Detroit Deli Owner Shoots Suspected Robber During Hold-Up

DETROIT, MI — When a 75-year-old man heard his wife in mortal danger in their deli in Detroit, Michigan, he leaped into action.

Not only did he neutralize the bad guy, but after a trip to the hospital the thug will now have a whole lot to answer for.

As WJBK reports:

It happened at Teenie’s Deli about 4 p.m. Thursday on Seven Mile, when 75-year-old Johnnie Christopher was working in the back of the diner and his wife at the front.

“You have to act, you can’t react,” said Christopher. “You have to act. Bop, just like that.”

A 22-year-old black male runs in, saying he is being chased.

“He came in here and he was just standing here and all of sudden he jumps,” Christopher said.

The man jumped over the counter and at that point, Christopher believed he was being robbed.

“Of course, I’m in the back,” he said. “My wife is screaming and hollering. What would you do? That’s all I can tell you.”

Christopher grabbed his gun and fired several shots, hitting the man. The victim was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

“It happened so fast, I’m in the back, my wife is screaming,” Christopher said. “I come out and there he is. There is nothing I can do but act. Do something, you can’t just holler.”

He later added that he is no stranger to attempted robberies — in fact, the poor man has had a gun thrust in his face more than once.

“I’ve been robbed three times with a gun in my face and my being in business for 41 years, coming up in January,” he said. “And I’ve been, I guess, prone to it because it’s happening and I’m aware of it every day.”

Now, it’s absolutely unacceptable that this man had been robbed three times in 41 years — but actually, compared to a great many stores or restaurants, that’s a really, really low number.

With Christopher’s reaction during the last attack, however, I wouldn’t be surprised if thugs give Teenie’s Deli a wide berth for some time.

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