Gun dealer says son fired in self-defence
28 July 2006

By MICHAEL FIELD and NZPA

An Auckland gun dealer says his son shot a machete-wielding intruder in self-defence because he feared for his life.
A 19-year-old man entered the Small Arms International gun shop in Penrose about 10am and was shot in the stomach with a handgun by Greg Carvell, 33, who was working behind the counter.

Police said the shot man was in a stable condition in Middlemore Hospital last night after emergency surgery for a single gunshot wound to the stomach.

Detective Senior Sergeant Simon Scott said it was too soon to say if either the wounded man or the shooter would be charged.

Ray Carvell owns the store but was not there when the incident unfolded. But he was adamant his son Greg had acted appropriately.

He said his son was defending himself and three other people in the shop.

"All I know is that my son was in fear of his life, because somebody threatened him with a machete and he kept coming at him. He had no choice to do what he did," Carvell said.

"I am glad the fellow is not dead and I am glad it's not my son lying on the hospital floor with his guts hanging out."

Carvell, a gun dealer for 40 years, said his son was in deep shock.

His son had grown up with guns and knew the difference between play acting and somebody who was meaning to kill him. "He doesn't have to have his head bloody cut off before he does something about it."

The shop had been plagued with burglaries and ram-raids and they had extensive security measures in the shop.

"We have done everything we could possibly do. What we can do, we don't go around shooting people because we want to shoot people, but we have a right to defend ourselves and if that is what has happened he has had a perfectly good right, and I will stand by him through thick and thin."

Carvell said it was not policy to keep loaded weapons in the shop, but it was a gun and ammunition store. "We are not just an ordinary place, we test-fire guns all day long."

Scott said Greg Carvell, a director of the gun shop, was "quite traumatised by the experience. We are speaking to him and witnesses."

Last October Christchurch man Dean Pender was acquitted of murder after shooting a man with a crossbow. His lawyer argued he acted in self-defence after the victim had threatened him with num-chukkas outside Pender's home.


That last little vignette from Chch sounds interesting. How long does it take to load a crossbow for self defence? It'd be like popping inside to don your 'cowboy action shooting outfit' and put on your make up to shoot a burglar, I reckon...

Suddenly the victims of crime fight back.....

No doubt the do-gooders and anti-gun idiots will all have an opinion.

The local policeman had nothing to say this morning when I broached the subject with him.....

I think a couple of farmers have got off after shooting robbers on their farms, but it cost them a lot of money to defend themselves.

My wife says I am turning into a redneck, but I strongly believe that people have the right (and the means) to defend themselves. If I came home and found my wife beaten up and molested and the guy still there, I would put a dum dum bullet in his privates (dont ever admit this to the police tho, you will never get a gun licence).

What idiot goes into a gun store armed with a machete. Good example Darwins natural selection in action.

I think the police have decided to prosecute the gun store owner. This will be a 'high up' decision based on lawyers advice. The average policeman on the beat seems to have a much more open attitude.