Ask ex-Beatle George Harrison, who, with 24 hour survellience, dog patrols, and barbed wire was still attacked by a knife weilding maniac in his home. Both he and his wife were injured, him with a stab wound to the chest, until they finally overpowered the man. Two very lucky people. What chance does a single woman, then, without the luxury of all that security, have of overpowering an attacker without a gun?
HENLEY-ON-THAMES, England (Reuters) – A knife-wielding intruder stabbed former Beatle George Harrison during a fierce struggle on Thursday in his closely guarded 120-room mansion, authorities said.
Police said Harrison, 56, was in stable condition after a single stab wound to the chest. They said it was unlikely that burglary was a motive and the intruder, who was caught, was questioned on suspicion of attempted murder.

Harrison’s wife, Olivia, was also wounded as the couple fought the intruder through three blood-spattered rooms of a former nunnery before they overpowered the 33-year-old man and held him until police arrived.

Their 21-year-old son Dhani was also in the house in Henley-on-Thames, west of London, at the time.

Within hours, flowers arrived at the Gothic-style mansion from distraught fans.

“What is very clear here is that this was quite a vicious attack on George Harrison and his wife. We are treating this very seriously,” Detective Chief Inspector Euan Read told a news conference outside Harrison’s house. “I am not at all sure this is a burglary that went wrong. I believe he came here deliberately.”

He said the attacker, who was not identified, was from Liverpool, birthplace of all the Beatles. Police searched his home there.

John Lennon, another former member of what was once the world’s most famous band, was shot dead outside his New York apartment on December 8, 1980, by crazed fan Mark Chapman.

Surgeon William Fountain at Harefield Hospital near Henley told reporters Harrison’s injuries were “not life-threatening but that is mainly by chance.”

He said Harrison, who suffered a single stab wound to the right side of the chest, was “in excellent spirits and he certainly hasn’t lost his sense of humor.” There were unlikely to be long-term health problems from the stabbing, he said.

WOKEN BY BREAKING GLASS

Read portrayed a life-and-death struggle between the Harrisons and the intruder who broke into the house through either a glass window or door.

“Mr. Harrison would have been woken by breaking glass and would have gone downstairs to investigate that,” Read said.

A struggle between the Harrisons and the intruder took place in three rooms in the couple’s private quarters in the mansion where they have lived for the past 20 years.

The intruder suffered injuries to the head in the struggle.

Neighbors described the building as “Fort Knox” because it was guarded by 24-hour surveillance, dog patrols and 10-foot-high barbed wire fences.

“There’s an awful lot of security on the house. You’d be doing pretty well to get through the gates,” said Daniel Andrews who lives across the road.

The attack shook the village’s other rich and famous residents, which include a member of rock band Led Zeppelin and brash U.S. television comedienne Ruby Wax.

“This is one of the most expensive bits of real estate in the country,” said local councilor, Paul Harrison, who is unrelated to the pop star.

Beatles biographer Hunter Davies said Harrison was an unlikely target for an attack. “He’s been a recluse in many ways in the last few years. He’s gone into spiritualism, spiritual things,” he said.

Harrison, the Beatles’ lead guitarist, lived for many years in the shadow of Lennon and Paul McCartney and was rated a major musician in his own right only after the “Fab Four” broke up.

During the group’s reign, the youngest Beatle became devoted to Oriental mysticism and persuaded the other Beatles to travel to India to sit at the feet of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

A spokesman for the Beatles record company Apple said McCartney, Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono and Beatles drummer Ringo Starr had all been advised of the attack.

Like the other Beatles, Harrison came from a working class family in Liverpool in northwest England. He was born on February 25, 1943, the youngest of three sons, and became interested in music in his teens.

Starting in 1962, a rapid succession of hit singles made the Beatles the most famous rock and roll group in the world.

In 1966, Harrison married model Patti Boyd. He immersed himself in mystical philosophy, became a vegetarian and gradually withdrew from the public glare.

After the group broke up, Harrison scored remarkable success with the single “My Sweet Lord” and a series of albums.

His first wife left him in 1974 for his long-time friend, guitarist Eric Clapton. In 1978, Harrison married his present wife, Mexican-born Olivia Arias.