Twice in Three Days Elderly Store Owners Stop Robberies

Here is the story from the Buffalo News:

Store owner shoots would-be robber

By T.J. Pignataro NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: 01/17/08 6:56 AM

73-year-old West Side store owner foiled a robbery Wednesday evening when he pulled out a 9 mm handgun and shot the wouldbe bandit.

It was the second time in three days an elderly city store owner fired a gun during a robbery attempt. The 78-year-old owner of Bocce Club Pizzeria on Clinton Street chased away two would-be robbers Monday night with a warning shot.

Police said Wednesday’s incident occurred when Shaun M. Ford, 30, of Linwood Avenue, North Tonawanda, targeted the West Side Market at 255 Carolina St. just before 7 p.m. and demanded money from owner Ali Abdulla. Ford was wearing a protective mask used in paint-ball and was armed with a rifle, according to Central District Lt. David S. Stabler, head of the investigation.

Ford followed Abdulla behind the counter, continuing to demand money and pointing the rifle at him, police said. Abdulla then pulled out his licensed handgun and fired as many as two shots at Ford, striking him once in the leg, police said.

Ford fled the store, dropping the rifle and his mask and fell to the sidewalk just outside the store’s front door, where he cried for help, police said. . . .