Disabled Veteran Defends House from Thieves with His .45

Sixty-eight-year-old disabled veteran Joseph Sapienza was at home in Gastonia, N.C. when he heard a suspicious noise at his front door. Sapienza retrieved a .45-caliber pistol, placed it in a holster attached to a walker he uses to get around, and opened the door. There were two masked men on his porch attempting to get inside. Recalling what happened next, Sapienza told a reporter, “When they saw the .45, one ran one way up the street, and the other went the other way.”

Sapienza believes he may have been targeted by the criminals because of his disability.