Some looters tried to break into a gun store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the early hours of Tuesday morning, but they quickly learned the hard way that this was actually a very bad idea.
As violent riots spread across the country in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, looters had tried to break into the Firing Line Inc. gun store multiple times over the past few days.
Knowing this, the gun store’s 67-year-old owner decided to spend the night in the store so that he could monitor the security cameras personally, according to WCAU-TV.
At around 4:15 a.m., the owner caught sight of three or four men trying to break into the property by using bolt cutters on the gate.
They quickly managed to break through the backdoor of the store and run upstairs, but that’s where they were in for a very rude wakeup call.
When they reached the top of the stairs, the wannabe looters were greeted by none other than the elderly store owner armed with an M4 rifle.
The owner did not hesitate to open fire, killing one of the looters by shooting him in the head as the others managed to flee the scene.
Police believe that a man who later showed up at a hospital with a gunshot wound to the shoulder could be another one of the suspects.
Officers have also said that they believe the deceased suspect had been pointing a handgun at the owner that was later found at the scene.
“One of the individuals that broke into the property, pointed a handgun at him,” Chief Inspector Scott Smalls said, according to WTXF-TV. “And that’s when the store owner fired his own weapon, striking the one perpetrator at least one time in the head and he collapsed, dropping his gun between his legs.”
Police added that while the owner will not face charges, the suspects will likely be charged with burglary once caught.
As the looting across America shows no sign of slowing down, this story should serve as a reminder that breaking into a gun store might not be the smartest idea.
This piece was written by PoliZette Staff on June 2, 2020. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.
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