Meet the power of prayer… and a pistol to repel a homicidal home intruder in Mississippi

A Mississippi mom harnessed the power of prior planning, prayer and last but not least her pistol to protect her three small children and herself from a determined attacker.  It happened in Carroll County, Mississippi, a couple of Mondays ago.

Cops say Steve Lamar Goss, Jr., a felon out on bond on a previous felony deadly weapons charge, didn’t have the muscle mass or smarts to kick in a door.  Yeah, it sucks to be puny.

So, being the “thinking man” he was, he drove his truck into the home’s dining room to make entry.  That’s hard-core.

While Mr. Goss had not spent a day in a gym in his life, he had watched some slasher movies.  So brought his big ol’ knife along, thinking he was gonna slash a mom and her three small children.

The mom, seeing the lunatic outside waving a knife trying (unsuccessfully) to make entry into the house, did the smart thing.  She herded her three small children into the family’s safe-room prior to Goss’ grand entrance.

As the woman prayed with her children, Goss forced entry on the a walk-in closet where the mom and her little kiddos huddled.  At that point, the mom turned from the power of prayer to the power of the pistol.  She fired causing the big, bad wolf to flee in pain.

Criticism here:  There’s no extra paperwork for firing a second, third or fifteenth shot if the perp still poses a deadly threat.  Unless she was worried about damaging the hearing of her kiddos.  Enjoying classical music is a thing for some folks.

Anyway, local sheriff’s deputies up with Mr. Ain’t Got No Muscles pretty quickly.  His freshly mangled truck acted almost like a beacon for cops looking for a maniac who drove his truck into a home.

The constabulary tried to conduct a felony stop.  Mr. Goss wanted no part of that.  He had important things to do, like continuing to leak lots of blood.

So he opted instead to continue his single, scrawny-man crime rampage.

While still leaking, he took off running into a small convenience store. With gentle caresses (cough), tender loving care (cough!) and whispering some sweet nothings in his ear (COUGH!), they took Mr. Goss into custody.

They charged him with four counts of attempted murder, burglary and he will likely face additional charges.

The sheriff had exceptionally high praise for the mom, but we don’t want to steal his thunder.  Let’s let 14News share that wonderful tidbit:

CARROLL COUNTY, Miss. (WLBT/Gray News) – Deputies say a Mississippi mother protected her three children by shooting a man who allegedly broke into the family’s home wielding a knife.

Carroll County deputies received a call for help Monday from a woman’s husband, who was at work in Greenwood. He told deputies that a knife-wielding man was attempting to enter his home in the Gravel Hill area while his wife and three children were hiding in a closet.

The husband then described the suspect and the vehicle he was in, a 2500 GMC pickup truck, WLBT reports.

When deputies arrived at the family’s home, the suspect, identified as 44-year-old Steve Lamar Goss Jr., had already driven away, according to a press release.

Deputies say before Goss left, he drove his truck into the home’s dining room after he could not kick the front door down.

While this was happening, the mother and her three children hid in a closet designated as the family’s safe room, the press release says. The mother prayed, and the children recited scripture.

When Goss found the family, he entered the closet, still holding a knife, according to the press release. The mother then shot him in the arm, and Goss fled.

“We can all learn a lot from this family about the importance of having an emergency plan in place in our homes and, most importantly, the power of prayer. I thank the Lord for this father’s preparation, the bravery shown by the mother and children and that what could have been a tragedy was transformed into a testimony of their faith in God,” Carroll County Sheriff Clint Walker said.

That’s some high praise from Sheriff Walker.  Cook County IL could use a sheriff like that.

Does your family have plans for emergencies? Do you have a plan in case of fire? Or in case of a scrawny felon trying to bust in and murder everyone inside?

Every family should. And the whole family should practice it.

Safe rooms aren’t just for movies. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or equipped with a high-security steel door.  It just has to be agreed upon and well equipped with fundamentals like a phone (even old cell phones will call 911), a flashlight or two and maybe a fire extinguisher and hearing protection. Last but not least, your safety rescue tools should be present and ready to rumble.

I’m a fan of shotguns myself, but carbine rifles work nicely as well. Handguns will work, too.

Why do I like shotguns?  Well, Clint Smith said it best:

Yeah, it’s “age-restricted” but it’s 90 seconds of pure, always-memorable Clint Smith packed with all manner of fundamentals that everyone should take to heart.

Oh, and Mr. Goss? He’s being held without bond. He should have come to Illinois, home of no cash bail, to commit a crime like that and get released with a notice to appear.