(WA) Father wounded defending his family from gunman

[Drizzt]

Father wounded defending his family from gunman
Thursday, May 17, 2001

By LEWIS KAMB
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Dinner was on the stove. Michael Burch had just settled on the living room sofa to catch the ballgame.

But in a matter of seconds, a typical evening in the family's Boulevard Park home near Burien turned into a crime scene. Burch was forced to make a split-second decision that left him writhing on the floor with a bullet wound.

Tuesday night, amid the normal confusion of a crowded home at supper time, a strange man wandered through the back door and into the kitchen. He had a gun in his hand.

"The back door is never locked," Burch said from his home yesterday, hours after being discharged from Harborview Medical Center.

"We have a bunch of teenagers and their friends, and everyone's always coming and going. This guy just walked in and started waving a gun around."

Waving the gun and muttering orders in Spanish, the man began pushing Ruth Burch, her sons and their teenage friends into the living room. When no one understood his words, he began racking a round into the semiautomatic handgun.

That's when Michael Burch reacted.

He bolted off the couch and tackled the man. In the struggle, a shot rang out. A slug ripped though Burch's left shoulder, bounced off the living room floor, then a wall.

"All I heard was my wife screaming, the dog barking and my kids running around," Burch said. "I told them, 'I'm fine. Just call 911.'"

In the chaos, the gunman clamored to his feet and ran out of the house to a waiting car parked near the home in the 11400 block of Occidental Avenue South. Medics soon arrived and transported Burch to Harborview.

Other than a stiff and painful shoulder, Burch, 49, a welder for a local construction company, said he was fine. And he has no regrets about taking action.

Authorities, however, "certainly don't advocate that a victim confront an attacker with a gun," said John Urquhart, spokesman for the King County Sheriff's Office.

"It seemed to work out in this case, but then again, he got shot," Urquhart said. "I guess you could say he's lucky to be alive."

Investigators are now searching for the suspect, described as Hispanic, in his late 30s or early 40s, 5 feet 10 inches tall and 150 pounds. The man had a mustache and beard, was wearing a red-and-blue flannel jacket and blue jeans, and sported at least one gold tooth.

The getaway car was a red, 1980s-model Toyota or Ford Escort with black primer spots and a bad exhaust system.

Home again last night, Burch and his family seemed to be settling back into their normal routine. As he spoke about the incident, the home buzzed with teenage chatter over the din of the television and a barking dog.

"When somebody pulls out a gun on women and children, you got to do something," Burch said. "If he's going to shoot somebody, it may as well have been me."



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P-I reporter Lewis Kamb can be reached at 206-615-1246 or lewiskamb@seattlepi.com



http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/local/23442_home17.shtml

[scud]

God forbid that someone protect themselves and their families. It's kind of like the oh so optimistic duck and cover routine during the cold war. I am sure I would have been completely safe hiding under my desk during a nuclear blast.

[Goet]

You think the nut was interested in watching the game on the dish?

I would tend to believe there was a mass murder about to happen.

The father did just fine.

[Mr. James]

Damn straight. I love it when LE spokessheeple tell us to acquiesce in assaults/rapes/beatings and mollify our attackers when, in fact, such passivity only increases the liklihood we, the law-abiding, will end up on the next day's obituary page. This was another "random mass shooting" waiting to happen, but for that father's raw courage. And, of course, had he sat calmly while he and his family were blown to oblivion, papers across the nation would resume bleating for "more sensible gun laws." Argh!

[MatthewM]

It always kills me when I hear about victims writhing in fear as they are slowly shot. This guy is the greatest! His family should get him a plaque for the wall, "Our Dad, Hero".

[thumbtack]

I will tip a tall one to Mr Burch this weekend. Way to go! To bad the BG was not the one shot.

[gringo5]

My hat is off to Mr.Burch, he is a fine father and a great example to us all. I'm out the door to the local cantina to tip one in his support. TGIF

[Dead]

Too bad, he didnt have his own gun...

[paratrooper]

SCUD: I think you really dodged a bullet during the Cold War . Of course you would not survive a nuke by ducking under your desk . You were surely not paying attention to the instructions that were given to you . You were supposed to ALSO cover your head with your hands therby guaranteeing your survival . <G>

[George Hill]

The guy did the right thing in protecting his family. If he hadn't attacked the intruder, he family could be dead now, he could be dead now... So what if he got shot? He turned the attacker out and saved his family. He will recover. God bless him... He'll recover.

Action, direct, instant action will win.

[bookkie]

I have to agree? the pert did not speak English and no one in the house spoke his language?. At which point during the robbery would the pert get frustrated at not being understood and shoot someone to get his point across. Or at which command would someone mistake for something else and pi** him off? Nope the father did good!

[Ed Brunner]

He's the man!
Pretty soon all homeowners will be required to be proficient in at least one other language so as to protect the rights of immigrants and to provide equal opportunity housebreaking.
It could happen!!