By: Teresa Mull
A brave woman being held captive by her abusive boyfriend was able to seize her captor’s gun and shoot him in self-defense.
Police in Ventura County, California were responding to a report of domestic violence earlier this month when they found a bloody Raphael Bhatti, 25, in his car, reports the Thousand Oaks Acorn.
Bhatti, according to the newspaper, “was covered in blood and told the deputies he’d just been shot by his girlfriend, police said.
“During the course of an investigation, detectives learned Bhatti had battered the woman, causing serious injury, threatened to kill her while pointing a gun at her, and sexually battered her while holding her against her will for several hours in his apartment, police said.
“‘There was a moment where he was distracted and she was able to get his gun,’ [Sgt. Eric] Buschow said. ‘Who knows what would have happened if she hadn’t. It was bad.’”
One of the firearms police found in Bhatti’s apartment had been reported stolen in Virginia. What’s more, Bhatti is a convicted felon, and his possession of any firearm is itself a felony.
Bhatti was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Buschow said the victim had been released from the hospital and will not be charged with a crime.
“She had every right to defend herself in the situation,” Buschow said.
Teresa Mull is editor of Gunpowder Magazine. Contact her at [email protected].