(IN) Merchant ends holdup, shoots robber

(IN) Merchant ends holdup, shoots robber

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Officer Cinda Curtis takes photos inside the Smokehouse

Merchant ends holdup, shoots robber

The Journal Gazette


A discount tobacco store owner shot and critically wounded a would-be robber after he took money from the proprietor at gunpoint Friday night, Fort Wayne police said.

The gunman, whose name was withheld, approached the owner at his business, the Smokehouse Tobacco Outlet, 2217 S. Lafayette St., at 7:41 p.m., demanding money, Fort Wayne police spokeswoman Robin Thompson said.

The proprietor gave the man cash, then pulled a gun while the would-be robber was walking away from the counter. The proprietor fired several shots, hitting the intruder, Thompson said.

The would-be robber, who is in his 20s, was taken to a hospital in critical condition, Thompson said.

One customer was inside the store and another was outside, Thompson said, but neither was injured.

The owner of the store was taken to police headquarters on Creighton Avenue to be interviewed.

Prosecutors will decide whether he acted in self-defense or whether his actions warrant criminal charges. No charges had been filed as of late Friday.

Police did not immediately identify the proprietor, but witnesses said he goes by the name of “Mike.”

People surrounding the store on Lafayette between DeWald Street and Creighton Avenue sighed with relief and applauded when they heard the shooting victim was the would-be robber and not the owner.

Earline Jackson, who lives on DeWald, said she couldn’t help coming to see whether “Mike” was all right after gunshots echoed in the neighborhood. She saw two people inside and another outside the store but could not figure out what exactly had happened.

Lafayette Street was reduced to one lane around the business during the investigation, causing a brief traffic tie-up.

There have been other holdups in recent years in which would-be robbers were shot and killed.

A man who tried to rob a downtown liquor store in August 2003 was killed when he faced a counterattack by an employee. Cecil Eugene Wilson, 25, was shot to death during the robbery attempt at Cap n’ Cork, 1031 Broadway. The shooter, Matthew Novak, was cleared of any criminal charges.

In November 2002, an employee at a gas station shot and killed a would-be robber. Patrick E. Byrd Jr., 26, was shot multiple times after he entered Sunoco, 5133 Coldwater Road, pointed a gun at the employee and demanded money. The employee, John W. Washington III, pulled his own gun and fired several shots. He then followed Byrd out the door and fired more shots. Byrd, who did not fire his weapon, died at a hospital. Washington was not charged in the shooting.