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Missouri woman says gun rights prevented tragedy
USA TODAY NETWORK Harrison Keegan, The News Leader, Springfield, Mo.
10:23 a.m. EST January 5, 2016
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/01/05/virginia-woman-says-gun-rights-prevented-tragedy/78295510/?AID=10709313&PID=6146854&SID=ij859gd0qv0022gy00dth



SPRINGFIELD, Mo. —A Missouri woman says if it wasn't for the Second Amendment right to carry arms, she might not be here today.

On Sunday evening, Katie Claxton was sitting in a car with her four young children while her husband was pumping gas, when a man wielding a large knife approached her vehicle. Claxton said she cringes to think what might have happened if her husband hadn't pointed a gun at the man and scared him off.

"Our Second Amendment right to carry is what saved our lives," Claxton said. "If we didn't have our right to carry, I feel like we wouldn't be here today."

Claxton said she reached over to try to lock the doors as the man approached, but she accidentally rolled down the window. Claxton said the man opened the door, leaned into the car and brandished a long knife.

Claxton said she yelled for her husband Matt to get his gun, and the man then began to leave.


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"He said 'You're lucky he has a gun,'" Claxton said. "And then he shut the door and started to back away."

David Middleton
David Middleton (Photo: Greene County Jail)
Claxton said her husband pointed his Beretta handgun at the man and called 911 as the man slowly walked away.

The family then began following the man in its vehicle as he walked down Sunshine Street. Claxton said the man tried unsuccessfully to get into some cars that were waiting at a nearby intersection, and police officers then arrived and arrested the man.

Springfield Police Department spokeswoman Lisa Cox confirmed Claxton's account is consistent with the police report that was presented to prosecutors on Monday afternoon. Claxton said the officers were "amazing," but she is happy her husband was able to protect her family until police arrived.

"You don't go out looking for trouble," Claxton said. "But if trouble comes knocking, you're there to answer."

Police say they arrested David Middleton, 42, in connection with the incident. He had not been charged as of Monday evening.

Claxton posted about the incident on her Facebook page. As of 8 p.m. on Monday, the post had been shared more than 6,700 times.

Claxton doesn't enjoy all of the attention, but she said she wanted to alert people about the incident in case the suspect is released from the Greene County Jail before charges are filed.

Claxton said her four children, all younger than 8, have struggled comprehending what happened Sunday night, but she is just glad they were not harmed.