Disabled Muskogee Veteran Shoots Burglary Suspect With WWII Pistol

A disabled veteran used a World War II era gun to shoot an intruder who kicked in his door over the weekend. Lloyd Macarty was a Marine, and his wife says he was steady as a rock when he got his gun and fired it just as the door came open.

Lloyd and Mary Macarty have lived in their Muskogee home for 44 years. Lloyd proudly flies the American flag each day.

He joined the Marine Corps in the '50s and served eight years. His only grandchild is currently a Marine who has served in Afghanistan and other places in the world.

No doubt, the grandson would approve of how Lloyd handled himself when an intruder showed up on the front porch around 11 p.m. Saturday, November 10, 2012.

"When he knocked two to three times, that was kinda suspicious, then heard the screen door open, that was another thing," said veteran Lloyd Macarty. "I just decided to get my pistol. I have a .32 automatic pistol dad sent me back in 1948. It's really old, but it worked good."

When Lloyd heard the squeaking of the door, he figured whoever it was - was coming in. So he got his gun. No sooner did he get back to the living room, when the guy hit the front door so hard, it shuddered the whole house and knocked off the doorknob plate.

11/11/2012 Related Story: Muskogee Police: Elderly Disabled Veteran Shoots Intruder

Lloyd fired that old gun sent to him from his father in Czechoslovakia during World War II, and the bullet went right through the door and into the suspect.

"He went to hollering when I hit him, 'ow, yow,' I heard him clear down the block," he said. "I must've hit him pretty good because one of the detectives came by to check on us and said they transferred him to Tulsa."

Lloyd and Mary barely slept a wink that night. She had been the one to call 911. Lloyd hated to hear the suspect was just 18 but says breaking into someone's home is a dangerous choice.

"He might think about getting another profession; I sure made a mess of that one," Lloyd said.

This was the third time someone's broken into Lloyd and Mary's home in the past few years. The first time, they were at church. The second time, Mary was alone and the burglar was on the back porch before leaving when he heard her call police.

Lloyd says he's grateful he was home this time. The suspect, 18-year-old Ramonte Nelson, is still in the hospital, but he will likely be charged with first degree burglary.