Community Service: Retired Schoolteacher Shoots Burglar

All I can say is it's a good thing this guy had a permit. Otherwise King Bloomberg would have the guy up on charges already for defending his property. This heartwarming tale of instant justice took place in Brooklyn, where suddenly his neighbors are becoming Second Amendment fans.

Two brazen burglars in Brooklyn apparently picked the wrong house to break into – on the other side of the door, they found a retired schoolteacher with a licensed, and loaded, gun.

Neighbors describe Larry Goldstein as timid and shy, and the retired schoolteacher certainly appeared that way. He hid behind his front door as police investigated the early morning shooting in Mill Basin, where Goldstein opened fire with his licensed handgun on two would-be burglars.

“I know Larry well – he’s a very nice fellow,” Larry’s mailman, Luis Ramirez, said. “He was protecting his house. He had a right to bear arms, so obviously he’s in the right, but when you shoot somebody, it’s difficult to comprehend.”

“Wonderful person, very mild-mannered, gentle man, it’s just unfortunate. What could be going through his head, now having to have to shoot someone in his own house, being invaded like that. It’s unfortunate,” said resident Mike Reinhardt.

Police say it was just before 2 a.m. Wednesday when Goldstein and his wife heard a noise downstairs in the home on 64th Street. The 62-year-old confronted two suspects in his kitchen after they apparently slipped in through a basement window.

The suspect who was shot, police say, had a starter’s pistol in his hand. He was shot three times as his accomplice fled, reports CBS 2′s Magee Hickey.

Goldstein was eventually brought to the 63rd Precinct stationhouse for questioning, but was released without being charged with any crime.

When reached for comment, Goldstein said that on the advice of his lawyer, he was not allowed to talk about what happened in the early morning hours at his home. When asked if he was a hero, he said, “no comment.”

“I believe he is [a hero],” neighbor Fred Barone said. “Hopefully he’s going to make people think twice about coming around here and knocking down doors.”

“As a person who has never been a proponent of gun ownership, I am glad he had one now,” another neighbor, Betty Sikorski, said.

The gun haters usually come around when they see how efficient and safe gun ownership can be.