Three would-be armed robbers targeted a tobacco store in Norwalk Tuesday morning, but they were forced to run after the store owner shot and killed one of them in what he described to investigators as a case of self defense.
The robbery attempt was reported just before 9 a.m. in the 10900 block of Firestone Boulevard, Lt. Johnsen of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told KTLA.
The owner told deputies that he shot one of the suspects in the chest, and Johnsen confirmed that would-be robber was found in an alleyway and taken to a hospital. An alert from the LASD later indicated the incident had become a homicide.
The other two were unable to escape in the getaway car because it was boxed in, so they took off on foot, and deputies have set up a containment area to locate them.
Aerial footage from the scene showed one vehicle, a dark coupe, surrounded by shopping carts, though it’s unclear who would have placed those carts there.
Check back for updates to this developing story.
Nidia Becerra contributed to this report.
