The owner of a Connecticut clothing store fatally shot a suspected shoplifter during a shootout last week but was injured in the exchange of fire, according to police.
“A brief scuffle ensued between the store clerk and one of the suspects who drew a firearm,” the East Hartford Police Department reported. Police identified the store clerk as an employee, although NBC Connecticut reported that it was the store owner who was on the premises working late that night.
Two men wearing black ski masks entered the Humble & Paid Co. clothing store shortly after 10:30 p.m. Thursday with the intent to rob the store, police said in a news release.
The store owner was subsequently shot in the back by one of the suspects, but managed to return fire with two of his legally owned firearms.
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Humble and Paid Co. clothing store in Connecticut.
(Google Maps)
The store owner was able to hit one of the suspects multiple times, while the other suspect allegedly fled during the first struggle during the incident, according to police.
Warning tape surrounds the Humble and Paid Co. store after a shooting with the store owner and two suspects in Hartford, Connecticut. A suspect is still on the run.
(Credit: WTIC)
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A man removes his Glock pistol from a holster on the inside of his waistband.
(iStock)
The injured suspect, identified as 26-year-old Jashar Haslam of Hartford, was treated at the scene and later transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“It’s a very decent area, don’t get me wrong on top of this. It’s like the first time I know something like this has happened here,” Navdeep Singh, manager of neighboring Bruno’s Liquor store, told Fox 61.
A local business owner gives an interview about an attempted robbery that turned into a shooting in East Hartford, Connecticut. A suspect is still on the run.
(WTIC)
The store owner was also treated at the scene for his gunshot wound to his lower back and was later transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
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Police are still looking for the second suspect in the case. Police have not released additional information about the suspect or the injured store owner.
The East Hartford Police Department in Connecticut.
(Google Maps)
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The incident was included in the Heritage Foundation’s Defensive Weapons Use Tracker, which keeps track of cases across the country where legal firearms are used in self-defense.
“This man used BOTH weapons. It is not clear if he was involved in a shootout and ran out of ammo in the first gun, or if he used two handguns at the same time,” Defensive Gun Use Tracker said of the Incident on Twitter.
