Houston, Texas

From the Houston Chronicle of February 15, 2007

Store owner kills would-be robber

A liquor store owner shot and killed a man who tried to rob him Wednesday evening, police said.

The shooting occurred about 5:40 p.m., when a man walked up to the counter at Ione's Liquor Mart in the 8300 block of Broadway and threatened the owner with a long-barreled weapon , said Sgt. David Crain of the Houston Police Department's homicide division.

At that moment, a customer opened the store door, and the owner took advantage of the distraction to pull out his own weapon and shoot the man, who died at the scene, Crain said.

Investigators were interviewing the owner and witnesses, including one of two women who entered the store at the same time the gunman did, Crain said.

Police are looking for the second woman, who fled.

"We're still trying to sort out what their involvement was in the robbery, if any," Crain said.

The district attorney will decide whether to file charges in the case, but the store owner was within his rights to carry a gun on his property, Crain said.

"It's absolutely legitimate for him to have a weapon to protect his life and his property," he said.

The owner told investigators that he carried the gun because he was concerned about a history of robberies in the area, Crain said.