JENNINGS — The owner of a lawnmower repair shop shot and wounded a customer whom he believed was reaching for a weapon in the store this morning, police said.
The customer was taken to a hospital with injuries that weren’t life-threatening, said Lt. Shawn Lane, a Jennings Police spokesman.
The office of St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch took the case under advisement, and did not immediately issue criminal charges, Lane said.
The trouble started about 10 a.m. at Jennings Lawnmower Repair, 6502 West Florissant Avenue, with an argument between the owner and a customer. The owner told police that the customer came behind the counter to threaten him, then went out of the store and came back in. He reached to his waistband, implying that he had a gun and was about to use it, Lane said. The customer did not have a gun.
The owner — identified by an employee as Ahmad Harris — then shot the customer three times. Police took in Harris for questioning and released him. The employee said Harris was not available for comment.
Lane said it’s legal for someone to shoot another person to protect his life and property.
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