An elderly California convenience store owner is being hailed a hero after he shot a would-be robber who ran out of the store yelling that his arm had been “shot off.”
Shocking surveillance footage from Norco Market & Liquor on the 2800 block of Clark Avenue in Norco, California shows a masked assailant enter the business around 2:47 a.m. with an AR-15-style rifle pointed at the 80-year-old male store owner .
The suspect yelled, “Stop, hands in the air,” but seconds later the quick-thinking store owner pulled his own shotgun from under the counter and immediately fired once at the shoplifter, hitting him in the arm.
Video also showed another man getting out of a black BMW SUV, but he stopped and got back into the vehicle after seeing the first suspect run out of the store repeatedly, yelling, “He shot my arm!”
The three suspects involved in the attempted robbery were captured, with the suspect who was shot at the hospital in critical but stable condition.Fox11
Riverside County Sheriff’s officials arrested three suspects — Justin Johnson, 22, of Inglewood, Calif., Jamar Williams, 27, of Los Angeles, and Daven Broadus, of Las Vegas, Nevada — at a local hospital.
The main suspect, a 23-year-old man, remains in critical but stable condition at the hospital, officials said. His identity is being withheld pending his release from the hospital.
“In this case, a legally armed member of our community prevented a violent crime and ensured his own safety while confronting multiple armed suspects,” the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. “This investigation is active and ongoing and no further information will be released at this time.”
Norco Market & Liquor officials said the owner was watching the store’s cameras as the SUV pulled into the parking lot. After seeing the first assailant get out of the SUV and put a mask over his face, the owner immediately reached for the rifle.
The 80-year-old store owner didn’t hesitate to defend himself and his business when the suspect walked in with a shotgun pointed at him. fox11
“He just got ready … and stood right here and took aim and shot,” store manager Marnia Tapia told Fox11.
The other two suspects frantically drove off after the suspect who was shot ran into the car yelling “He shot my arm off.” The Sheriff of Riverside County
Officials said the owner was not at the store Monday, but Fox11 reported the man suffered a heart attack immediately after the shooting. He is expected to recover and be released from the hospital Monday night.
Sheriff’s officials said the SUV used in the attempted robbery was stolen and multiple stolen firearms were found in the vehicle.
Johnson, Williams and Broadus were booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside for robbery and conspiracy. They are being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.
The main suspect will also be housed at the facility after he is released from the hospital, officials said.
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