A 14-year-old boy shot a would-be robber in the face after the man began strangling his mother during a robbery at the family’s pizza shop in Philadelphia, according to police and video.
Police say three suspects came into Bold Pizza on the 1500 block of Spring Garden Street at around 9:45pm Thursday and demanded money.
An employee, the teen’s mother, told them she couldn’t open the cash register because she needed a code. One of the men then tried to reach over the counter and grab the register. A physical struggle ensued and the suspect began choking the woman, police said.
That’s when the teen grabbed a handgun from under the counter and shot the suspect in the face. Police said the gun was legally owned by the boy’s father.
Responding officers noticed and followed a trail of blood that began inside the restaurant and went on for three blocks into the subway station at Broad and Spring Garden streets — where they found the suspect bleeding profusely.
He was taken to Jefferson Hospital where he remains in critical condition.
Police believe the same suspect was likely involved in another robbery that took place about five minutes earlier at a nearby CVS on the 400 block of North Broad Street, roughly two blocks away from the pizzeria. During that incident, three men entered the store and robbed the pharmacy.
Police analyzed surveillance video from inside the pharmacy and determined one of the three suspects matched the description of the suspect who was shot in the face.
Authorities did not say whether the suspect nor the teen would face any charges.