Kenner, Louisiana

From the New Orleans Times-Picayune of July 4, 2007

Kenner robbery victim gets gun, fights back

Police seek gunman, who could be injured

A Kenner pawnbroker fought back when an armed robber confronted him Tuesday, chasing the bandit out of the store on busy Williams Boulevard and firing gunshots at his getaway car.

The robber, possibly wounded, sped off on 33rd Street in a white Nissan or Ford Escort with a commercial license plate that includes the characters A260, police said.

The incident unfolded shortly after noon when a man entered Kenner Pawnshop in a strip mall at 3226 Williams Blvd. and threatened the owner with a large-caliber semiautomatic pistol, said Police Department spokesman James Gallagher. The robber forced the owner into the adjoining Massis Jewelers, where the two men began fighting.

"At one point the victim saw an opportunity and started struggling with him over the gun," Gallagher said.

The robber broke free, then ran to his car in a nearby parking lot of a vacant building, Gallagher said. The pawn shop owner followed with his own pistol, shooting the car's rear passenger window and the side-view mirror.

"He believes he might have hit the guy," Gallagher said.

Police did not release the shop owner's name, and the store was closed later in the afternoon.

Gallagher didn't know what valuables the robber took but said he was in search of jewelry.