PA: Old man; Old.22 Handgun; Dead Career Criminal

Franklin Schrout, pictured above, chose to invade one too many homes in his criminal career. In Allentown, PA, he broke into the home of an 81 year old man and his invalid sister.  Shrout and the 81 year old started fighting. On the dresser was a .22 caliber handgun.  The home owner had never fired it. The handgun had been there for over 30 years. It is likely that the ammunition was also over 30 years old.  From wpxi.com:

The 81-year-old was able to grab a .22-caliber gun during a struggle with Schrout and fired one shot, police said.

Schrout ran out of the house and the 81-year-old’s bedridden sister called 911, police said.

When police arrived at the home, they found Schrout dead outside.

The 81-year-old told police that he had never fired the gun before and that it had been sitting in his nightstand for 30 years. He also said he wished he had been stronger so that he could have fought off Schrout without having to shoot him.

I have not been able to find a picture of the handgun, or a reference to make or model, other than caliber.  A source stated that it was a handgun, and not a rifle.  The location, on a nightstand, is consistent with that. Here are a couple more details. From cbslocal.com:

The homeowner picked up a .22 caliber gun, which he had nearby and fired one round. It hit Schrout in the abdomen.

Lt. Kolencik told KDKA-TV’s Ralph Iannotti, “The [unidentified] homeowner advised [us] that he had the gun for over 30 years sitting on his nightstand and has never fired the weapon… and uses it today and it saved his life.”

Schrout was hit once in the abdomen with a .22 fired out of a handgun. It was probably a .40 grain bullet traveling about 800 feet per second.  Schrout fled the house.  He was found outside, lying dead in a neighbor’s yard, near a shed.

The .22 caliber is consistently underrated by the uninformed.  A great many people and large animals have been killed with the caliber.  It would not be my first choice as a defensive handgun, but it is far better than not having a gun.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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