A mother in Iowa, legally carrying a firearm, saved her young son from an attempted kidnapping at an apartment in Des Moines, according to reports.
Shay Lindberg, the manager at the Hubbell Tower Apartments, noticed two people repeatedly walking back and forth in front of the building on Jan. 5, Fox News affiliate KDSM-TV reported.
Lindberg decided to confront the two individuals, who have since been identified as Michael Ernest Ross, 43, and Laurie Lynn Potter, 57.
When she opened the door to ask the duo why they were lurking outside the building, her son was by her side.
According to the local news agency, one of the two individuals allegedly grabbed Lindberg’s son, but the mother responded swiftly by pulling out a handgun while telling the suspect to return the child.
Police were notified about the incident shortly after it transpired and successfully apprehended the two suspects.
Ross and Potter were charged with felony child stealing on Jan. 5, Polk County jail records show.
The records also show that Potter was charged on Jan. 12 with two counts of violating probation.
Paul Parizek, a high-ranking member of the Des Moines Police Department, told KDSM-TV that the case is an excellent example of a person preventing a crime from happening without anyone getting hurt by openly carrying and displaying a firearm.
“It certainly looks like the big turning point here, the pivotal piece to keeping her child safe was the fact that she was lawfully armed with a handgun, and she produced it and told them ‘let go of my kid,'” Parizek said.
Some States Allow Permitless Carrying of Guns
In April 2021, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed legislation that lifted some restrictions on the purchase or carrying of a handgun in the state for law-abiding citizens.
The NRA-backed legislation, named “House File 756,” took effect on July 1, 2021, and eliminated the requirement for law-abiding Iowans to obtain a permit to purchase a handgun from private nonlicensed sources. Additionally, people will no longer need a permit in order to carry a weapon.
Individuals will still have to follow federal laws and go through an instant background check to buy from licensed sellers each time they purchase a gun.
Iowa is one of the dozens of U.S. states that don’t require law-abiding citizens to get a permit before carrying a gun for self-defense.
Other states that eliminated this requirement include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
In several states throughout the country, California, Illinois, Florida, and New York, citizens are generally prohibited from openly carrying most guns.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article listed a state that requires a permit before carrying a firearm. NTD regrets the error.
