Brooklyn, New York



From the New York Post, December 12, 2003:

The Brooklyn pet shop owner who blew away two would-be robbers said yesterday he regrets the bloody killing.



"I'm very sad that that even happened," Ivan Blume said yesterday at his Stillwell Avenue pet shop - the scene of Tuesday's mayhem.



Blume told cops he disarmed Michael Live and then shot him and his accomplice, Hector Perez, who was trying to tie up a store employee with duct tape.



Police have been unable to connect the .38-caliber revolver Blume used with either of the robbers.



Blume is legally off the hook for the shooting, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office said.



"We will not be presenting the case to a grand jury," said Jerry Schmetterer, DA Charles Hynes' spokesman.

Blume said exactly the right thing, both morally, and pragmatically.



It is always a tragedy when a criminal forces a victim into a situation of having to kill the bad guy. Even being completely in the right can create serious psychological problems for the killer.



It is also pragmatically a good idea to say this. I think you can be sure that the next-of-kin of the criminals will be suing Mr. Blume.