Morning Advocate, Baton Rouge, LA, 01/04/03

Medgar Flowers was watching television in his living room and his wife, Marsha, was preparing dinner late one night when they heard a knock at their door. Marsha Flowers said two armed men forced their way into the home as she opened the front door, firing several shots. Medgar and one of the armed invaders fell to the floor in a scuffle as Marsha ran outside. The second intruder followed her and fired several times at her. One bullet grazed the back of her neck. Mrs. Flowers said she ran from door to door on her street, begging neighbors to open the door or call police, but no one responded. "I can't blame them for not opening their doors," she said. "They didn't know who I had behind me." Meanwhile, Medgar was in a life-and-death struggle with the other home invader in his living room. Flowers was trying to reach the 9 mm handgun he kept on his coffee table while struggling to keep his attacker from drawing a gun from his jacket. Finally, Flowers was able to retrieve his gun and fired several times at the intruder. "I didn't even know if I had hit him," he said. "There was no blood, and he never fell. It was like I hadn't shot him." The struggle ended when Flowers' tormentor stumbled out of the house and died a short time later. The second gunman was not found.