Harlem Store Owner Shoots 4 Robbers, Killing 2
They strode into the restaurant supply store in Harlem shortly after 3 p.m. on Thursday, four young men intent on robbery, one with a Glock 9-millimeter pistol, the police said. The place may have looked like an easy mark, a high-cash business with an owner in his 70s, known as a gentle, soft-spoken man.
But Charles Augusto Jr., the 72-year-old proprietor of the Kaplan Brothers Blue Flame Corporation, at 523 West 125th Street, near Amsterdam Avenue, had been robbed several times before, despite the fact that his shop is around the corner from the 26th Precinct station house on West 126th Street.
...Watching it happen, Mr. Augusto, whom neighborhood friends call Gus, rose from a chair 20 to 30 feet away and took out a loaded Winchester 12-gauge pump-action shotgun with a pistol-grip handle. The police said he bought it after a robbery 30 years ago.
Mr. Augusto, who has never been in trouble with the law, fired three blasts in rapid succession..The first shot took down the gunman at the front. He died almost immediately, according to the police, who said he was 29 and had been arrested for gun possession in Queens last year and was the nephew of a police officer.
Mr. Augusto’s other two blasts hit all three accomplices, who stumbled out the door, bleeding.
One of them, a 21-year-old, staggered across 125th Street and collapsed in front of the General Grant Houses, a nine-building complex with 4,500 residents, one of the city’s biggest housing projects. Someone called 911, and an ambulance rushed him to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, where he was dead on arrival...
Friday, August 14, 2009
Kaplan Bros, Store; Charles Augusto Shoots
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2 comments:
Gus, it took a lot to do what you had to do and it was the right thing to do. If a man threatens your livelihood, the lives of your friends (or employees)and sticks a weapon in your face you have the right to defend yourself with equal power. I don't necessarily condone the power of the gun, however if this was you were working against
and you had available then so be it.
I don't agree with some of the things the press have said/written, however, armed robbery is a dangerous pastime.
I agree, anyone who sticks a gun in someone's face should expect the worst because people have the right to defend themselves. Places become more dangerous when the authorities remove weapons from the hands of law-abiding citizens.
I support Mr. Augusto's actions and I can understand why the employee kicked the candle on the ground that someone had placed, apparently in honor of one of the robbers. Yes it is unfortunate that a human life was lost, and I feel sorry for his family, but not much pity for him. There is no honor in what he did when he attempted to victimize someone, and exploit their apparent vulnerabilities (i.e. age, cash count). These are the dangerous people in our society, not the majority of lawful gun owners!
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