85-year-old Idaho woman hailed as 'hero' in fatal shooting of home invasion suspect

Was going to post in The Lounge but probably belongs here.

This is one very tough and determined senior!

"An 85-year-old Idaho woman is being hailed as a "hero" for gunning down a home-invasion suspect with a handgun she kept under her pillow after he allegedly handcuffed her to a chair, pistol whipped her and threatened numerous time to kill her, authorities said.

Christine Jenneiahn survived the harrowing incident at her home near Blackfoot, Idaho, after being shot multiple times by alleged assailant 39-year-old Derek Condon, who died in her kitchen when the octogenarian turned the tables on him and shot him twice with her .357 Magnum..

...she lunged for her gun hidden in the couch and opened fire on Condon, hitting him twice.

Condon allegedly returned fire, emptying his 9mm pistol, leaving Jenneiahn with gunshot wounds to her abdomen, leg, arm and chest, according to the report.

Condon apparently collapsed in the kitchen and died while Jenneiahn remained on the floor of her living room bleeding and handcuffed to the chair for 10 hours...

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"I drank WHAT?" (Socrates)

I knew both she and her now deceased husband. What a will to survive!!!

Randy

Too bad she could not have managed to shoot the bad guy a little earlier.

Agreed, but in this case definitely better late than never.

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"I drank WHAT?" (Socrates)

Or perhaps righteous indignation? Whatever the case, one very tough customer. I’m glad she made to the hospital and the creep didn’t.

That is one tough lady. A 357 Mag no less.

Hats off to her and glad she survived and the perp was found DRT.

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Go ahead... make my day.

A take away from this is do not stop shooting until the assailant is no longer a threat. Twice may well not be enough.

Even a maximally effective cardiovascular hit leaves the assailant with 10-15 seconds of useful consciousness given the oxygenated blood already in the brain, and they can do a lot of damage in that period of time.

I've always been of the philosophy of empty the cylinder.

If you felt the need to fire, the decision is made, they're a threat, don't stop. I agree with this assessment.

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Go ahead... make my day.

Interesting the bad guy is still labeled as a 'suspect'. It's a little late for a trial.

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Common sense isn't so common.

Kind of makes one reevaluate the 9mm versus 357 magnum debate?

I am at a loss to understand that if she was "handcuffed to a chair" just how was she able to gain access to the revolver which was reportedly "hidden under her pillow"?? Were her hands not handcuffed together? If so the "bandit" was certainly inept.

I do love happy endings.

It would be nice to know where he was shot and how many times! Damned news media always seem to leave out the best parts of the story!

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Gunsmithing since 1961

Wow! Glad she survived the encounter. I wish she had the gun on her person at the start. May have been a different outcome. Many folks in these rural areas don't think they will be attacked like that. Glad she had a gun.

It is like basketball .the ball MUST go in the correct place.So must the bullet To score the point
Enough Of the caliber wars

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age is just a number

I don't think this was Derek Condon's first rodeo, thank heaven it was his last. Pistol whipping and handcuffing elderly women in his past home invasions no doubt negated any feeble resistance they might have offered. The presence of a home defense handgun made all the difference in this instance.

On another forum, a member speculated that he may have handcuffed one of her hands to the chair arm and was confident that would keep her more or less immobilized. If this was the case, she could have used her free hand to retrieve and fire her revolver.

Obviously, as she fired at him, he was returning fire. She took multiple hits. It is entirely possible she was knocked out of the fight before she could empty her revolver.

A lot of speculation here, but these stories always lack detail.

I'll be waiting for "Fair and Balanced" NPR to report this story.

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You're shy a few manners.

According to another report (in The Idaho Staresman)

"Jenneiahn ultimately made the decision that it was “now or never” and drew her gun and “engaged Condon, striking him with both her shots.” Officials told EastIdahoNews.com she shot him in the area of his chest...

But yes- he must have been (fortunately) pretty incompetent to have handcuffed her to a chair yet she could still get her gun. He probably figured, "She's 85 -how securely do I have to lock her down?" Also - again fortunately - pretty incompetent with his pistol to have emptied it into her (according to reports) without killing her.

There may be other reports out there with more info.

Addendum: re-reading the report, she shot him first, which would explain his poor marksmanship!

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"I drank WHAT?" (Socrates)

Id like to know what she was loaded up with. Id laugh my *** off if it was wadcutters

Good for her.

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Sure you did