Fort Worth, Texas



From the Fort Worth Star Telegram of July 11, 2004

Burglar killed by store owner



The convenience store was dark when owner Antonio Cuauhtli unlocked the door about 4:30 a.m. Saturday.



He spotted the burglar about the same time the burglar saw him.



When it was all over, the Fort Worth businessman had fatally shot a man who apparently broke into his southeast Fort Worth store.



"I didn't know him," Cuauhtli said Saturday afternoon. "I didn't even look at his face. I didn't want to know who he was. That would make it too personal."



The break-in was the latest of about 10 burglaries at the store in the past year, Cuauhtli said.



"They know I have a gun now," he said. "Maybe they'll think twice before they try and rob me again."



No charges have been filed, and the dead man's identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, said Lt. Abdul Pridgen, a Fort Worth police spokesman.



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