PHILADELPHIA – An armed robbery suspect is dead from a shooting that occurred at a business in Philadelphia after a customer disarmed and shot the man, according to reports.
The suspect reportedly entered the Olney neighborhood business described as a “smoke shop” early Tuesday morning armed with a handgun. As he went into the establishment called “Y&H Snacks&Candy,” two men were inside using an interior ATM machine at the shop.
A 45-year-old man at the ATM “pulled a Bruce Lee move” on the suspect and managed to disarm and shoot the perpetrator, Fox 29 reported.
However, during the encounter, the man unintentionally shot his 36-year-old friend in the shoulder as well, the news outlet reported.
Photo of the crime scene at a “smoke shop” in Philadelphia (Screenshot Fox 29)
Police responded about 1 a.m. Tuesday to calls of two shooting victims at the smoke shop. Although responding officers did not locate any victims inside the business, they determined it was the scene of a shooting due to blood and shell casings discovered at the location, according to Fox 29.
Police then received information regarding a person who was shot and located a few blocks away from the smoke shop. Officers found the person seated in a Toyota that was reported stolen in Philly last week. He matched the description of the robbery suspect. The man, who was approximately 30 years old, was unresponsive and suffering from gunshot wounds to the groin and thigh.
“At this point, we believe there was a robbery inside the smoke shop. Possibly the tables were turned on the robber and that’s when the robber got shot and he was able to get in this Toyota in the passenger seat who was driven two-and-a-half blocks,” Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
“We believe while that robbery was taking place someone fired shots striking the perpetrator who was the male inside the Toyota who was pronounced dead,” Small said. “That’s our preliminary information.”
The suspect was pronounced dead at about 2:30 a.m., authorities told Fox News Digital.
The 36-year-old man who was the victim of “friendly fire” was found at a local hospital. Both he and his 45-year-old friend are cooperating with police, Fox 29 reported.
Smoke shop employees were behind a partition and were not involved in the shooting. An on site security camera has facilitated investigator’s as they piece the case together.
Police continue searching for the person who drove the fatally shot suspect in the stolen Toyota as the case remains ongoing.
