You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Reluctant store owner kills robber
- Thread starter bestdefense357
- Start date
jeffelkins
New member
FW clerk fatally shoots man at store
Robber threatened owner, wife with gun, police say
03/04/2000
By Debra Dennis / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH - When a convenience store clerk was shot and killed last month only a couple of streets over, Getachew Alemayehu decided to buy a gun - just in case.
Mr. Alemayehu said he did not expect or want to use the .380-caliber weapon. But he knew that his small grocery store in a blighted East Side neighborhood could be a target for robbers.
On Thursday, Mr. Alemayehu fatally shot a man who he said had entered the store and pointed a loaded shotgun at him and his pregnant wife.
"He said, 'Hands up,' and my wife rolled to the floor and tried to hide herself," said Mr. Alemayehu, 39, a native of Ethiopia. "It was very stressful, very intense."
Mr. Alemayehu said he crawled to the counter where he had stashed his gun. Then, he pulled it out and began shooting.
"I squeezed it continuously. I know I fired three times," said Mr. Alemayehu, who owns Hampshire Food Store at 5033 N. Hampshire Blvd., about a mile west of East Loop 820 between East Lancaster Avenue and Rosedale Street.
"He had this big rifle and something over his face. His eyes were open wide, and he was aggressive."
Police said the assailant, who carried no identification, entered the store shortly after 9 p.m., wearing a bandanna and holding a shotgun.
After being shot, he stumbled outside and collapsed in a neighbor's yard.
Algia Torbor, who lives next door to the store, said he heard the gunshots and called police.
"I heard somebody hollering for help," said Mr. Torbor, pointing to the assailant's blood scattered about his front yard. "I saw him crawling. He was on his knees. I didn't know what was going on."
Last month, 50-year-old Turen Ong, a clerk at Sunny's Food Mart on East Lancaster, was shot to death by a robber. Mr. Ong's son, Aroun, was also wounded in the attack.
Carl Paul Johnson, 37, is charged with capital murder and attempted capital murder in connection with the robbery and fatal shooting. He is being held in the Tarrant County Jail, with bail set at $675,000.
Mr. Alemayehu said the incident at nearby Sunny's prompted him to buy a handgun.
"My wife is eight months pregnant," Mr. Alemayehu said. "We're trying to improve ourselves and the community. I did not want to hurt nobody. I prefer to give money, but this person was extreme."
Mr. Alemayehu's wife, Nigest Tilahun, 29, was taken to Arlington Memorial Hospital for observation. On Friday, the couple, who have two children, remained in their Arlington home and tried to decide what they will do next.
Mr. Alemayehu said the shooting left him so shaken that he probably will close the store, which he has owned only eight months.
Homicide Detective Mike Carroll said police are trying to identify the assailant.
"We've been driving around trying to find someone who knows the victim," he said. "There were no abandoned cars, and we're checking with the neighbors. We may come up with something on the fingerprints."
Lt. David Burgess said Mr. Alemayehu was taken in for questioning but released without charges. Information will be forwarded to a Tarrant County grand jury, he said.
Robber threatened owner, wife with gun, police say
03/04/2000
By Debra Dennis / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH - When a convenience store clerk was shot and killed last month only a couple of streets over, Getachew Alemayehu decided to buy a gun - just in case.
Mr. Alemayehu said he did not expect or want to use the .380-caliber weapon. But he knew that his small grocery store in a blighted East Side neighborhood could be a target for robbers.
On Thursday, Mr. Alemayehu fatally shot a man who he said had entered the store and pointed a loaded shotgun at him and his pregnant wife.
"He said, 'Hands up,' and my wife rolled to the floor and tried to hide herself," said Mr. Alemayehu, 39, a native of Ethiopia. "It was very stressful, very intense."
Mr. Alemayehu said he crawled to the counter where he had stashed his gun. Then, he pulled it out and began shooting.
"I squeezed it continuously. I know I fired three times," said Mr. Alemayehu, who owns Hampshire Food Store at 5033 N. Hampshire Blvd., about a mile west of East Loop 820 between East Lancaster Avenue and Rosedale Street.
"He had this big rifle and something over his face. His eyes were open wide, and he was aggressive."
Police said the assailant, who carried no identification, entered the store shortly after 9 p.m., wearing a bandanna and holding a shotgun.
After being shot, he stumbled outside and collapsed in a neighbor's yard.
Algia Torbor, who lives next door to the store, said he heard the gunshots and called police.
"I heard somebody hollering for help," said Mr. Torbor, pointing to the assailant's blood scattered about his front yard. "I saw him crawling. He was on his knees. I didn't know what was going on."
Last month, 50-year-old Turen Ong, a clerk at Sunny's Food Mart on East Lancaster, was shot to death by a robber. Mr. Ong's son, Aroun, was also wounded in the attack.
Carl Paul Johnson, 37, is charged with capital murder and attempted capital murder in connection with the robbery and fatal shooting. He is being held in the Tarrant County Jail, with bail set at $675,000.
Mr. Alemayehu said the incident at nearby Sunny's prompted him to buy a handgun.
"My wife is eight months pregnant," Mr. Alemayehu said. "We're trying to improve ourselves and the community. I did not want to hurt nobody. I prefer to give money, but this person was extreme."
Mr. Alemayehu's wife, Nigest Tilahun, 29, was taken to Arlington Memorial Hospital for observation. On Friday, the couple, who have two children, remained in their Arlington home and tried to decide what they will do next.
Mr. Alemayehu said the shooting left him so shaken that he probably will close the store, which he has owned only eight months.
Homicide Detective Mike Carroll said police are trying to identify the assailant.
"We've been driving around trying to find someone who knows the victim," he said. "There were no abandoned cars, and we're checking with the neighbors. We may come up with something on the fingerprints."
Lt. David Burgess said Mr. Alemayehu was taken in for questioning but released without charges. Information will be forwarded to a Tarrant County grand jury, he said.
ellsworthtoohey
New member
Applause!
------------------
"I don't believe in individualism, Peter. I don't believe that any one man is any one thing which everybody else can't be. I believe that we are all equal and interchangeable."--Ellsworth Toohey
------------------
"I don't believe in individualism, Peter. I don't believe that any one man is any one thing which everybody else can't be. I believe that we are all equal and interchangeable."--Ellsworth Toohey
Jeff Thomas
New member
It is a shame that good people must go through such tragic experiences. I'm glad the man triumphed, and I don't feel badly for another BG that has left the gene pool.
However, Mr. Alemayehu should consider a better gun when he can afford it - a .380 vs. a shotgun? Those are long odds.
However, Mr. Alemayehu should consider a better gun when he can afford it - a .380 vs. a shotgun? Those are long odds.
Thank you Robert for sharing another story with a nice happy ending.
It's one thing to steal, but quite another to rob and even worse, to threaten a pregnant woman. What a cowardly low life degenerate that robber was. Bravo Mr. Aleyamehu for helping make this a better place to live.
------------------
Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt
It's one thing to steal, but quite another to rob and even worse, to threaten a pregnant woman. What a cowardly low life degenerate that robber was. Bravo Mr. Aleyamehu for helping make this a better place to live.
------------------
Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt