Tasteless way to word the article. The woman died because of some worthless pos. There's no way the article, written the day after, has a clue of what unfolded. Hell, from a linked story, it indicated that she did indeed take a class.
Police chief: 'She was able to get one shot off, and the gun jammed' :: WRAL.com
This woman was presented with a potential threat, and took the right steps in learning to defend herself. What a piece of written drivel. Are we to expect that everyone carrying is tactically sound, or even has the ability to be such?
I agree with your opinion of the way the article was written. It was still an interesting case study anyway and one that if we care to we can learn from. More details would be helpful, like what kind of gun was it and had it been fired much previously.