Woman, Robber Both Recovering From Shooting

Monday, February 19th 2007, 8:51 pm

By: News On 6

HUGO, Okla. (AP) _ A woman who shot a robber in the gut with a shotgun as he reached for money from the cash register at her liquor store said it took her almost two months to recover emotionally from the incident.

Sheila Almond, 59, whose husband owns the store, said she first shot Guy Wade Buck, 50, in the shoulder with a shoulder with a pistol. When that didn't persuade Buck to stop the Oct. 19 robbery attempt, she told a worker at the store, ``Bring me Baby,'' which was the nickname she had for her shotgun.

Almond laid the shotgun on the store counter and pulled the trigger. Buck suffered injuries to his colon, kidney, liver and lung from the blast. He wasn't expected to live, and he remains on a ventilator and can't talk. His parents, Robert and Alice Buck, say he's been transferred from a Texas hospital to a nursing home.

Choctaw County Assistant District Attorney Joe Watkins said authorities are waiting to see whether Buck survives before determining whether or not to file charges against him.

In the meantime, Almond's beloved shotgun remains with law enforcement officials, because it is evidence.

Almond, who had open heart surgery a few months before the shooting, said the jolt of the shotgun blast worsened her physical health.

``That's why I gut-shot him instead of blowing his head off,'' Almond said of laying the gun on the counter when she shot Buck. ``I held the gun against my side so I wouldn't blow my sternum. I hate that man for making me go through all that.''

She said dealing with the emotional stress also has been challenging, and that speaking with military veterans has helped her in that area.

``It took me about two days to get there and about two months to get over it,'' Almond said. ``Not because I regretted what I did, but because I didn't have anybody to talk to. None of the law enforcement officers I talked to had ever been in a shootout. I talked to Vietnam vets _ they told me what they had faced.''

Alice Buck said her son had struggled with drugs and that he had to give up his career as a construction worker for health reasons. Guy Buck served two years in an Oklahoma prison after a conviction for having a controlled substance.

Almond said she's received numerous queries about the incident.

``They call me Annie Oakley, Ma Barker,'' she said. ``People come in from out of town and ask if this is the store where the shooting happened. Then they ask, 'Where's the lady that did the shooting?' I just raise my hand. It's a little embarrassing.''