Houston, TX – The workers at a Houston, Texas fireworks stand were expecting to hear lots of loud bangs on the 4th of July, but even they were surprised at how the day turned out.
The unnamed employees were behind the counter at the fireworks stand in the 14400 block of the North Freeway at around 4 P.M.
From out of nowhere, a robber walked up to the stand, pointed a revolver in their faces and demanded the cash out of the till.
The employees handed him what he wanted, but the robber made one wrong move: he set his gun down on the counter to count the stolen money or to free his hands to hold more money.
Either way, a fast-acting employee saw the chance to defend themselves. They quickly snatched up the revolver and shot the robber in the face at point-blank range.
Police say the robber, a 19-year-old man, was critically wounded, and is still in the hospital listed in critical condition.
County Sheriff’s Deputy Eddie Hazel said, “A fireworks stand employee managed to take possession of the would-be robber’s pistol and shot him with it. We’re still working through the investigation. We don’t have him identified yet,” Hazel said of the suspect. “He was transported over to Houston Northwest Hospital in a very critical condition.”
If you’re dumb enough to rob a fireworks stand on the 4th of July in broad daylight in TEXAS, there isn’t much hope for you.
Those employees should sleep well in their beds tonight knowing that the thug took his own life in his hands that day.
Thank goodness they had the clear-thinking to do what needed to be done when a sliver of opportunity presented itself.