Incidents of violent crime and drug use have skyrocketed in recent years, particularly in blue enclaves like the Golden State, leaving innocent residents vulnerable to attack.
Leftists love to mock the idea of the “good guy with a gun” but in many cases such events prove to be lifesaving, much to the consternation of would-be gun grabbers like the governor of our nation’s most populous state.
And Gavin Newsom is desperate to stop this kind of heroism in California.
An 86-year-old man is being called a hero for protecting his neighbor from her schizophrenic son who attacked her with a shovel.
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office was called to a report of vandalism on Friday in a neighborhood on Barnett Street in Oildale.
When the police arrived on the scene, deputies found a man dead who was identified by his elderly mother as James Strickland.
According to Eva Strickland, her son James came to the home with a large shovel asking for lottery money that he said he had won.
But Eva says he had never won any money.
James became irate and busted through the metal security door with the shovel.
After he got through the door, he pushed her down and moved forward to attack.
At this point, her 86-year-old neighbor saw what was happening and sprang into action.
The neighbor shot and killed James on the spot.
Elderly mom: I wouldn’t be here if not for my elderly neighbor and his gun
Eva says she wouldn’t have survived if her neighbor hadn’t been there at that time.
She further said that her son James suffered from schizophrenia and was high on illegal drugs at the time of his death.
She added that her son was acting delusional and committed a form of suicide that day, arguing that police would have killed him if not for the neighbor.
Dr. Corey Gonzales is a licensed clinical psychologist and says mental health issues can be tricky.
This is especially true for those who are diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Gonzales says, “Probably the most severe mental health condition you can have is schizophrenia. Delusions and hallucinations are the hallmarks of schizophrenia. High instances of people with schizophrenia, about half of them also have a mood disorder. There can be substance abuse where they’re trying to self-medicate and about five to six percent of schizophrenics will die by suicide.”
So far, no arrests or criminal charges have been made.
Stay tuned to Blue State Blues for any updates to this ongoing story.
