Liquor Store Owner, 80, Pulls Shotgun On Attempted Robber

On Sunday, around 2:45am, four armed 20-something men pulled up to Norco Market & Liquor, local authorities say. As one of them stormed the store with a rifle, shouting, “Hands in the air,” the 80-year-old store owner was ready for him — having seen the men putting on ski masks on the security cameras outside, per Fox 11.

Without hesitation, the man behind the counter pointed a shotgun at the intruder and fired. The attempted robber ran off screaming, “He shot my arm off! He shot my arm off!” — before they all jumped into BMW SUV and drove off, surveillance video shows.

According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the suspects were located at a SoCal hospital — where one of them was “suffering from a gunshot wound consistent with a shotgun blast.”

The other three men were waiting in the BMW, which was reported stolen and filled with “numerous stolen firearms,” police say.

The three suspects were booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center for robbery and conspiracy, while the fourth remained hospitalized as of Monday. Per police, he’s in stable condition and will be booked into Riverside County jail upon his release.

“In this case, a lawfully armed member of our community prevented a violent crime and ensured their own safety, while being confronted with multiple armed suspects,” police said in a statement. “This investigation is active and ongoing and no additional information will currently be released.”

According to Fox 11, the store owner had a heart attack following the shooting but was “doing better” and planned to be discharged from the hospital on Monday evening.