A Texas concealed handgun license-holder interrupted the plans of a rampaging felon Thursday by coming to the aid of the criminals' victims and shooting the attacker several times.

According to the Dallas-Fort Worth Star Telegram, David Hernandez Arroyo Sr. opened fire Thursday on his ex-wife and son with an AK-47, killing the woman and wounding his son, David Arroyo Jr., 23, in the leg.

By all accounts, when the shooting began, most people understandably fled. But not Mark Allen Wilson, a bystander who was licensed to carry a firearm, and who heroically attempted to intervene.

From the story:

Authorities said [the son's] life was likely saved by the actions of Mark Allen Wilson, 52, a licensed concealed handgun owner who lived in a loft on the square. Wilson raced to the courthouse steps after David Arroyo Sr. had fatally shot his ex-wife, Maribel Estrada, 41, and wounded his son.

Wilson's bullets were stopped by David Arroyo Sr.'s flak jacket and bulletproof vest before Wilson was killed by return fire from the AK-47.

Police credited Wilson's actions for not only saving David Arroyo Jr.'s life, but also for forcing the gunman, still heavily armed, to flee the court-house square before he could harm others.

From the Tyler Morning Telegram:

"The gunman walked up to Wilson and shot him while he was on the ground," said Nelson Clyde III, publisher of the Tyler Morning Telegraph. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing ... it was sickening."

"He was either wounded or dead, but the guy (Arroyo) shot him again to make sure he wouldn't get up," said witness Brandon Malone, a Tyler builder who was lunching inside Don Juan's.

News accounts say several people, including three police officers, were wounded in Arroyo's attack, which began about 1:25 p.m. outside the Smith County Courthouse.

Witnesses told the Tyler newspaper that after shooting Wilson, Arroyo calmly walked to his truck, still trading shots with an unidentified man (another CHL-holder?) lying beside a Chevrolet, and climbed inside.

Police ultimately shot and killed David Hernandez Arroyo Sr. after he fired repeatedly at officers during a two-mile chase.

Police say David Hernandez Arroyo "has a history of assaulting his ex-wife and several weapons offenses." According to KLTV-Tyler, Arroyo was a felon. As such, he was illegally in possession of firearm he illegally obtained, and was also prohibited from purchasing body armor. So much for gun control laws.

Authorities say Arroyo had previously told his wife he would kill her if she pressed the issue of child support.

The Tyler newspaper says preliminary evidence suggests Arroyo planned the ambush to the minutest detail.

What he didn't expect was that he would meet up with one or more armed citizens who were willing to come to the aid of the many defenseless people in the street.

It is terrible to imagine what might have happened had Mark Wilson not been there, and impossible to determine just how many lives this armed citizen saved, in exchange for his own.

UPDATE: For more on who Mark Wilson was, and how his heroic actions are being viewed by his community, click on the "Read More..." link below.

Gun ban extremist Toby Hoover, who fronts what often appears to be a one-woman show at the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, sent an email this week listing some of the recent incidences of gun violence around Ohio, and then went on to call for passage of an assault weapons ban in the City of Columbus.

As voluntary partners in the OCAGV's ''Changing the Culture of Fear'' push, we thought it would be interesting to note some of the many gun control laws that failed to stop these crimes from occurring (the list of gun control laws broken is by NO means exhaustive):

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

The Toledo Blade is reporting that Bowling Green State university campus police reported a nearly 12 percent increase in major crimes such as burglary, assault, and larceny last year. Chief James Wiegand told the Blade that stepped-up enforcement of liquor and drug laws accounted for the roughly 150% increase in drug and liquor arrests.

Despite the high crime rates on campuses, Ohio law denies students their constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense while on campus, and mandates that CHL-holders leave their firearms in their parked cars when entering a college campus.

And on that note, BG campus police indicate the number of motor vehicle thefts increased from four to seven.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

Cosochton Co.: Guns stolen in burglary of outdoors store
Sheriff's deputies are trying to identify the burglar who broke into the Woodbury Outfitters store Friday night and stole three handguns. A video tape from a surveillance camera in the outdoors store shows a lone man smashing the window in the front door with a steel rod, then taking three handguns out of a case and stealing other merchandise, including ammunition. Deputies responded to a burglar alarm set off at the store located at 901 Ohio 541 at about 10:30 p.m. The three handguns reported stolen were a 9 mm Glock 17 and two Browning Buckmark .22- caliber pistols. Five boxes of Winchester 9 mm bullets also were stolen, as well as Leupold Wind River binoculars. The value of the stolen merchandise was estimated at $1,770. According to the sheriff's office, the burglar was inside the store no longer than 2 1/2 minutes.

Licking Co.: County seeks help in 2 Jan. burglaries
Licking County law enforcement officials seek help in solving two burglaries from the end of January. On Jan. 25, someone broke into a home in the 300 block of North 30th Street between 7:20 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. They took four rings, a 16-gauge shotgun and two .50-caliber muzzle-loaders. Police are also investigating a break-in at Farquhar and Steinbaugh Sporting Goods on Union Street. At about 6:45 a.m. on Jan. 28, someone broke the front window and stole rifle scopes and hunting knives.

Cleveland's WKYC (NBC 3) is reporting that there are significant layoffs coming in the Ashtabula County Sheriff's office.

From the story:

The sheriff laid off more than half of his staff Tuesday because of a budget shortfall.

Twenty-six of his 39 deputies got lay-off notices, leaving only 13 to cover Ohio’s largest county. The lay-offs will go into effect March 5th.

Elsewhere, the Sandusky Register is reporting that six police officers in Perkins Township received notice this week telling them they will be laid off in 14 days. The department has 25 full-time officers. One is in Kosovo on military service.

Tom Pascoe, chairman of the township's board of trustees, cited concern that state lawmakers will cut the local government fund as the chief reason. He said township trustees are required by law to balance the budget. In addition to the layoffs, the police department will no longer use the
10 part-time officers it has employed.

Police Chief Timothy McLung said "Obviously, I hope it doesn't affect response times. The
reality is there will be less officers on the road."

Related Stories:
Ohio sheriffs feel brunt of state funding problems

The Associated Press is reporting that the Oklahoma state House has approved legislation that would exempt businesses from legal liability if a gun stored in a worker's car results in injury or death at a work site. The House passed the bill 96-2 and sent it to the Senate for action.

From the story:

The bill's author, Representative Greg Piatt, says it supports a state law that allows workers to keep a gun in their locked vehicles at work. The law is being challenged in court by national employers.

The law was passed last year after 12 workers at a Weyerhaeuser Company paper mill in southeast Oklahoma were fired in 2002. The timber company had extended its long-time ban on guns in the workplace to the parking lot, and dogs found guns in the 12 employees' vehicles.

The law prohibits businesses and employers from establishing policies that prohibit anyone other than a convicted felon from transporting and storing firearms in a locked vehicle in company parking lots.

The measure was supposed to take effect November first, but a federal judge in Tulsa has blocked its enforcement.

While we'd like to hope that a liability exemption would make a difference to Oklahoma businesses, it is worth noting that Ohio adopted such an exemption as part of a concealed handgun licensure law in early 2004, yet too many businesses in this state still affirmatively disarm their employees and customers, despite overwhelming evidence that gun bans do not stop criminal attacks.

Related Stories:
CBS Evening News: Showdown Over Guns At Work

Workplace gun prohibitions = promises not kept

Op-ed: The False Hope of Gun-Free Zones

Whirlpool backs out of workplace gun ban suit, but doesn't lift ban

KS: Workplace shooting at another ''No-guns allowed'' business