Man kills armed attacker
Possibly saves own life and wife's life, too

Originally ran here as:
"Dallas man kills attacker with gun in whiskey bag
Pool hall owner carried weapon after earlier robbery"
By Connie Piloto / The Dallas Morning News
July 21, 2001

DALLAS, TEXAS -- Six months after being robbed on the front steps of his east Oak Cliff house, Lee Brown started carrying a gun inside a Crown Royal whiskey bag.

The bag provided easy access to the weapon and may have saved the lives of Mr. Brown and his wife early Friday, he said.

When his wife told him a man carrying a gun was standing behind them, Mr. Brown turned around and fatally shot his attacker.

"I just shot through the bag," Mr. Brown, 63, said after the attack. "I was trying to save my family and myself, too."

Police had not identified the would-be robber Friday. He was not carrying any identification.

The couple, owners of a South Dallas pool hall, Minnie's Place, closed the business and drove to their home in the 3200 block of Sunnyvale Street early Friday.

Mr. Brown was unlocking the front door about 2:15 a.m. when his wife, Roy Mae Brown, 50, saw a man walking toward them.

"When I turned around, all I could see then was a gun," Mrs. Brown said. "It was a big one."

Police said the man was carrying a loaded 6-inch revolver. The weapon was recovered from the scene.

Mrs. Brown said that the man yelled at them but that she can't remember what he said.

"It all happened in a split second," Mrs. Brown said. "I screamed, 'Oh, this man has a gun. I hope he's not going to kill us.' "

Mrs. Brown said she then heard gunfire as her husband told her to get inside the house and call 911.

As Mr. Brown entered the house, he saw another man running near his front yard and firing at the house. A car drove up to the house and the second man jumped inside.

The would-be robber had crawled to the sidewalk by the time paramedics arrived, Mrs. Brown said.

The man was shot in the neck and the right leg. He was taken to Baylor University Medical Center, where he died about 5:30 a.m., police said.

Mrs. Brown said her husband was robbed at gunpoint in January. Mr. Brown struggled with a robber who was trying to take his briefcase. The briefcase contained $2,500 and a gun. The robber took off with the money and the gun.

After that robbery, Mr. Brown, who has a permit to carry a concealed gun, bought a handgun and started carrying it in a bag whenever he arrived home from work.

"It's good he had the gun in his hand." Mrs. Brown said.

The case will be referred to the Dallas County grand jury, which is a routine procedure in similar cases.

"This was an attempted robbery, and at least two or more people were involved," said Sgt. Ross Salverino, a supervisor in the homicide unit. "The ... [robber] did have a weapon, and it was loaded."

Police found at least one bullet lodged outside the house that does not appear to have been fired by Mr. Brown, Sgt. Salverino said.

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