by Samantha Foster | 24News
An elderly convenience store owner in California is being hailed as a hero after he shot at a would-be robber who ran out of the store screaming that his arm was “shot off.”
Shocking surveillance footage from Norco Market & Liquor in the 2800 block of Clark Avenue in Norco, Calif., showed a masked assailant entering the business at about 2:47 a.m. with an AR-15-style rifle pointed at the 80-year-old store owner.
The suspect yelled, “Freeze, hands in the air,” but within seconds, the quick-thinking store owner pulled out a shotgun from under the counter and immediately shot once at the robber, hitting him in the arm.
Video footage further showed another man getting out of a black BMW SUV, but he stopped and got back into the vehicle once he saw the first suspect run out of the store repeatedly screaming, “He shot my arm off!”
Riverside County sheriff’s officials arrested three suspects — Justin Johnson, 22, of Inglewood, Calif., Jamar Williams, 27, of Los Angeles, and Davon Broadus, of Las Vegas, Nev. — at a local hospital.
The primary suspect, a 23-year-old man, remained 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 lawfully armed member of our community prevented a violent crime and ensured their own safety, while being confronted with multiple armed suspects,” the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release. “This investigation is active and ongoing and no additional information will currently be released.”
Employees at Norco Market & Liquor said the owner was watching the store cameras as the SUV pulled into the parking lot. Once he saw the first assailant get out of the SUV and pull a mask over his face, the owner immediately went for his rifle.
“He just prepared himself … and he stood right here, aimed and shot,” store manager Marnia Tapia told Fox11.
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Employees said the owner was not at the store on Monday, but Fox11 reported the man suffered a heart attack right after the shooting. He is expected to recover and will be discharged from the hospital sometime Monday night.
Sheriff’s officials said the SUV used in the attempted robbery was stolen and numerous stolen firearms also 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 jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.
The primary suspect also will be booked at the facility once he is released from the hospital, officials said.
Great job in the shooting , I guess he still could be a 1 armed banded.
Thank God the citizen was armed and stopped the intruders.
GOOD ! no ,
“ FUCKING EXCELLENT “
We , the people , we gotta start doin more of this ! if ya shoot the arms / hands / feet / cocks off these people , Eventually, we will put a STOP to this shit & they will stay in their own areas …… SUPPORT OUR POLICE & SHERIFF Dept. YEP , Thank you !
Absolutely…we the PEOPLE NEED TO FIGHT THIS. No one else is!!
Uh oh …. the People’s Socialist Republic Of Kalifornia …. that means the store owner will be charged with a “hate crime”.
Great job. First clue- you usually do not back into a parking space at 7-11.
Hope owner recovers 100 %
Should’ve shot him in his ass too.
Should have shot them just for taking a handicapped space…
The gentleman needs to take a gun course so he can get his shot more center mass next time.
Robberies. It’s all Fun and Games until the victims start shooting back. Don’t know what upset the store owners more,,the fact that they came in to Rob them,,or they parked in a handicapped zone WITHOUT a Sticker.
Love stories with a happy ending, don’t you?
Absolutely hilarious!!!!!!
They should frame the arm and hang it on the wall as a trophy!
Should hang the arm on the wall as a deterrent to other would be robbers!
Best thing I saw all week!!! WTG store owner!!!
Good guy with a gun wins again. Good people are stepping up because we are sick of this crap.
and why not back into the parking space? It makes for a quicker take-off instead of having to back up and then turn the car around. of course this makes sense when the parking lot is small and many cars come and go I always back in so when it’s time to pull out it’s a breeze.
Forgiven for parking in the handicap space since you got your arm shot off