Posted on 09/16/2013 10:46:48 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Man becomes online celebrity after fatally shooting young robber
A jeweler in the southern French city of Nice who has been charged with murder for killing a robber has become a hero on social networking sites.
Nearly 1 million people have “liked” a Facebook page set up in solidarity with Stephan Turk, 67, who opened fire on two youths who held up his store Wednesday, fatally shooting one of them as they attempted to flee by scooter.
The jeweler said he was acting in self-defense, but prosecutor Eric Bedos told reporters Friday he suspected the jeweler had aimed to kill the 19-year-old, who has been identified only by his first name, Anthony. The victim and an accomplice held up Turk at gunpoint as he was opening his shop and forced him to hand over the contents of his safe. He opened fire on them as they fled, shooting Anthony in the back.
The victim had 14 previous convictions for petty crime. His brother told a Nice newspaper he was trying to raise money to support his pregnant girlfriend.
Turk, whose shop had been burgled in 2012, was released from custody on Friday and placed under house arrest.
He was fitted with an electronic bracelet.
The case has triggered an outpouring of support for the shop owner. More than 930,000 people had “liked” a Facebook page titled “Support for the jeweler in Nice” by early Saturday.
Thousands of people wrote messages of support for Turk, many of which accused young “scum” of sponging off the hard work of others and accused the government of being soft on crime.
“Unfortunately, we live in a country where, if we want justice to be done, we have to do it ourselves.
Full support for this jeweler who was defending his living,” one man wrote on Facebook.
“My only regret is that he missed the second (attacker),” wrote another.
Hundreds of others, including far right National Front deputy Marion Marechal-Le Pen, tweeted their support for the jeweler, while an online petition demanding his release had garnered nearly 43,000 signatures.
The case comes after a spate of jewelry robberies along the Cote d’Azur in recent months, including a record $136 million diamond heist at a jewelry exhibition in the resort town of Cannes in July.
Jewelry and watch stores have also been frequently targeted in recent years, often by heavily armed youths.
WHAT? There is a FRENCH Guy with a GUN and the will to use it? We really need this productive citizen that has a business, skill, to reproduce and out breed the wennies that are left in Europe. Please tell me he is a Christian too....
Perhaps the prosecutor should first explain why the two things are mutually exclusive.
I’m a member of the NRA and a gun-owner, but I can’t call him a hero. He should know that you can’t get away with shooting a man in the back as he is leaving, unless you live in conservative states or lawless areas like the Middle East, Chicago, or the inner cities.
In addition to the Nuremberg trials and splitting Germany into two parts for 40 years, perhaps we should have punished the Germans even more after WWII by making them keep France.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.