A restaurant customer with a concealed carry permit shot and killed an armed robber in Philadelphia on Sunday, in an incident police are calling “justifiable” homicide.
CBS Philly reported that police said the gunman entered the Wingstop around 10:30 Sunday night. The assailant went behind the counter and threatened the employees with a weapon while demanding money.
When the male customer with a concealed carry weapon entered the store while talking on his cellphone, the robber turned his gun on the customer and demanded he hand over his phone. Rather than comply, the customer pulled out his firearm, one that he was legally licensed to carry, and fired one shot at the robber, striking him in the neck.
The 53-year-old suspect died at the scene from injuries he sustained in the shooting.
Fox29’s Steve Keeley shared a video of a police official describing the incident, tweeting, “Latest Philadelphia homicide ‘likely to be very quickly ruled justifiable’ [Philadelphia police] tell Fox29 News.”
Latest Philadelphia homicide “likely to be very quickly ruled justifiable” @phillypolice tell FOX29 News. 53 yr old armed robber with prior arrests was in mid-hold up of WINGSTOP on Cottman Ave past 10pm & was shot&killed by customer with concealed carry permit @FOX29philly pic.twitter.com/1ZkZQXGVgE
— Steve Keeley (@KeeleyFox29) November 30, 2020
Police said the customer was a man in his 20s. No charges were filed against him, and the incident remains under investigation.
“The customer, who was also a victim because he had the gun pointed at him, remained on scene, did cooperate with police. We do have his weapon. We know that just one shot was fired from that customer,” Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
The incident comes just days after Democrat Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Wolf vetoed two gun bills that sought to prevent gun-carrying rights from being shut down or limited during emergency declarations.
The first bill, HB1747, sought to repeal a provision of emergency declaration law that states “no person shall carry a firearm upon the public streets or upon any public property.”
Representative Matthew Dowling, a Republican from Fayette and the bill’s sponsor, said he believes the law could stop people from openly carrying a gun, which is not banned in Pennsylvania.
“While the powers repealed under this legislation were not utilized in response to the COVID-19 disaster emergency, the ongoing pandemic underscores the need for flexibility in the law to deal with unforeseen and unfathomable situations,” Wolf wrote in a message regarding his veto.
