Florida mother introduces robber to her XD

After finding a man running around her property at 4:30 a.m., Lizette Rosario retrieved her Springfield XD, refusing to allow her family to become victims. What happened next will surprise you.

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(Yes, you can operate an XD just fine, even with a manicure. Photo by WKMG)

The town

Located along the Central Atlantic coast of Florida, roughly midway between St. Augustine and Miami is small and quiet Orange City. With a population of just over 10,000, the historic town in Volusia County, which dates back to 1882 is the birthplace of Gaylord DuBois, a comic strip author best known as the man behind The Lone Ranger. Besides DuBois, magician "The Great Kardeeen" (real name Herbert Becker) is also from Orange City.

A quiet place produces interesting and amazing people. Which makes sense when you find out about Lizette Rosario.

The incident

When Rosario's teenage son took out the trash at about 4:30 a.m. on Thursday Sept. 25, he noticed a prowler in the backyard inside the fence at the door. Running to wake up his mom, she sprang into action. Grabbing her XD-9 sub-compact that had sat in her nightstand for the past 5 years, she responded to the threat.

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(Note the loaded chamber indicator)

"I woke up frantic. The first thing I thought of was to grab my gun, defend my home, defend my child, and that's exactly what I went out there to do," Rosario told WKMG.

When she got outside, she found a strange, bearded man hiding behind her shed. Ordering him like a rabbit from a hat, to where she could keep a better eye on him, she held the man at gunpoint. Then her son tackled the man and the pair held him until local police placed him under arrest for trespassing.

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(She is a proud mama-bear, but she does need some TD and a little less teacupping)

The outcome

Police took one Robert Williamson into custody. According to local reports, Williamson was found to have a roll of duct tape in his possession and had been in and out of jail for the past several years with charges that included grand theft, burglary and petty theft. This affirmed Rosario's fears that the man was there for something other than a magic show.

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(The Duct Tape bandit, suspect Robert Williamson. Not quite your Lone Ranger type.)

"When you come in a fenced yard, a private property that's fenced in, you jump the fence and you're at the back door, your intentions are not good," she said.

Lessons learned

In the video that accompanies the WKMG article, Rosario mentioned that the XD had sat "gathering dust" and that morning was the first time she had touched it in years. While we are all busy-- especially those of us who have kids-- you simply must get regular practice. Ideally quarterly but at least yearly at a minimum.

Even if you aren't a regular shooter, you need to maintain your weapon, giving it a regular (monthly) inspection, preferably rotating out your Number 1 magazine while keeping one unloaded, to help wear your springs across all of your mags evenly over the years.

In addition, her grip (tea cupping) and trigger discipline (it does look like the loaded chamber indicator shows a clear pipe on the bright side) could use some attention. Still, when needed, Ms. Rosario was able to work her firearm just fine and has the prowler's mug shot to prove it.

In the end, Rosario did the same thing that mothers have been programmed to do for generations upon generations. She protected her children.

Moreover, you can be sure she would do it again.