A bakery owner in Calumet city, south of Chicago, shot and wounded a robber on Tuesday after he and his employee were forced to the back of the shop.
The owner of Cal City Bakery, which opened for business in February, said he bought the weapon for protection but never thought he'd have to use it.
"I just defended myself, my employee's life," the owner, who asked to not be named for safety concerns, told NBC Chicago. "I don't feel good about it. It's just the way it happened."
He said a pair of men came into the shop at about 3:30 p.m., took a couple of hundred dollars out of the safe, and then tried to force him and another employee to the back of the bakery. That's when the shop owner fired the weapon, striking one of the robbers.
"They had the money already, why would they ask us to go to the back," the owner said. "It just didn't feel right, everything happened so fast."
The other robber escaped, he said.
Cal City Bakery replaced the former Steffens' Bakery. The owner said there is surveillance video of the robbery that's been turned over to police.
Calumet City Police Chief Edward L. Gilmore said the shop owner is a legal gun owner and was acting well within in his rights. Gilmore said it should serve as a warning to other would-be criminals.
"I think a message should be sent to all would-be criminals out there that business owners have a right to protect themselves," Gilmore said.
The wounded robbery suspect was shot seven times but was expected to survive his injuries. He was being held under police guard at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
