Seattle, Washington



From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer of February 21, 2004:

Business owner shoots, injures would-be robber



A would-be robber attempting to hold up Western Jewelry and Coin in West Seattle yesterday was confronted with the owner's own handgun and fled the store, shot in the chest.



Gilbert Dorland, 42, had seen shoplifters swipe his antique watches and custom jewelry before, but he had never confronted armed robbers. At 4:19 p.m., two men wearing bandanas over their mouths walked into the store in the 4200 block of Southwest Alaska Street, guns drawn.



"Nobody move," they said before Dorland drew his own handgun and fired, said Matt Tomlinson, a friend who had left the store only minutes before and spoke with the shaken store owner afterward.



"He was definitely broken up," Tomlinson said. "He called me and said he'd just shot somebody. He was being robbed and he shot. He was scared to death."



Police interviewed Dorland and said no charges would be filed.



"It appears to be a completely legitimate use of force," police spokeswoman Deanna Nollette said.