83 yr old shot robber with Luger from WWII
The greatest generation takes care of business as they have alway done.
Walter Swita has been carrying a gun since a previous attack.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN - Walter Swita used a German Luger 9 mm pistol he brought home from World War II to shoot an intruder he suspects robbed him a few weeks ago.
The intruder, Benjamin Brooks, 44, of East Philadelphia Avenue, died Sunday at St. Elizabeth Health Center. Swita shot him in the head and chest around 10:30 p.m. Friday.
Brooks, whose record included robbery and breaking and entering, lived around the corner from Swita.
"Watch out for the blood on the rug," Swita, 83, said as he welcomed a reporter into the living room of his South Avenue home Monday. "That's his blood. I hit my head on the TV stand when we fell."
The elderly man's 80-year-old two-story house is in the middle of a commercial district that features bars, eateries and other businesses. As a safety precaution, he's considering cutting back or removing a large bush that obscures his front porch.
"I think he's the one who attacked me about six weeks ago in the back yard," Swita said of Brooks. "He smashed me hard in the face and when I fell down he looked through my wallet and took $60."
Changed a few habits
Swita said he started carrying his German Luger after the attack, not sure whether the vintage pistol would even fire. He said he served in General George Patton's 3rd Army but didn't shoot at anyone. He repaired tanks and Jeeps.
After the first robbery, Swita, who lives alone, began parking across the street when he returned home, not in his rear yard driveway. He'd hide the pistol against his leg until he was safe inside.
Swita said that on Friday night, a man he'd seen hurrying up East Philadelphia grabbed him around the neck as he reached the porch and unlocked the door. The elderly man said he fired two shots at the intruder and they fell to the floor.
His account
Swita, "shaking like a leaf," said he sat down to call 911 to report the shooting. The call taker asked if the man who'd been shot was breathing. Swita said he told her he didn't care.
He assumed the intruder would die because of the shot to the head. He doesn't expect to be charged with any crime, reasoning that he just defended himself in his own home.
"Was I scared? You bet, both times, whoof!" Swita said, exhaling as he recalled the frightening encounters. "You don't know what they'll do to you. A witness said there were two [other] guys waiting on the sidewalk and they ran when they heard the shots."
Swita figures Brooks would have let the two men in to ransack the house.
Swita said he never married and retired in 1984 from the William Pollock Company as a lay-out man for steel ladles. He dotes on a sister who lives in Poland, takes her to play bingo every evening.
The night Brooks was shot, Swita was returning from his sister's.
A lot of people have told Swita that he should move but he says he's got 80 years of junk in the house and will likely stay. He wants his Luger back from the police, though, for protection.
"Plus, it's probably worth $1,500."
meade@vindy.com
Walter Swita has been carrying a gun since a previous attack.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN - Walter Swita used a German Luger 9 mm pistol he brought home from World War II to shoot an intruder he suspects robbed him a few weeks ago.
The intruder, Benjamin Brooks, 44, of East Philadelphia Avenue, died Sunday at St. Elizabeth Health Center. Swita shot him in the head and chest around 10:30 p.m. Friday.
Brooks, whose record included robbery and breaking and entering, lived around the corner from Swita.
"Watch out for the blood on the rug," Swita, 83, said as he welcomed a reporter into the living room of his South Avenue home Monday. "That's his blood. I hit my head on the TV stand when we fell."
The elderly man's 80-year-old two-story house is in the middle of a commercial district that features bars, eateries and other businesses. As a safety precaution, he's considering cutting back or removing a large bush that obscures his front porch.
"I think he's the one who attacked me about six weeks ago in the back yard," Swita said of Brooks. "He smashed me hard in the face and when I fell down he looked through my wallet and took $60."
Changed a few habits
Swita said he started carrying his German Luger after the attack, not sure whether the vintage pistol would even fire. He said he served in General George Patton's 3rd Army but didn't shoot at anyone. He repaired tanks and Jeeps.
After the first robbery, Swita, who lives alone, began parking across the street when he returned home, not in his rear yard driveway. He'd hide the pistol against his leg until he was safe inside.
Swita said that on Friday night, a man he'd seen hurrying up East Philadelphia grabbed him around the neck as he reached the porch and unlocked the door. The elderly man said he fired two shots at the intruder and they fell to the floor.
His account
Swita, "shaking like a leaf," said he sat down to call 911 to report the shooting. The call taker asked if the man who'd been shot was breathing. Swita said he told her he didn't care.
He assumed the intruder would die because of the shot to the head. He doesn't expect to be charged with any crime, reasoning that he just defended himself in his own home.
"Was I scared? You bet, both times, whoof!" Swita said, exhaling as he recalled the frightening encounters. "You don't know what they'll do to you. A witness said there were two [other] guys waiting on the sidewalk and they ran when they heard the shots."
Swita figures Brooks would have let the two men in to ransack the house.
Swita said he never married and retired in 1984 from the William Pollock Company as a lay-out man for steel ladles. He dotes on a sister who lives in Poland, takes her to play bingo every evening.
The night Brooks was shot, Swita was returning from his sister's.
A lot of people have told Swita that he should move but he says he's got 80 years of junk in the house and will likely stay. He wants his Luger back from the police, though, for protection.
"Plus, it's probably worth $1,500."
meade@vindy.com
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AWESOME!!! GOOD SHOOTING!! 0 -
Scratch one more maroon.
[:D]0 -
Freakin RIGHT! 0 -
i am ok with it!! nambu 0 -
Classic denial:
But officer...my son was a good boy. Why did that nasty old man have to go and shoot him.0 -
quote:The call taker asked if the man who'd been shot was breathing. Swita said he told her he didn't care.
You have got to love this guys moxie[:D]0 -
way to go. 0 -
another one bites the dust[:D][}:)][:0] 0 -
+1 9mm 0 -
quote:Originally posted by fshfndr
another one bites the dust[:D][}:)][:0]
+1
I hope he gets the gun back0 -
And where is the media to tell everyone about this? 0 -
One for the good guys. [:D] 0 -
True story. Just this week a friend who knows absolutly nothing about firearms asked me the value of a WWll luger. He said his 83 year old father had a luger that he had brought back and wanted to sell it. I told him that I didn't know a thing about lugers, but if he would have someone take pictures and ask here on GB, someone could help him. He's here in Kansas, his dad is in New york.
He told me, just yesterday that his brother in NY had looked around some shops and beings the luger was missing the magazine, sold it and all the German souveniers for $200.00. I wanted to cry.[:(]
I really believe this to be true.0 -
that a boy, weed out the crap 0 -
I wonder what type of ammo he was shooting? If it was a bringback and he wasn't sure it would fire, it might have been corrosive WW2 German ammo, and the gun probably wasn't cleaned- and is now sitting in a police station rusting. 0 -
Outstanding !!! [:D] 0 -
This story didn't make the local TV news. How sad......... 0 -
Good for the old man. Why did they take his gun? 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Fatboy lives
Good for the old man. Why did they take his gun?
I suppose as evidence until the Grand Jury rules on this case. Getting anything back from the police is tough, I think they like to keep the evidence for a while in case of further legal action.[:0][:0][:0]0 -
quote:Originally posted by sig232
quote:Originally posted by Fatboy lives
Good for the old man. Why did they take his gun?
I suppose as evidence until the Grand Jury rules on this case. Getting anything back from the police is tough, I think they like to keep the evidence for a while in case of further legal action.[:0][:0][:0]
Obvious the man was justified in the shooting, thats a law that needs changing.0 -
Final score: Grampa 1 - bad guy 0 0 -
Way to go old guy!
My daddy told me when I bought my first S&W .38 at age 21: "If you have to shoot someone, make damn sure he's dead, that way you won't have to stay in court the next 5 years."
Good advice. [8D][8D]0 -
[^] keep purging defective units. 0 -
Dont really need such as : "old guy or Grampa" for us WW 2 vets. Makes us feel old. Many of us OLD "ground pounders" (infantry riflemen to you) survived many firefights as a usual thing. What is one more?. 0 -
"Plus, it's probably worth $1,500."
For one second in time, for one old gent...It was Priceless....Nuff said!!!0
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