http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20100502/News01/100509950/-1/googleNews
SOUTH BEND — Standing on her front lawn Saturday as she watched police investigate an armed robbery scene, Christie Valdez was most curious about one thing.
“How much money could he have taken?” she asked. “The guy sells shirts for $2.”
Perhaps the suspect wasn’t expecting to strike it rich by robbing “It’s a Man’s World,” the vintage men’s clothing store at 3032 W. Mishawaka Ave. in River Park.
He also might not have expected the store owner to have a loaded .44-caliber handgun behind the counter.
But he did.
Shortly before the River Park store was set to close for the day at 5 p.m., a man walked in and gathered up several items as if he was shopping, police said. He then brought them to the counter and ordered the store owner to give him all of his money, police said.
The suspect had a carpet knife inside his pocket and was pretending it was a handgun.
When the owner refused to give up his money, the two began to fight. The suspect went behind the counter and picked up a pair of scissors that are used to remove price tags. The owner struggled to get it away from him, receiving minor cuts in the chest, arm and hand.
He then grabbed the gun he kept behind the counter and fired a shot, hitting the suspect in the abdomen.
The owner then called 911, urging the suspect to stay on the ground until police arrived. While trying to de-cock the gun, he accidentally fired a second shot into a wall, police said.
Police arrived to find the wounded man standing with his hands up. An ambulance rushed him to the hospital.
The store owner later went to police headquarters and gave a clear statement of what happened, said Lt. Mike Suth.
“He was protecting what was his,” said Sgt. Charles Stokes. “You have a right to protect yourself. In this case, he did what he had to do.”
Neighbors said the store had been open for about a year.
Police had little information about the 52-year-old suspect late Saturday. At one point he lived in the Lake County city of Hobart, Suth said, but it was unclear whether he lived there now.
Police found a set of car keys on the floor of the store, near where the two men struggled with each other. The keys matched a gray Buick Skylark parked down the block from the store. Police ran the plates and discovered it had been reported stolen from Hobart.
Suth said the suspect underwent surgery Saturday night and was expected to survive the shooting. He was under police watch and would be arrested on an armed robbery charge upon his release from the hospital.
It is Tribune policy not to name suspects until they’ve been formally charged with a crime.