A gunman who broke into a 77-year-old Iowa congressman’s farm and scuffled with the lawmaker was chased away by the congressman’s shotgun-wielding grandson, according to reports.
Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) was home at his farm near Lamoni, Iowa, with his wife, Dody, his daughter, Cindy Brown, and his grandson, Mitchell Brown, at around 10:45 p.m. on Saturday when an armed man broke in through the front door, the congressman’s office said in a statement to the Associated Press.
After slipping in, the thug attacked Cindy Brown and demanded money.
When Boswell heard his daughter’s screams, he ran into the room and jumped on the intruder, trying to knock away his gun, the statement said.
As they wrestled, Mitchell Brown, 22, grabbed a shotgun from another room and pointed it at the burglar, who fled into some fields surrounding the home.
Boswell’s spokesman Grant Woodward told the AP on Sunday that the family was shaken up but “dealing with it pretty well.”
The Decatur County Sheriff’s office is investigating the incident.
The bungled break-in wasn’t Boswell’s first brush with danger.
The eight-term U.S. House member is a decorated vet who flew helicopters during the Vietnam War.
He represents Iowa’s Third Congressional District, which includes Des Moines.
With News Wire Services
5 comments
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July 17, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Don Park Sr.
I wonder what Congressman Boswells position is on the 2nd Amendment.The artical staes that his grandson got a shotgun to scare off the invader.The shot gun is one that BATFE is trying to do away with as well as many other firearms.It will be interesting to see how he is voting on our 2nd Amendment rights.
July 18, 2011 at 5:52 am
Judy
Thank God this Democrat isn’t like some in his party who abhor the idea of a citizen having the right to have a firearm in their home. One can only imagine the outcome of this story if there was no firearm available to the occupants of the Congressman’s home.
July 18, 2011 at 2:32 pm
Larry Sinclair
Thought your readers might like to know the latest in the Young murder case.
http://www.larrysinclair.org/2011/07/18/chicago-pd-hashad-person-of-interest-in-young-murder/
July 22, 2011 at 6:00 pm
Stothes
Have you found a job yet, Larry, or are you still sponging off the government teet?
July 27, 2011 at 6:12 am
gumply
I am glad he had the guts to get the gun too bad he didn’t pull the trigger. If you pick up a gun be prepared to use it or don’t bother.
There is only one thing that criminals understand and that is a force coming back at them. Any retrobate (I can’t bring myself to refer to him as a man) that breaks into a family home and uses force against an old man and a woman doesn’t deserve to live on this planet any longer.