The elderly owner of the Norco Market & Liquor in Norco, California, fired at a would-be thief in the early hours of Sunday, surveillance footage from the business showed.
The video depicts the unidentified male suspect entering the business shortly before three in the morning with an AR-15-style rifle and aiming it directly at the 80-year-old store owner behind the counter. In the video, the attacker can be heard yelling for the owner to put his “hands in the air” repeatedly, but the owner ignores him.
Instead, the owner took out his own shotgun from behind the counter and shot the suspect once, striking him in the arm. “He shot my arm off! He shot my arm off!” the suspect screamed to another armed suspect as they fled the store.
Surveillance footage from outside the business showed the first and second suspects getting into a car with two other persons. One of the four suspects was apparently seeking medical attention for a gunshot wound when the other three were reportedly discovered at a hospital in Southern California.
Three further suspects were discovered in a stolen BMW SUV that also included many stolen weapons. The suspects, identified as Justin Johnson, 22, Jamar Williams, 27, and Davon Broadus, 24, were taken to the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of robbery and conspiracy.
The main suspect is currently being treated at the hospital and is in a critical but stable condition. When he is released, he will be transferred to Riverside County jail, the outlet said.
“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,” Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.