This past Tuesday, one Texas man made a very stupid, and quite fatal, mistake when he attempted to rob a gun store with a knife.
Currently unidentified, the man in question stormed into Carter's Country guns and ammo store located out in Southwest Houston at roughly 3 in the afternoon with what police officials have labeled as a "bladed object" and started to try and steal from a cash register, claimed authorities. One store employee confronted him and ended up shooting him twice, reported police officials.
"Once he went there [the gun shop], he actually went behind the counter [and] started ruffling through the cash register," stated HPD Lt. Larry Crowson, as reported by Click2Houston.com. "He was confronted by one of the employees, at that point, one of the employees felt in fear of their safety and fired two shots, at least one struck."
South Gessner officers are at a shooting scene 11800 S. Wilcrest. Adult male transported in critical condition.202 pic.twitter.com/P5eplifeo8
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) June 21, 2022
The employee who fired the shots at the robber stated to police officials that they feared for their life at the time. Police have not since further described what went down during the fatal encounter.
After the shots were fired, the suspect fled the scene leaving a trail of blood before finally collapsing in the parking lot just outside the store. When police officers arrived, they discovered him and transported him to a local hospital, where he was officially pronounced dead. As of writing, neither the store employee nor the suspect has been identified by reports. Police officials have stated that the entire ordeal was caught on camera, but did not release it due to the investigation.
Witnesses stated to police officials that the suspect had attempted to shoplift from a nearby clothing store before making their way into the firearms store.
"The guy looked like he was a homeless person," stated a witness who saw the suspect in a nearby Suit Mart before the shooting, Marcus Fomby, to Click2Houston. "Basically, they told him to just let go of the jeans or we’ll call the police."
Carter’s Country Outdoor Stores is a well-known family-owned chain of four retail locations and firing ranges set up in Houston back in the 1960s. The company also sports commercial guided hunting trips throughout both Texas and Colorado, as stated on its website.
Back in 2016, Carter’s Country was the backdrop for an insane early morning heist in which the thieves managed to steal well over 50 firearms. Video footage of the incident showed the group of thieves moving a black Ford F-250 truck next to the store in order to attach chains to a door and then rip it off its hinges. Police managed to catch the group within a few days.