You May Have To Defend Yourself Against The Attack Of A Woman

On February 12, 2010 a Harvard educated female neuroscientist - Dr. Amy Bishop - shocked our nation when she went on a shooting rampage at the University of Alabama that resulted in the death of three colleagues and the wounding of three others. Apparently, she was exacting revenge for not being awarded tenure at the school.

This incident proves that although the FBI Uniform Crime Statistics clearly show that violent crime is usually committed by men, it is entirely possible that women can committ violent offenses. In 2009, women in the United States were arrested for the following violent crimes: 931 Murders, 187 Forcible Rapes, 10,898 Robberies, and 68,412 Aggravated Assaults.

Accordingly, I teach and challenge students in my Personal Protection/Self-Defense classes not to cling too dearly to any pre-conceived notions of what an assailant "looks" like. A violent assailant may be a woman.

Some Recent Metro-Detroit Cases Involving Violent Females

On Sunday, November 7th, 2010, a 46 year-old Detroit man was killed when his 46 year-old girlfriend deliberately ran him over with a U-Haul Truck. Police say that the victim exited the vehicle after getting into a dispute with his girlfriend. The dead man's girlfriend is in police custody awaiting charges.

On Thursday, November 4th, 2010, a 49 year-old Detroit woman was seriously injured after being initially hit with a car and then subsequently slammed into the porch by the same car which was driven by the 21 year-old woman who had previously dated the victim's boyfriend. The assailant is in police custody awaiting charges.

On July 25, 2010, a 23 year-old Pontiac woman, who had an ongoing online Facebook feud with another woman, repeatedly rammed her car into the vehicle driven by her rival. The rival, as a consequence, feared for her life and ran a red traffic signal. The rival's car crashed into a dump truck. The resulting accident left the driver in critical condition and killed a passenger who was also present in the rival's car. The assailant was taken into police custody and arraigned on murder charges. The online dispute was reportedly started over the attention and affection of an unnamed man.

On July 12, 2010, a 27 year-old Detroit woman armed with a baseball bat and an illegally possessed stun gun arrived at the Ferndale home of her ex-boyfriend whom she thought was cheating with another woman. She proceeded to repeatedly beat on the house, broke the front door, and broke out a window. The police were summoned and arrived before she could gain entry into the home. The assailant was taken in custody.

On December 2, 2009, a 29 year-old Detroit woman reportedly poured gasoline onto porch of the home of her 40 year-old ex-boyfriend and set it on fire. Allegedly, the incident was sparked - pun not intended - when she was told that she could no longer live at the residence over suspicions of cheating. The woman was taken into custody and no injuries were reported in the blaze.

Bottom Line:
Although women, as a rule, do not committ violent acts as often as men statistically, they are still capable of doing so. Thus, individuals desiring to exercise more involvement in their personal safety should take a more expansive view of the types of people they view as potential threats. A woman can be a threat to another person's safety.