Direct Hit: "Grandpa Shotgun" Takes Out Four Armed Bandits

By: Ryan Smith
Topics: Daily Blotter

(AP)

Police surround the body of one of two robbery suspects killed by Charles Augusto Jr.

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Crooks better think twice when trying to hold up Charles Augusto Jr.'s New York City store. They might end up six feet under.

The 72-year-old man turned his 12-gauge shotgun on four armed bandits who tried to rob his restaurant supply store in Harlem Thursday, according to New York City police. And he is a good shot, too. He killed two and wounded the others, police said.

Augusto later told police he had bought the weapon 30 years ago following a robbery at his store, which sells and repairs commercial kitchen ranges.

The shooting occurred Thursday afternoon at Kaplan Brothers Blue Flame Corp. in a business district on West 125th Street in New York. After the men entered the store, they announced a robbery and pistol-whipped one employee, police said.

From about 20 feet away, Augusto raised the shotgun and fired three blasts, hitting all four suspects, police said. One died outside the front door. Afterward, his body could be seen covered with a white sheet.

Another suspect managed to cross the street, but collapsed, and was later pronounced dead at the hospital, police said. Trails of blood led police to the other two, who were arrested and taken to the hospital.

Stephany Blyn, 56, who rents a space from Augusto in the same building, said she has known him for 25 years. She said he runs a cash business that has been targeted before.

"I'm not totally amazed," she said. "It's pretty upsetting. I thought this neighborhood was getting safer."

The case is bound to draw comparisons to other examples of "vigilante justice" across the nation.

Video: Surveillance video from Reliable Discount Pharmacy shows Jerome Ersland's violent confrontation with two would-be robbers, courtesy of the Oklahoman.

This May, a pharmacy shop assistant in Oklahoma shot and killed one of the two would-be robbers that held him up. But shopkeeper Jerome Ersland was not treated as a victim. He was charged with first-degree murder in the case.

After his initial shot, Ersland chased after a second crook and then returned to the store and fired several more shots into the first man, leading prosecutors to consider it murder.

Police said Augusto would not be charged in the New York case.

"He's being treated as a witness and victim of an attempted armed robbery," said New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne.

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by rinaldi40 August 28, 2009 6:35 PM EDT: are you blind or what..blacks target whites every second in this country..it is time for the whites in this country to put a stop to the double standards..when a black harms a white it is covered up.or not talked about..when a white harms a black or defends himself it is looked at as racism..it is so good for me as a new yorker to see these punks laying dead in the street; Reply to this comment


by cleolady1 August 17, 2009 12:09 PM EDT: YOU NEED TO STOP PROMOTING RACISM, STOP COMMENTING ABOUT IT AND THEN PEOPLE WONT GET EXCITED. WHAT ARE YOU TEACHING IN YOUR HOME. I GREW UP IN THE 60'S WITH MY GRANDPARENTS, AND I NEVER HEARD ANY DEROGATORY STATEMENTS ABOUT BLACKS NOR WHITES. TO THIS DAY TO ME, PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE IRREGARDLESS OF RACE, RELIGION AND THE OTHER STUFF.; Reply to this comment


by kmonet August 16, 2009 10:22 PM EDT: Killing other people is a terrible thing. Just ask Mr Augusto about it. He has NRA people and others very happy he gunned down violent criminals and I'm one of them. He isn't as gung ho about it and I can imagine it is a terrible thing. The bottom line is, COMMIT ARMED ROBBERY AND EXPECT THAT YOU MAY GET GUNNED DOWN IN THE STREET or, the much better choice: don't commit robbery and be a productive citizen who adds something to society rather than be a drain on it.

As stated in an earlier comment, now the two who lived are a drain on society. Medical bills, legal costs, clothing, feeding, and housing in the big house. Guess what? They will be out in a few years and will commit more crime. Bet on it. It sounds terrible but the best thing would have been if all four had been killed. $2 for 3 shotgun shells then police, ambulance, morticians, and burial.; Reply to this comment


by greenegg12 August 14, 2009 2:13 PM EDT: Good Shot!; Reply to this comment


by ReallyMeanIt August 14, 2009 12:35 PM EDT: Too bad he didn't get the other two. Now they're a burden to our society.; Reply to this comment


by ustaxpayer August 14, 2009 11:56 AM EDT: People who rob and pistol whip innocent people who are trying to make an honest living deserve no mercy.; Reply to this comment