- On July 31, four men armed with AR-15 rifles approached a liquor store in Norco, California.
- The 80-year-old owner of the shop responded by drawing a shotgun and firing a shot in the arm.
- The suspect fled the scene, but Craig Cope then suffered a heart attack.
Surveillance footage reportedly showed an 80-year-old man calmly shooting an armed intruder who tried to rob his California store, but suffered a heart attack shortly after.
Craig Cope was inside a liquor store in Norco, Riverside County on July 31, when a man armed with an AR-15 approached his store at about 2:47 a.m. Press release By the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is responsible.
The main suspect, a 23-year-old man wearing a balaclava, walked into the store with a gun pointed at Cope, the release said. Three other suspects were waiting outside, according to the release.
Footage showed Cope as soon as he entered the store to spot the gunman, who shot him with a shotgun from behind the counter.
Circling Craig Cope fired at an armed gunman with a shotgun at his store in Norco, Calif.
Riverside County Sheriff’s Department
Surveillance footage showed the 23-year-old suspect can be heard screaming as he fled the scene: “He broke my arm, he broke my arm.”
The four suspects fled the scene in a stolen black BMW SUV, according to the sheriff’s department. Police then found firearms and other evidence in the vehicle related to the attempted robbery.
A suspect fled the scene after being shot by Craig Cope at a liquor store in Norco, California.
Riverside County Sheriff’s Department
Meanwhile, Cope, who owned the store for 55 years, suffered a heart attack, Online reporting by mail. Media said he was rushed to a nearby hospital.
in an interview Fox 11 Wednesday News, Cope said his performance was “much better” than that night. He joked that he didn’t know the cause of the heart attack. “Maybe I’m just getting old,” he told Fox 11 News.
Cope said his message to the suspect was that “this is not a good place to choose.”
The suspect was tracked down at the hospital. The main suspect remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition and is in police custody, the sheriff’s department said.
The other three suspects were detained by police in the hospital parking lot and placed in jail on $500,000 bail on robbery and conspiracy charges.
