Three men went into a tobacco and vape shop late at night looking to score some merchandise from the store and, as evident by their illegally obtained firearms, they didn’t intend to pay. One of the men brandished his handgun and threatened the store clerk, but this clerk didn’t intend on ending up as a victim.
The store clerk drew his firearm and fired at the would-be robbers. The three men quickly fled the scene after they realized the store wasn’t an easy score.
One of the men was found down the road and transported to the hospital via ambulance where he is recovering from serious injuries, local authorities revealed that despite the injuries the man is in stable condition.
One of the other men was found in a local Taco Bell that he had fled to, that man was transported to the hospital and had died as a result of the injuries he had sustained before arriving.
The third man was never found and it was unclear if he had even been hit in the shootout, police are still on the lookout for the man but they are unsure if they will ever find him.
The authorities came out to make an official statement about the attempted robbery where they said that they would not be charging the employee as he had acted in self-defense of both himself and others in the store.
Rock Island, Illinois Attorney Dora Villarreal said in a statement “after a preliminary review of the surveillance video and witness interviews, it appears the use of force by the employee was justified as self-defense and for the defense of others inside the story during the robbery.” Villarreal then added that “at this time, no charges will be filed against any employees of the store and the State is preparing to file aggravated robbery counts against the remaining two suspects.”
Crime didn’t pay for the three suspects, it generally doesn’t when citizens are armed and willing to protect themselves. No one had to die the day this all went down, the suspects played a dangerous game and ended up with the losing hand. Had this store employee not had a firearm he, or another customer, may have very well ended up as the man in the morgue.
