PHILADEPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – An alleged robber was fatally shot by a customer who was able to gain control of the suspect’s gun during a smoke shop robbery in the Olney neighborhood early Tuesday morning. Police were called to a reported shooting with two victims around 1:00 a.m. While they did not locate any victims inside the business, there were signs of a shooting, including empty shell casings and blood.
A short time later, officers were dispatched to a location a few blocks away for a reported shooting victim. They located a man who matched the description of the suspect in the passenger seat of a Toyota. The suspect, believed to be around 30 years old, was suffering from apparent gunshot wounds to the groin and thigh and was unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at 2:30 a.m., according to Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small. The Toyota was reportedly stolen last week in Philadelphia.
Inspector Small said, “At this point, we believe there was a robbery inside the smoke shop. Possibly the tables were turned on the robber and that’s when the robber got shot and he was able to get in this Toyota in the passenger seat who was driven two-and-a-half blocks.”
The incident occurred when the suspect entered the business while two men were withdrawing cash from an automated teller machine inside the establishment. One of the intended victims at the ATM “pulled a Bruce Lee move” on the suspect, taking the suspect’s gun away from him and shooting him with it.
Unfortunately, the 45-year-old also accidentally shot his 36-year-old friend in the shoulder. “We believe while that robbery was taking place someone fired shots striking the perpetrator who was the male inside the Toyota who was pronounced dead. That’s our preliminary information.” Unfortunately, the 45-year-old also accidentally shot his 36-year-old friend in the shoulder.
The accidental shooting victim was located at a local hospital seeking treatment for his wound, and both he and the man responsible for the shooting are cooperating with investigators. The smoke shop employees were not involved in the shooting and were behind a partition during the incident, which was captured on the shop’s video surveillance system. The investigation is continuing, and police are still looking for the driver of the stolen Toyota. No arrests have been made in the case yet.
