Posted on 01/17/2014 8:43:19 PM PST by Impala64ssa
... – Before Police Could Even Respond, He Was Dead
An armed man entered a Orrville, Ala., Dollar General on Thursday, waved his gun in the air and threatened to kill everyone, AL.com reports. Though motive is unclear, he never got the chance to hurt anyone because a customer carrying a concealed handgun neutralized him with a deadly shot.
Dallas County Sheriff Harris Huffman Jr. told WSFA-TV that the gunman held a cashier and customer at gunpoint, forcing them toward a break room area. It was at this point that the customer reportedly drew his firearm and shot the suspect one time in the chest. The entire incident took less than five minutes, police say.
The gunman was pronounced dead on the scene.
The sheriff said the customer is not currently facing any charges over the shooting death, however, investigators are working to confirm he had a valid concealed carry permit. Open carry is legal in Alabama, but a permit is required to carry a concealed handgun.
There was also a sign posted outside the Dollar General prohibiting open carry, but not concealed carry, the report states.
“The deceased individual had his in his hand, waving it. The customer actually had one in a holster covered up. We’re in the process of checking on permits and all of that,” Huffman Jr. said.
“You have one individual waving a gun and you have another one who shoots the one waving the gun. Some people say that’s justifiable. Then you’re going to have some who says it’s not. I think we need to get all of the information we can get from everybody and then go forward from there,” the sheriff added.
No one, other than the gunman, was injured in the incident. The individuals involved were not immediately identified.
I gotta ask, I gotta ask. Was he an aspiring rapper too? The article does not describe the stiff, so I just wonder......
I deer hunt at a 6000 acre private hunting club just south of Camden. I would not attempt an armed robbery in rural Alabama.
DALLAS COUNTY, AL (WSFA) -
New details are emerging in the investigation into a shooting at a Dallas County dollar store that ended with a gunman dead at the hands of a customer who decided to take action.
Dallas County District Attorney Michael Jackson has identified the gunman as Kevin McLaughlin from Orrville and the customer as Marlo Ellis, 37, also from Orrville.
The fatal shooting happened around 12:45 p.m. Thursday at the Dollar General on Highway 22 in Orrville.
Officials say McLaughlin walked into the store waving a gun in the air and forced a cashier and Ellis at gunpoint towards a break room. At that point, Ellis pulled out a concealed weapon and shot McLaughlin once in the chest.
"He escorted a customer who was trying to leave the store and a cashier toward a break room. The cashier went in first and the customer went in behind her, and the individual had the gun on the customer and the customer had a pistol concealed in a holster," Dallas County Sheriff Harris Huffman said. "And when the customer got to the door, he turned around and shot the individual."
McLaughlin was pronounced dead at the scene. The tense ordeal played out in less than five minutes, police said.
Other customers and delivery men were inside the store at the time of the incident. Several customers making their way into the store saw McLaughlin waving a gun and ran away.
The Dollar General store was closed Thursday afternoon following the shooting. A sign on the front door indicated it would reopen Friday.
There was another sign on the doors of the business stating that open carry of a weapon was not allowed inside the store. According to the sheriff, the Ellis' gun was concealed and inside a holster. His investigators are confirming whether Ellis has a valid concealed carry permit.
"The deceased individual had his in his hand, waving it. The customer actually had one in a holster covered up. We're in the process of checking on permits and all of that. To have a gun concealed, you need a permit. To carry it open carry, you don't. But you have a sign in a place of business, that's letting you know that the people inside that place of business do not want guns in there," the sheriff said.
The investigation is ongoing and detectives are interviewing everyone who was present at the time of the shooting and reviewing surveillance footage of the incident. The security video has not yet been released but the sheriff said it would be "forthcoming."
No other customers or employees were injured.
Sheriff Huffman says his department's findings would be turned over to a grand jury for review. He says the incident is currently being called a death investigation.
"You have one individual waving a gun and you have another one who shoots the one waving the gun. Some people say that's justifiable. Then you're going to have some who says it's not. I think we need to get all of the information we can get from everybody and then go forward from there," the sheriff said in an interview.
McLaughlin's motive remains unclear. Sheriff Huffman does not think it was a robbery. He says words were exchanged between McLaughlin and the people inside the store but there was never any mention of a robbery or hold up or money.
An autopsy will be conducted on McLaughlin by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.
Local residents reacted Thursday as news of the incident spread.
"It's a shame because we never had anything like this done in this area before. Now we fear the streets when we walk into stores and stuff. It's very shocking. I hate what happened," said Nicole Miller.
On Friday, District Attorney Michael Jackson said he doesn't expect Marlo Ellis to face any charges in the incident at the Dollar General.
"In Alabama you have the right to defend yourself or a third party so when the perpetrator went in there with a gun anybody in the store had the right to deadly force and that's what happened so he actually was a Good Samaritan in this situation because other people could have been injured if he hadn't taken action," Jackson told WSFA.
As for McLaughlin's intentions, he said there were "rumors and speculations" circulating that would be sorted out in the course of the investigation.
"I don't know why he went in there waving a gun at the people. Whatever reason he went in there for, it was very serious. Anytime someone goes into store and points guns at people, then anybody in the store has the right to use deadly force against that person," he added.
Jackson confirmed that Marlo Ellis, the customer who used deadly force, is facing charges of rape in the second degree and enticing a child for immoral purposes, stemming from a 2013 investigation involving a girl under the age of 16. Court documents state that Ellis picked the victim up at a school basketball game and drove her to his house where they had sex. The district attorney said Ellis' sex case is on the trial docket for February. He has been out of jail on bond.
Jackson tells WSFA that Ellis was within his rights to have a concealed carry permit because he has not been convicted of any crimes.
Low income people in a “dollar store”, yeah he’s bright this is where the money is
They could have called the police, and they’d have been there with their crime scene tape and yellow chalk to outline the bodes.
Sheesh....officers on the scene in these happy endings should refrain from making dumb statements such as this.
Yeah, if I was gonna commit armed robbery, I’d go to the Dollar store where the really BIG MONEY is.
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