Posted on 11/06/2006 2:51:14 PM PST by Lurker
ROSELLE, Ill. -- A shooting inside a DuPage County comic book store has left the owner of the store injured and an alleged intruder dead.
In a news conference Friday, police said the intruder may have been looking for collectable coins.
Police described the incident as a real shoot out, as the two men emptied their weapons into each other.
Both men are in their 40s.
The owner of the store was taken to Alexian Brothers Hospital with a gunshot wound to his arm.
The alleged robber, who is reportedly from Hanover Park, was pronouned dead.
More details from WBBM:
Roselle Shopkeeper Kills Robber In Gunfight
Bob Roberts Reporting
ROSELLE, Ill. (WBBM) -- A 40-year-old parolee from St. Louis was shot dead during a gunfight with the owner of a Roselle collectibles store, who was wounded.
WBBM's Bob Roberts reports.
A digital surveillance video caught the shootout that occurred inside the Westlake Cards, Comics and Coins store, at 1234 W. Lake St., in Roselle. After reviewing the video, DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett declined to press charges against the 49-year-old shopkeeper, a resident of Hanover Park, in the death of ex-convict Geoffrey Webb.
“The question is whether or not this store owner had the right to protect himself and to have a weapon,” Birkett said. “He does. He has a (Firearm Owners Identification) card. He's got that right under Illinois law.”
Roselle Police Chief James Kruger said the surveillance video shows Webb entering the store just before 10:30 a.m. Friday, placing a black bag on the horseshoe-shaped counter and speaking for several minutes with the shopkeeper, whom authorities refused to identify.
Kruger said Webb suddenly pulled a gun from the bag, in which duct tape and handcuffs were later found, and vaulted the counter.
“There was clearly an imminent threat to the store owner's life, and clearly the intruder was in the commission of a forcible felony,” Birkett said.
The shopkeeper told police he had been robbed when the store was located in Glendale Heights, and since then has kept a handgun on his desk in the event of robbery. He was standing next to the desk when Webb vaulted over the display cases.
Kruger said the video appeared to show Webb firing first, wounding the shopkeeper through an arm with one of his shots. The shopkeeper wounded Webb several times, including the apparently fatal bullet to the head.
Birkett said the shopkeeper did not know Webb was dead when he ran from the shop into a neighboring Chinese restaurant, and needed help to place his call to 911. Police entering the store found Webb on the floor, next to safes near the store's rear exit.
The shopkeeper was released after treatment at St. Alexian Medical Center, in Elk Grove Village. Kruger said no one else was in the store when the shootout occurred.
The store is in a strip mall. A sign in its blanked-out front window reads, “We pay cash for class rings, sterling silver, broken jewelry, dental gold, silver and gold coins.”
Police were unsure if Webb had previous dealings with the store or had cased it.
Reporters asked Birkett if he was recommending that shopkeepers have guns in their stores.
“I'm not recommending anything. Absolutely not,” Birkett said. “I don't make those recommendations. My job is to evaluate evidence and make decisions based on the law. He had a right to possess a weapon. He had a (firearm owner's identification) card, he has a right to have the weapon.”
Birkett said the practice is legal except in municipalities, such as Chicago, that specifically bar handgun ownership.
Both weapons used were handguns.
Webb was sentenced out-of-state to 15 years in prison in 1994 for armed robbery. It was unclear how long he had been on parole or been in the Chicago area. Police evidence technicians recovered his car outside of the store.
The DuPage County Coroner's office scheduled an autopsy for Webb at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
Police said they will file no charges against the store owner.
I'm glad he survived and that the perp didn't.
L
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Of course I am glad that the bad guy got what was coming to him, but I admit, as a comic collector since the tender age of 7 or so way back in 1975, and having dealth with comic book dealers since then, it's really hard to be sympathetic to a comic book store dealer.
Just kidding! ;-)
Worst. Customer. Ever.
Ping!
"1 Dead In Comic Store Shootout "
As long as it was the 'right' one.
Which, in this case, it was.
One less perp to contend with. Saves tons of money for tax payers too.
Sounds like another Michael Dukakis ad in the making to me. As well as a future felon democrat voter. The DNC will get him to the polls tomorrow, right?
Point the gun, pull the trigger, repeat until you are out of bullets. Reload, repeat as necessary to remove the menace.
Especially being that he's now a dead convicted felon. He will certainly vote the straight democrat ticket tomorrow.
Damn bastard tried to steal Spidey. No one steal spidey and gets out alive.
I patronise him for one of those three. He's been robbed at least once before. This time it seems the perp wasn't going to leave any witnesses.
Our local States Attorney is a pretty stand up guy. Good on him for dropping this after reviewing the tape. Interestingly enough he's running for Lt. Gov of IL right now.
Too bad his partner is the awful, abysmally bad RINO Pub Topinka.
L
I'll stop by and see him.
L
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