Laredo, Texas

From the Laredo Morning Times of April 6, 2005

Store owner shoots suspect

An attempted robbery at a grocery store in South Laredo late Monday left the suspected robber dead and a rescuer seriously injured.

Officials said 19-year-old David Rivera was dressed in black, had a handkerchief over his face and was armed with a rifle when he attempted to rob two women outside of a "beer run" drive-thru in the 3300 block of Santa Barbara. As the women were accosted, the owner of the El H-Evito grocery store next door ran outside to intervene.

Owner Manuel Garcia, 59, was shot in the left hip, but he managed to return fire from 10 feet away, hitting Rivera in the head, said County Court-at-Law Judge Jesus "Chuy" Garza.

Rivera, the son of Laredo police spokesman Juan Rivera, was pronounced dead at the scene by Garza.