NORCO, Calif. (KNX) – A man armed with what appeared to be a rifle entered a Riverside County convenience store Sunday night, only to be shot at by the store’s elderly owner.
Around 2:45 a.m., Riverside County deputies responded to a robbery at Norco Market & Liquor.
Surveillance footage revealed four armed men leaving a dark-colored car and approaching the store.
Footage shared by employee Marnie Tapia showed the store’s owner, 80-year-old Craig Cope, inside the store. Moments after one of the armed men entered the store with his rifle pointed at Cope, the 80-year old fired a shot at the suspect.
The suspect was seen running out of the store, screaming.
Tapia, an employee of Cope’s, said he wasted no time firing back.
"It's not his first rodeo," she told CBS L.A. "He saw on the surveillance, he saw them coming out of the vehicle with weapons."
Tapia said Cope did suffer a heart attack following the robbery, but doctors expect him to recover fully.
Deputies located the suspects at a Southern California hospital. One of the suspects had a gunshot wound. Deputies have not publicly identified him but said he is a 23-year-old man and is in stable condition. Once released from the hospital, police plan to book the suspect.
Deputies arrested Justin Johnson, 22, of Inglewood, Jamar Williams, 27, of Los Angeles, and Davon Broadus, 24, of Las Vegas, for robbery and conspiracy. They are being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center on $500,000 bail.
"In this case, a lawfully armed member of our community prevented a violent crime and ensured their own safety, while being confronted with multiple armed suspects," the sheriff's department said.
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