A customer shot and killed a man who tried to rob him at gunpoint inside a store near Temple University Wednesday afternoon, Philadelphia police said.
The ordeal began inside the Max Food Market on 15th and Master streets at 12:26 p.m. A man armed with a gun walked into the store and tried to rob a customer inside. Police said the customer fought back however, leading to a struggle between the two men.
During the fight, the customer shot the would-be robber twice in the chest and twice in the abdomen, police said.
The would-be robber was taken to Temple University Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 12:55 p.m.
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Police have not yet confirmed whether the customer grabbed the would-be robber’s gun and shot him or if he was armed with his own weapon. Investigators said they recovered at least two guns from the store however.
Police have not released the name of the man who was killed.
The shooting occurred only a half a mile away from Temple University.
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“It’s kind of mind boggling because any other day I go in there to get a cheesesteak for six dollars and it could have been any of us in there,” Drew Scott, a Temple student, told NBC10.
The incident is one of multiple recent shootings that have occurred near or on Temple’s campus.
In November, 18-year-old Ahmir Jones was shot and killed while walking with his girlfriend near Temple. That same month, Temple University student Samuel Collington, 21, was shot and killed outside his campus apartment.
In the weeks and months after Collington’s death, Temple University implemented new safety measures for students and faculty. Last week, Temple met with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and Police Chief Danielle Outlaw to discuss ways to decrease the violence.
The school also announced last week that Temple University’s Executive Director of Public Safety Charles Leone will resign on April 29. A Temple spokesperson did not confirm whether or not the recent violent incidents at the school or the new safety measures played a role in Leone’s resignation.
