After Worker Is Whipped With Glock, Store Owner, 72, Shoots 4, Police Say
Updated: After a 33-year-old worker inside a New York restaurant supply store allegedly was pistol-whipped with a 9-mm Glock by one member of a group of would-be robbers this afternoon, the 72-year-old owner of Kaplan Brothers Blue Flame Corporation took action.
He opened fire with his own shotgun, killing two members of the group and sending two others to the hospital, reports the City Room blog of the New York Times. The owner is identified in public records as Charles Augusto Jr.
Police say they don’t believe the Winchester 12-gauge pump shotgun that was used to shoot the four was registered, contrary to city law. It has a pistol grip handle and was recovered at the scene in Harlem, as was the Glock, the newspaper recounts.
The New York Post reports that three shots fired by the store owner struck all four men. Witnesses, including Vernon McKenzie, who rents an apartment in the building from Augusto, described a wild scene, with men running out of the building pursued by an angry employee following the sound of several shotgun blasts.
“He’s been robbed before and I guess he was prepared,” McKenzie tells the tabloid, referring to his landlord. “Those dudes ran into some real tough stuff today.”
The New York Daily News reports that two of the men were shot in the back.
Additional coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “‘No Choice’ But to Shoot 4 Would-Be Robbers, Says Store Owner, 72”
Last updated on Aug. 14 to link to subsequent ABAJournal.com post.
