Top 5 of 2025: Women who fought back when coming face-to-face with crooks

Women have been fighting back for a long time now when confronted by crime, and the year 2025 was no exception.

In one instance, a woman was shopping in a store and used her Second Amendment rights against a male who reportedly was groping other customers and even pulled out a gun and threatened their lives ... then we have a story about a mother who hid in a closet with her baby after a man broke into her home, and she permanently ended the threat ... and then there was a tale that might make you smile about a woman who faced down a crook and took care of business with her bare hands, to the amazement of her husband.

Here are our top-five moments of 2025 when women decided to take matters into their own hands when facing down criminals:

Video: Woman pulls male intruder out of her car, throws him to the ground with ease — while her amazed husband watches

Astonishing surveillance video from a Hollywood gas station shows the moment when a woman pulled a male intruder out of her car and threw him to the ground with ease.

The woman, Star Carter, was sitting in the driver's seat of her red Alfa Romeo at the gas station Nov. 4 when a male stranger walked up and tried to open her passenger door, KCBS-TV reported.

Her husband, Michael Carter, was pumping gas at the time and was on the other side of car — and initially thought he successfully told the guy to get lost.

But after Michael got back in the passenger seat, the crook sneaked back and opened the driver-side rear door closest to the gas pump and actually got into the back seat, video shows.

"I'm wrestling with him inside the car," Michael told the station, "and I'm kinda pushing him and pushing him, and all I know is he just disappeared."

With that, Star's husband smiled and told KCBS that "I'm looking over the back, and I said, 'Oh ... ohhh!'"

Michael's, shall we say, starstruck reaction was due to the fact that his wife got out of her driver's seat, got to the back door, ripped the intruder right out the car, and tossed him to the ground.

"I don't condone violence, but I do condone self-defense," Star told KCBS in the aftermath.

Wisely, the intruder ran off after Star introduced him to the concrete. But she also had some parting advice for him: "I just said, 'Don't you ever do no stupid [word redacted in KCBS video] like this again!'"

The station said the Carters actually continued their night out, going to a comedy show at the Hollywood Improv. In the end, her husband was grateful that Star stood up to the crook.

"She is indeed my hero," Michael noted to KCBS with a laugh in the aftermath. "Thank you, Star!"

Creep with violent past allegedly gropes store customer, threatens to kill others — so woman in store shoots him dead instead

A 42-year-old man followed another customer into the Pink Beauty Supply store in Compton, California, on Oct. 19 and "groped her once inside" the store, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Lieut. DeJong told KCBS-TV.

When employees told him to leave, the man allegedly refused and began to verbally assault them and some customers before he started throwing objects inside the store, KCBS added.

Employees and customers noted that the male had an object in his hand that they believed was a knife, the sheriff's department said, adding that the male made verbal threats that he was going to kill and harm everyone in the store.

With that, one of the customers — not the one he allegedly groped — pulled out a gun, KCBS said.

Fearing for the store employees, herself, and other customers, the sheriff's department said she fired a warning shot at the male. But the male turned toward her, officials said — and fearing she was going to be attacked, she fired a second shot, striking the male.

DeJong noted to KCBS that "he went down." The sheriff's department said the male was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators noted to KCBS that the woman who pulled the trigger was a customer at the store, and she remained at the scene to cooperate with officials. Detectives added to the station that parking lot surveillance video indicates the man was loitering in the area and drinking alcohol.

"He alleged he was a gang member, and LASD says it appears he was a gang member; unknown if still active," DeJong told KCBS while adding that the male had a lengthy criminal history that included assaults, robberies, thefts, and disturbing the peace.

KNBC-TV said the woman is in her 50s, that she surrendered the gun, and that no one was arrested.

Mother hid from home invader in closet with her baby — then shot thug in the head, police say

A man with a long criminal record faced the ultimate penalty for breaking into the wrong home after discovering an armed mother, according to Illinois police.

The Joliet Police Department said they responded to a residence on Hadrian Drive on the far west side of Joliet around 10:30 p.m. Aug. 15.

Police said they saw signs of forced entry at the home and found an unresponsive man on the second floor with gunshot wounds. Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene.

They also found a woman at the home with her baby. She told them she hid in a closet in her bedroom with her child after she heard the break in. She also had a handgun with her, and when the man entered the bedroom, she shot him in the head.

Police said they found a screwdriver in the man's possession and noted he was wearing gloves at the time of the shooting.

The Will County Coroner's Office identified the man as 36-year-old Shelby Hurd of Chicago. Hurd had been convicted of burglaries in 2022 and 2023 as well as identity theft and burglary in another county. He had been paroled on Feb. 24.

Stalker shows up at woman's workplace, begins punching her, cops say. But victim has a gun — and she uses it.

A stalker showed up at a woman's workplace in Pensacola, Florida, on the morning of Feb. 10 and began punching her, police said.

But the victim had a gun on her and shot the male once in the leg in self-defense, police added.

Marquise James, 35, was arrested in connection with the 11:30 a.m. incident at the Downtown Pensacola Holiday Inn, WEAR-TV reported.

Records show James was in the Escambia County Jail on charges of stalking, battery, smuggle contraband, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana, resisting an officer, and simple assault. His bond is set at $26,500.

Pensacola Police Officer Mike Wood told WEAR that the stalking "has been going on for quite some time" and that "this male individual has been ... using social media, using phones" to do so.

Wood added to the station that "he's come to her place of employment before, and she told him to leave, and he did. But this time when he came, he saw her in the laundry room, he approached her and began punching her."

With that, Wood told WEAR that the victim "drew a handgun that she had legally and shot him once in the leg."

"He's much larger than she is, and she did what she had to do," Wood noted to the station, adding that "she did nothing wrong. She was protecting herself like she should have done."

Police told WEAR that no charges are being filed against the woman.

Wood added to the station that when James "was at the hospital, he kicked one of our officers." Wood also told WEAR that James "had cocaine and marijuana on him."

Thug allegedly recorded himself raping woman at gunpoint — before she shot him

A woman said she was sexually assaulted at gunpoint before she was able to retrieve her own gun and shoot the accused rapist, according to Indiana police.

The victim said she was assaulted on the afternoon of Sept. 16 at her home on Meadowlark Drive on the northeast side of Indianapolis, according to court documents.

She said that she was forced to have sex at gunpoint with the male, who was also recording the assault on his cell phone. When the man left the home, she got her gun and shot at him. She appeared to have shot the back window of a blue Toyota that was parked on an adjacent street.

A neighbor called police, and the victim identified the alleged attacker as 23-year-old Trevon Haynes.

About an hour later, a police officer noticed a car with its hazard lights flashing and saw that the driver had been shot in the leg. Haynes was arrested, and police said they found a firearm in the car.

He was charged with rape, intimidation, and burglary, while being armed with a deadly weapon.

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