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This guy is a good friend of mine. Though I understand one of the bullets went astray, in a stressful situation like that, tunnel vision, and fear can take over. I can also see how this may be used by anti-gun lobbyist...
Portland store owner starts shooting when robbers demand money
by Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian
Tuesday January 06, 2009, 9:05 PM
When Portland police arrived at Jonny's Lottery off Southeast 82nd Avenue to investigate an attempted robbery, they found the owner about half a block away.
He told officers that two masked gunmen had tried to rob his video lottery business, the third time he'd been robbed in as many months. He said he chased the robbers but lost sight of them.
Officers walked back to the storefront business with the owner and found two of the front windows shattered with bullet holes.
When police asked what happened, owner John Eklund replied, "Oh, that was probably me."
An investigation revealed that Eklund was right.
When the robbers came in demanding money, he pulled out a .45-caliber handgun and started shooting. He fired two bullets at the robbers as they were still in the doorway. He fired two more rounds through his front window as they ran east. Two more slugs whizzed through the walls of a nearby home as Eklund ran after them.
The robbers did not return fire, but Eklund told police they turned as they fled and pointed their weapons at him.
Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Jim Hayden said the Dec. 15 holdup wasn't a typical robbery. "It's unusual that the owner fires back, one, and then hits the robber," Hayden said.
A man with a bullet wound in the chest was dropped off at Portland Adventist Hospital a short time after the robbery. Phillip L. Kent, 27, was hospitalized for 10 days and then booked into jail. On Tuesday, he pleaded not guilty to a 12-count robbery indictment that accuses him of holding up the business on Halloween, as well as on Dec. 15, when the shooting occurred. A second suspect hasn't been identified.
Residents of the home struck by gunfire off Southeast 83rd have since moved because of the shooting, and they question Eklund's actions.
Lloyd Hermfen said his wife was taking a bath and his 3-month-old daughter was asleep around 10:40 that night when a bullet traveled through the laundry room and into a kitchen door. A second round lodged above the front door.
"I know he has the right to defend his business and property and everything," Hermfen said. "But just him pulling out a gun should have been enough. At least look in the direction where he's shooting the gun. It could have been a lot worse."
Eklund, 35, did not return repeated calls, nor respond to messages left during visits to his business. According to a court affidavit, Eklund said he had obtained a concealed weapons permit and was armed with a gun for his personal protection. The video lottery business, open from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m., has six machines, a few tables and chairs, and sells beer and wine, as well as egg rolls, burritos and pizza.
"He believed that those same people had hit his place before, so he was scared," police Detective Sue Kruger said.
Police reports and a search warrant affidavit say that Eklund continued to fire at the gunmen outside the store and as they ran away. Hayden said Eklund didn't tell the grand jury he continued to shoot while he chased the men. He faces no charges.
A Multnomah County grand jury indicted Kent on four counts of first-degree robbery and eight counts of second-degree robbery.
On Oct. 31, two patrons and a clerk were inside the business at 8230 S.E. Harrison St. when two masked men armed with handguns came in. They ordered one woman at gunpoint to crawl on her stomach across the floor and empty her purse. Another patron was ordered to the ground and told to turn over his money and phone. They also demanded the clerk give them cash from the manager's office.
Eklund told police he was behind the front counter of his business at 10:41 p.m. Dec. 15, with his head down, when he heard someone yell, "Give me all your money!" He looked up and saw one man pointing a gun at him and a second man struggling to remove his gun from his jacket pocket. Eklund ran around the counter, pulled his gun and started firing.
When the gunmen ran, Eklund told police he followed them north on Southeast 83rd Avenue, toward Harrison Street, shooting at them two more times. He said the men kept looking over their shoulders and pointing their guns at him as they ran. Police seized Eklund's gun as evidence and the business's surveillance videotape that caught some of the shooting on film. No money was taken.
Taken from: http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/01/portland_store_owner_starts_sh.html
Portland store owner starts shooting when robbers demand money
by Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian
Tuesday January 06, 2009, 9:05 PM
When Portland police arrived at Jonny's Lottery off Southeast 82nd Avenue to investigate an attempted robbery, they found the owner about half a block away.
He told officers that two masked gunmen had tried to rob his video lottery business, the third time he'd been robbed in as many months. He said he chased the robbers but lost sight of them.
Officers walked back to the storefront business with the owner and found two of the front windows shattered with bullet holes.
When police asked what happened, owner John Eklund replied, "Oh, that was probably me."
An investigation revealed that Eklund was right.
When the robbers came in demanding money, he pulled out a .45-caliber handgun and started shooting. He fired two bullets at the robbers as they were still in the doorway. He fired two more rounds through his front window as they ran east. Two more slugs whizzed through the walls of a nearby home as Eklund ran after them.
The robbers did not return fire, but Eklund told police they turned as they fled and pointed their weapons at him.
Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Jim Hayden said the Dec. 15 holdup wasn't a typical robbery. "It's unusual that the owner fires back, one, and then hits the robber," Hayden said.
A man with a bullet wound in the chest was dropped off at Portland Adventist Hospital a short time after the robbery. Phillip L. Kent, 27, was hospitalized for 10 days and then booked into jail. On Tuesday, he pleaded not guilty to a 12-count robbery indictment that accuses him of holding up the business on Halloween, as well as on Dec. 15, when the shooting occurred. A second suspect hasn't been identified.
Residents of the home struck by gunfire off Southeast 83rd have since moved because of the shooting, and they question Eklund's actions.
Lloyd Hermfen said his wife was taking a bath and his 3-month-old daughter was asleep around 10:40 that night when a bullet traveled through the laundry room and into a kitchen door. A second round lodged above the front door.
"I know he has the right to defend his business and property and everything," Hermfen said. "But just him pulling out a gun should have been enough. At least look in the direction where he's shooting the gun. It could have been a lot worse."
Eklund, 35, did not return repeated calls, nor respond to messages left during visits to his business. According to a court affidavit, Eklund said he had obtained a concealed weapons permit and was armed with a gun for his personal protection. The video lottery business, open from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m., has six machines, a few tables and chairs, and sells beer and wine, as well as egg rolls, burritos and pizza.
"He believed that those same people had hit his place before, so he was scared," police Detective Sue Kruger said.
Police reports and a search warrant affidavit say that Eklund continued to fire at the gunmen outside the store and as they ran away. Hayden said Eklund didn't tell the grand jury he continued to shoot while he chased the men. He faces no charges.
A Multnomah County grand jury indicted Kent on four counts of first-degree robbery and eight counts of second-degree robbery.
On Oct. 31, two patrons and a clerk were inside the business at 8230 S.E. Harrison St. when two masked men armed with handguns came in. They ordered one woman at gunpoint to crawl on her stomach across the floor and empty her purse. Another patron was ordered to the ground and told to turn over his money and phone. They also demanded the clerk give them cash from the manager's office.
Eklund told police he was behind the front counter of his business at 10:41 p.m. Dec. 15, with his head down, when he heard someone yell, "Give me all your money!" He looked up and saw one man pointing a gun at him and a second man struggling to remove his gun from his jacket pocket. Eklund ran around the counter, pulled his gun and started firing.
When the gunmen ran, Eklund told police he followed them north on Southeast 83rd Avenue, toward Harrison Street, shooting at them two more times. He said the men kept looking over their shoulders and pointing their guns at him as they ran. Police seized Eklund's gun as evidence and the business's surveillance videotape that caught some of the shooting on film. No money was taken.
Taken from: http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/01/portland_store_owner_starts_sh.html