Crime, gun ownership both up in Manatee County

Saturday, August 22, 2009

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New gun owner Maria Goodman looks over a weapon.

MANATEE COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- Crime and gun ownership are both up in Manatee County, and some residents say it's the increase in crime that prompted them to buy a gun.

In early August, Kathleen Briles, the wife of a Palmetto doctor, was brutally beaten to death in her home. A string of home invasions has also taken place in the county.

One of the new gun owners, Maria Goodman, said she never wanted to own a gun until recently. She decided she needed extra protection after she caught strangers in her yard in the middle of the night.

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"If someone comes into my house there's absolutely nowhere to run," Goodman said. "So I thought maybe I should learn to protect myself."

Goodman said the recent increase in home invasions and murders in Manatee County also led to her decision.

"What chance does anyone have?" Goodman said. "You have to protect yourself."

After Goodman bought her gun, she turned to Joe Naples, the owner of House Calls Firearm Training in Palmetto, to learn how to use it.

Bay News 9 reporter Summer Smith tries her hand at the gun range.

"Usually when we have crime waves or home invasions we have get an influx of students," Naples said. "But lately it's been a little more than normal."

Bob Lechner, who works at Bullseye Indoor Pistol Range in Palmetto, said he's seen a different clientele recently.

"We're seeing people coming in that we've never seen before," Lechner said. "These are people who have gone their entire lifetime without ever thinking about buying a gun before."