Shop owner with baseball bat defeats gun-toting bandits

CHICAGO A shop owner armed only with a baseball bat successfully fended off a pair of gun-wielding thieves Tuesday, in an encounter caught on surveillance video.

Nine shots were fired by the perpetrators at the Quizhpe's Gifts and Sports store in Chicago, reports CBS Station WBBM.

The shop's owner, Luis Quizhpe, and his brother-in-law, Luis Ernesto Aucaquizhpe, stood their ground. Quizhpe was shot once in the leg defending his store.

The robbery attempt began Tuesday when one assailant grabbed Aucaquizhpe by the throat and brandished his gun. "The guy say, 'Give me the money or you are dead,'" Aucaquizhpe told WBBM correspondent Brad Edwards.

The gunman's accomplice walked behind the counter where he was met by Quizhpe wielding a baseball bat.

A shot was fired, and as seen on the video the accomplice hobbled away, possibly shot in the leg by his partner.

The gunman then fires at Quizhpe, who strikes the robber repeatedly with the bat.

The pair of thieves then tried to escape the store, but the door was locked. To buzz themselves out, the gunman returned to the counter, firing again, and was met with more blows from the bat. Aucaquizhpe threw a stool at him, then chased the thieves out with a fire extinguisher.

In all nine shots were fired, but the robbers left empty-handed. Quizhpe, who was shot once in the leg, is in good condition.

At least one suspect is still at large.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the two fled in a grey car, and that one suspect was later questioned at a local hospital.