Polishrifleman
Member
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/crime/story/5218191p-4740980c.html
No mention of a concealed permit or anything, but since they let him off so far he must have one. I really don't know if I would warn the guy first if I was in that situation.
A Tacoma man who went to an auto parts store to help a friend fix her car Thursday found himself trading gunfire with a would-be robber, shooting the gunman several times, police said. A clerk at the store was hit in the crossfire.
Both the 21-year-old man who witnesses said tried to rob the store and the clerk – a woman in her 30s – are expected to live.
The man who pulled out his gun to stop the robbery – Joe Phillips – was not hurt. Phillips, the father of a 12-year-old daughter, was interviewed by detectives Thursday morning and released. There are no plans to arrest him, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.
“When someone points a gun at you, you have a right to defend yourself,” Fulghum said. “From what we hear, he told the guy to put down his gun. He gave him warnings.”
The 21-year-old man most likely will be arrested when he’s released from the hospital, Fulghum said.
The shooting occurred at about 9 a.m. at the Schucks store near East 72nd Street and East Portland Avenue in Tacoma.
Witnesses told police a young man entered the store carrying a gas can and began to fuel a small motorcycle on display. When another clerk at the store told him to stop, the man pulled out a gun, pointed it at the worker and announced he was robbing the place, Fulghum said.
It was then that Phillips, who is in his 40s, pulled out his own gun and told the younger man to drop his, Fulghum said. The two then exchanged gunfire. It was unclear Thursday who fired the first shot or which man shot the clerk, Fulghum said. Forensics experts were on the scene for most of the day collecting evidence.
Fulghum said police do not encourage people to take such matters into their own hands but to call 911 during or immediately after witnessing a crime.
Phillips’ brother, Karl, came to the store about an hour after the shooting to see about getting his brother’s truck.
He said his brother went to the store to help a friend whose car was broken down. Joe Phillips is a gun enthusiast known to carry a pistol, Karl Phillips said.
He said he wasn’t surprised that his brother decided to do something when he saw the robbery in progress.
“That’s exactly like Joe,” Karl Phillps said. “Joe’s a good Samaritan, always has been. Joe wouldn’t have got involved if he didn’t think it was a matter of life and death.”
ADAM LYNN; The News Tribune
Published: September 30th, 2005 12:01 AM
No mention of a concealed permit or anything, but since they let him off so far he must have one. I really don't know if I would warn the guy first if I was in that situation.
A Tacoma man who went to an auto parts store to help a friend fix her car Thursday found himself trading gunfire with a would-be robber, shooting the gunman several times, police said. A clerk at the store was hit in the crossfire.
Both the 21-year-old man who witnesses said tried to rob the store and the clerk – a woman in her 30s – are expected to live.
The man who pulled out his gun to stop the robbery – Joe Phillips – was not hurt. Phillips, the father of a 12-year-old daughter, was interviewed by detectives Thursday morning and released. There are no plans to arrest him, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.
“When someone points a gun at you, you have a right to defend yourself,” Fulghum said. “From what we hear, he told the guy to put down his gun. He gave him warnings.”
The 21-year-old man most likely will be arrested when he’s released from the hospital, Fulghum said.
The shooting occurred at about 9 a.m. at the Schucks store near East 72nd Street and East Portland Avenue in Tacoma.
Witnesses told police a young man entered the store carrying a gas can and began to fuel a small motorcycle on display. When another clerk at the store told him to stop, the man pulled out a gun, pointed it at the worker and announced he was robbing the place, Fulghum said.
It was then that Phillips, who is in his 40s, pulled out his own gun and told the younger man to drop his, Fulghum said. The two then exchanged gunfire. It was unclear Thursday who fired the first shot or which man shot the clerk, Fulghum said. Forensics experts were on the scene for most of the day collecting evidence.
Fulghum said police do not encourage people to take such matters into their own hands but to call 911 during or immediately after witnessing a crime.
Phillips’ brother, Karl, came to the store about an hour after the shooting to see about getting his brother’s truck.
He said his brother went to the store to help a friend whose car was broken down. Joe Phillips is a gun enthusiast known to carry a pistol, Karl Phillips said.
He said he wasn’t surprised that his brother decided to do something when he saw the robbery in progress.
“That’s exactly like Joe,” Karl Phillps said. “Joe’s a good Samaritan, always has been. Joe wouldn’t have got involved if he didn’t think it was a matter of life and death.”
ADAM LYNN; The News Tribune
Published: September 30th, 2005 12:01 AM
