Posted on 01/03/2006 8:47:17 AM PST by School of Rational Thought
STATE LINE, Idaho (AP) — Confronted by a masked man who pulled an apparent handgun and demanded money, a tobacco shop clerk pulled his own .40 caliber handgun and shot the intruder 10 times, killing him, a Kootenai County sheriff's officer said Tuesday. Killed was Joseph Kalani Hatchie, 47, of Otis Orchards, Wash. Sheriff's Capt. Ben Wolfinger said Hatchie entered Lew's Smoke Shop shortly before 8 p.m. Monday, wearing a gray ski mask. The masked man aimed his weapon at the clerk's chest and demanded money, Wolfinger said. The clerk told sheriff's deputies that he reached under the counter for a bag, came up instead with his semiautomatic and started firing. When deputies and medics arrived, Hatchie was lying dead on the floor. The weapon found with Hatchie turned out to be an air-powered pellet gun that looks identical to a Walther P-9 semiautomatic, Wolfinger said. A check turned up no criminal convictions for Hatchie, Wolfinger added. The clerk won't be identified until the Kootenai County prosecutor's office has reviewed the investigation. "This is no different than any other criminal investigation where charges have not been filed," Sheriff Rocky Watson said in a statement. It is legal for business owners to arm themselves to protect against robberies, Wolfinger said. Lew's Smoke Shop has been robbed twice in the past five years, the sheriff's department said. An employee at Lew's declined to comment Tuesday, except to say the store near Post Falls had resumed normal operations.
Smoking can kill you!........
10 shots- every time robber was shot, he moved. Ergo, empty magazine. Works for me!!!
10 rounds with a .40
Wow, looks like the storekeeper was serious.
Shoot em till they drop then keep shooting till they stop quivering.
If the bullets hadn't got him, the second-hand smoke eventually would have. ;-)
I think he just wanted to make sure he was dead.
Never bring a pellet gun to a gunfight
Why did he shoot him 10 times? Because he only had ten rounds!
Memo to would-be robbers: Walking into a store wearing a ski mask, then pulling a gun and demand cash (even if the gun is a harmless soft-pellet airpistol) might just result in getting your own self shot to pieces.
The headline should actually read: "Store owner defends himself successfully against armed robber."
And he ain't a-gonna git one now. Well, maybe littering.
The Surgeon General has determined that wearing a mask and carring a weapon in a smoke shop can be dangerous to your health.
Like to see the pattern.
Natural selection at work.
1. Good call. When in doubt (re: the status of the target) and you're sure there's only one target, empty the magazine. Repeat as necessary.
2. What the heck is a Walther P9? There's an H&K P9, a Kahr P9, and a Walther P99, but there's no Walther P9.
Cleanup in aisle 4!
Smoke this!
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