PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A security guard fired a warning shot inside a Center City clothing store as he struggled with a robbery suspect Tuesday afternoon, police said.
The incident happened just after 2 p.m. at the Brandy Melville store near 16th and Walnut streets. Police said a 41-year-old man was trying to steal items and even went behind the counter. When he was told to leave, he refused.
A security guard, Mark Rodriguez, pepper-sprayed him to no avail.
Rodriguez said the man was “fighting people for no reason.” He thought the man was reaching for a weapon, so he fired a warning shot to protect people in the store. The man was not hit, and he ran out of the store.
Police found him at 15th and Spruce streets and took him to the hospital for exposure to pepper spray. No one inside the store was hurt.
Rodriguez believes the man may have been high.
“I pepper-sprayed him at first. We use less-lethal [tactics] at first,” he said. “Our No. 1 goal is to use less-lethal at all times. So when the less-lethal didn’t work, we had to resort to other measures.”
Investigators recovered one shell casing from the scene and Rodriguez's gun. The security guard is certified to carry a firearm. The incident is still under investigation.