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The Connecticut Post, Bridgeport, CT, 7/10/96

Tuesday, October 1, 1996

University of Bridgeport [Connecticut] professor Hans van der Giessen was asleep in his home when the sound of somebody kicking in his front door awakened him. Grabbing his .25 cal. semi-auto handgun, van der Giessen went downstairs where he encountered a burglar. The criminal charged the political science professor, who emptied his seven-shot pistol at the intruder. Hit in the chest by half-a-dozen rounds, the crook staggered outside where he collapsed on the sidewalk and died. It was the second time in three days van der Giessen's home had been broken into, and the suspect was found to have a record of more than a dozen convictions in the last 18 years. Police were still investigating whether the two incidents were related. University associates of van der Giessen's expressed surprise that a fellow "liberal" professor would own a gun, but all supported his actions to defend himself.
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