gun, and I was telling him to get down! Get down! Or get out! Then he just ran to me,” the homeowner, who didn’t want to be identified, told WRAL.
With that, the homeowner fired shots, the station said.
When Raleigh police arrived at the scene on Rose Lane, they found 26-year-old Christian Beasley with a gunshot wound, WRAL reported.
Police told the station that Beasley was taken to a trauma center and was stable — and that after he’s released from the trauma center, he’ll be processed on charges of first-degree burglary and damage to property.
RELATED: Gun-wielding male kicks down door of home, opens fire at homeowner. But his target is armed too.
The homeowners told WRAL that they had no choice but to defend themselves and their home.
“If somebody breaks in your home, you have to protect yourself,” the homeowner’s wife added to the station. “And that’s what he did. He had to protect us. We did not know what he was going to do.”
Police told WRAL the homeowner will not face charges at this time but that the incident is under investigation. The station added that forensics investigators gathered evidence at the front door and inside the house.
WRAL said its Breaking News Tracker captured video of people coming out of the house, adding that they got in the back of police cruisers but did not appear to be under arrest.
Commenters on WRAL’s Facebook post about the shooting seemed completely on the homeowner’s side:
- “Lookie there … the burglar found the consequences of his actions,” one commenter said.
- “The homeowner deserves a medal!” another user declared. “Every home should be protected like this!”
- “I’d done the same thing,” another commenter wrote. “Let someone try and break into my house.”
- “It’s about time these criminals got it,” another user stated.
- “Sorry to hear he was taken to a trauma center, should have been taken to a morgue,” another commenter said.
- “America’s fighting back!!!” another user exclaimed.
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Armed carjackers meet their match as gun-toting victim turns the tables, shoots the crooks — among them a 14-year-old male
A crew of carjackers most definitely picked the wrong guy to steal from in Seattle over the weekend.
Officers around 3:30 a.m. Sunday responded to a shooting in the 2200 block of 1st Avenue, police said.
‘Stories like this just warm my heart. I love a happy ending.’
Officers found a suspect suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and detained him, police said, adding that they also detained the victim — a licensed gun owner — for questioning and recovered the firearm.
Firefighters responded with police and provided medical aid to the suspect, police said, adding that medics transported him to Harborview Medical Center in serious condition. Police said the suspect was under armed guard by officers.
Police determined that the victim parked his sports car along 1st Avenue when the driver of a white sedan approached him.
Image source: Seattle Police
Four individuals wearing face masks were in the vehicle, police said, adding that after a short conversation, two males armed with guns tried to steal the victim’s car.
Fearing for his safety, the victim fired multiple rounds, striking one of the suspects, police said.
The remaining suspects fled the area in the sedan before police arrived.
While they were investigating, police said the driver of a white sedan dropped off a second suspect at Harborview Medical Center. The second suspect also had been shot, was in serious condition, and was under armed guard, police said.
The driver of the sedan fled before officers arrived, police said.
One of the wounded suspects is a 14-year-old male, while the other is a 20-year-old male, KING-TV reported, citing police.
Both wounded suspects will be booked into custody when they are released from the hospital, the station noted.
Officers and robbery detectives processed the scene, collected evidence, and spoke to witnesses, police said, adding that officers took the victim to Seattle Police headquarters, where detectives interviewed him; he was then released. KING said the victim is 24 years old.
Police said the case is an open and active investigation assigned to the Robbery Unit.
More than 3,000 comments have flooded KING’s Facebook post about the shooting, and as you might expect, folks seem quite happy about the outcome. The following are a few of their reactions.
- “Not every hero wears a cape,” one commenter said.
- “The vehicle owner doing the Lord’s work,” another user noted.
- “Awesome story,” another commenter wrote before adding “buy that man a beer.”
- “Stories like this just warm my heart,” another user gushed. “I love a happy ending.”
- “FAFO! Whahahaha! I love it!!!” another user exclaimed.
- “When you allow your streets to become the Wild West, sometimes you run into Wyatt Earp,” another commenter observed.
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79-year-old landlord opens fire on naked intruder who body-slammed him to ground, breaking his legs
A 79-year-old landlord opened fire on a naked male intruder who body-slammed him to the ground Friday morning, breaking his legs, authorities said.
The incident occurred around 7:15 a.m. in the 4500 block of Tujunga Avenue at a Studio City apartment in Los Angeles, authorities told KABC-TV.
‘Why is he out here naked?’
Surveillance video captured the intruder walking naked around the neighborhood, the station said, adding that video also shows him at the front door of a home and grabbing a sign and then continuing to walk.
The suspect soon entered an apartment, after which two women who were home at the time confronted him, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson told KABC.
More from the station:
The women yelled at the trespasser to get out, prompting the landlord to rush to their aid, the LAPD said.
The intruder body-slammed the landlord, breaking both of the victim’s legs, police said.
The 79-year-old man “at this time, in self-defense, shoots the suspect three times,” said Capt. Warner Castillo of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Castillo added to KTTV-TV that the victim gave the naked man every opportunity to stop what he was doing before shots were fired.
“The 79-year-old man tells the suspect to leave, tells him I have a gun, and I will shoot you. The suspect grabs the 79-year-old man, lifts him, throws him on the ground, and that’s where the 79-year-old man suffered two broken legs,” Castillo noted to KTTV.
What’s more, Castillo added to KTTV that “the suspect got shot one time, and the suspect still approached the 79-year-old [who] shot the suspect again, killing him.”
KTTV noted that the victim, identified only as George, was taken to a hospital and underwent surgery. A neighbor added to KTTV the 79-year-old man is a Vietnam veteran.
The name of the suspect has not been released, KTTV noted. No injuries to the women were reported, KABC said.
“I heard commotion, like a lady yelling,” a woman who witnessed the incident and declined to be identified by name told KABC. “Then I looked over, and it was a naked guy. At first I thought it was just like, maybe it’s a house fire. Like, why is he out here naked?”
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Video: Woman pulls male intruder out of her car, throws him to the ground with ease — while her amazed husband watches
Astonishing surveillance video from a Hollywood gas station shows the moment when a woman pulled a male intruder out of her car and threw him to the ground with ease.
The woman, Star Carter, was sitting in the driver’s seat of her red Alfa Romeo at the gas station Tuesday when a male stranger walked up and tried to open her passenger door, KCBS-TV reported.
‘It was just like that Kendrick Lamar verse [from “Peekaboo”] was playing in my head, you know like, “Bing bop boom bop boom bop bam!”‘
Her husband, Michael Carter, was pumping gas at the time and was on the other side of car.
“I stood up and was like ‘Get outta here!’ and then I walked around this way,” Michael told KCBS, motioning toward the passenger side of the car.
But after Michael got back in the passenger seat, the crook sneaked back and opened the driver-side rear door closest to the gas pump and actually got into the back seat, video shows.
“I’m wrestling with him inside the car,” Michael told the station, “and I’m kinda pushing him and pushing him, and all I know is he just disappeared.”
With that, Star’s husband smiled and told KCBS that “I’m looking over the back, and I said, ‘Oh … ohhh!'”
Michael’s, shall we say, starstruck reaction was due to the fact that his wife got out of her driver’s seat, got to the back door, ripped the intruder right out the car, and tossed him to the ground.
“I don’t condone violence, but I do condone self-defense,” Star told KCBS in the aftermath.
Star described what song was on her brain’s playlist in that moment, telling the station that “it was just like that Kendrick Lamar verse [from ‘Peekaboo’] was playing in my head, you know like, ‘Bing bop boom bop boom bop bam!'”
With a laugh, she added to KCBS, “That’s all I remember. I’m so embarrassed.”
Wisely, the intruder ran off after Star introduced him to the concrete.
But she also had some parting advice for him: “I just said, ‘Don’t you ever do no stupid [word redacted in KCBS video] like this again!'”
The station said the Carters actually continued their night out, going to a comedy show at the Hollywood Improv.
The couple’s unsurprised daughter later told KCBS that “my mommy, she was in like fight or flight — but she definitely fought, and he definitely took flight.”
Star added to the station that she believes the intruder was on drugs at the time of the incident: “I don’t know what this dude is capable of doing at all.”
In the end, her husband was grateful that Star stood up to the crook.
“She is indeed my hero,” Michael noted to KCBS with a laugh in the aftermath. “Thank you, Star!”
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