Jun 15, 2008 8:09 am US/Eastern
Store Owner Didn't Want To Shoot Would-Be Robber
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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A merchant was forced to shoot a would-be-robber who pulled a knife on him inside his store earlier this week.
Some Charles Village business owners are considering getting gun permits. They say they fear for their safety.
Mike Hellgren reports the new concerns follow a merchant shooting a would-be-robber who pulled a knife on him inside his store earlier this week.
The store owner who pulled the trigger has told
Eyewitness News it was a matter of survival. The same man had robbed him again and again and became more aggressive each time.
It's rattled many store owners in Charles Village who are now focusing on their own safety.
The owner of the dry cleaners on 32nd and Saint Paul Streets says he faced the terrifying prospect of losing his own life when a man trying to rob his store pulled a knife on him.
"If I could ask him something, I would ask him why. Why did it have to come to this," said the shop owner.
The merchant made a split-second decision to grab his gun and shoot. He asked that his name remain anonymous.
"One person called me dirty Harry. If a person wants to play shoot-up justice, it isn't about that. It's more a position of survival," said the shop owner.
He says the same man tried to rob him four times in the past two years.
The would-be robber did not die from the wounds.
"I've had people say, 'you should have killed him,' and that's upsetting," said the store owner.
Nearby retailers like Veronika Romans can't get the terrifying incident out of their heads.
"I hate to admit it, but I'm almost happy that a retailer was able to take action instead of standing there and getting cut or whatever this guy was trying to do to him," said Romans.
One week ago, Romans says a man went crazy outside her store, smashing himself into her window.
"What am I supposed to do if someone were to break in and put a knife in my face," asked Romans.
She says it took nearly a half hour for police to respond.
"I was really afraid he was going to get in before the police arrived," said Romans. "Until recently, I felt very safe here, but I am actually discussing the possibility of getting a concealed gun permit."
There are no statistics on how common it is for business owners to arm themselves.
In Charles Village, there have been 39 robberies this year. There have been more than 1,600 citywide.
The mayor says authorities do not want to encourage this kind of self defense.
"I know that probably that was the last resort because he was worried about the safety of his life, and the fact that he had been broken into so many times," said Mayor Sheila Dixon.
The store owner has not been charged. The state's attorney will review the case which could take six weeks to six months.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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