Gunfire erupted during a robbery in a Northwestside beauty shop last night.
No one was injured in the exchange at Diana’s Beauty Shop, 7011 N. Michigan Rd., but the robber escaped with $340, according to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report.
The robber then told Rodriguez to go into a backroom while he cleaned out the cash drawer.
When Rodriguez reached the rear of the shop he pulled out his own gun, a Glock with a 14 bullets in it, and fired a shot into the ground to scare the robber. The bandit fired one shot at Rodriguez, missing him, and ran out the front door, according to the report.
Rodriguez said when he looked out of the back door of the shop, he saw the gunman fire two or three shots into the air as he entered a nearby apartment complex.
Rodriguez said he was set up by another man earlier who had arranged for Rodriguez to meet someone to buy a large screen television, the report said.
He said he thought the robber was sent by the man who arranged the meeting.
The gunman left behind a baseball hat which police were examining for evidence.
Rodriguez had a permit to carry a handgun.
The warning shot fired into the ground was not only potentially deadly to an innocent bystander but also a waste of ammunition.
This is an easy lesson: If you are defending your life you shoot the armed bandit, not the defenseless floor. Armed bandits shoot back (and fortunately in this case are bad shots), the ground does not return fire it just ricochets what you shot probably in a direction you did not intend.
More than likely they were a typical gun owner who has very little to no formal gun training. He probably panicked, didn’t really want to shoot someone and thought it would scare the person away. Dumbass? Maybe, more than likely just scared out of his wits about having to deal with an armed assailant.
Remember, all you have to do is rack that Remington 870 and the bad guy’s gonna run away!
