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Two men are dead after a Harlem business owner fired at four people trying to rob his store. City Room reports that the owner used a shotgun when the four "tried to rob his restaurant-supply business... The business, the Kaplan Brothers Blue Flame Corporation, at 523 West 125th Street, near Amsterdam Avenue, provides parts and repairs for commercial gas and electric ranges. It was not immediately known whether the robbers were armed, or whether the business owner had a license for the shotgun." The owner is reportedly Charles Augusto Jr., who is 72.
The other two men are injured and at the hospital. According to WCBS 2 (reporter Lou Young happened to be near there and was one of 911 callers), "A man standing outside the business was seen shouting at one of the dead bodies lying on the sidewalk in front of the shop, 'You're dead! You're dead!' He told police the suspects put a gun to his head. A second dead body rested in the street near a car that had visible blood stains on it. Another man was down across the street with his pants around his ankles, perhaps falling down as he ran away. His face was covered in blood, however he was still breathing."
A witness told WABC 7, "An officer had lifted the sheet up off the body and I happened to see the face from a distance. I don't know who he is, but I could tell he was young." And the incident occurred next to a day care center—children were ferried through the crime scene by their teachers.
Update: CityRoom now says, "The four would-be robbers entered the business and announced that they were robbing it. One of them took out a 9-mm pistol and started to to pistol-whip a 33-year old employee inside the store. The owner then took out a shotgun and opened fire, striking the four men."
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If you're going to rob a place, wear a belt. It makes the getaway much easier.
Yeah but it won't look as cool
FCK Rambo!
This is the NRA's vision of utopia.
You never miss an opportunity to score a political point. SAD
No. It's just the real world.
Good for this store owner.
Not really. He's 2 for 4.
So far...with any luck the other two don't make it. Bravo sir.
He's shooting .500.
lost in the flood.
ho-lee shit. i don't have a shred of sympathy for those robbers though. good riddance.
Good for that owner. Enough of this bull sh!t already.
You don't rob people in a bad economy and expect anything less. In the 1930s, thieves rarely made it to the courthouse alive but in some cases, they did make it to the courthouse steps...with a rope around their necks.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Nice shooting. 2 less scumbags on the streets tonight.
"In the 1930s, thieves rarely made it to the courthouse alive but in some cases, they did make it to the courthouse steps...with a rope around their necks."
Who needs to study history, we can just make stuff up!
There are plenty of stories out there. Not in NYC but in the hinterlands where justice was handled...differently. Not just mob lynchings but individual acts of retribution that occured outside the scope of "official statistics".
Which, of course, have always happened. And as this story shows, happen now. But can you point to any evidence that it happened more in the 1930s than, say, in the 1920s... or 1970s? Can you point to any evidence to support your use of "rarely" and "in some cases."
I'm guessing the answer is no, hence my use of "make stuff up."
good stuff JJ
You have to be kidding. Aren't you? If the "justice" was done by clandestine measures, how the fuck would there be records of same?
Lynchings: 1927, 10. 1933, 28. According to the Dept. of Records and Research, Tusgegee Institute. In 1934, there were 15 persons listed as lynched, however over 70 were listed as saved from lynching by "armed force". And these were not merely racially motivated: among those saved from lynching were "14 white men". In 46 of these incidents, those rescued from the rope were already prisoners. How many lynchings occurred outside of anyone's notice or recordkeeping? None? In NYC, robbery indictments increased from a low of 474 in 1927 to a high of 969 in 1931, in Manhattan alone. In that same interval, police killings rose from 19 to 44. The point is that hard times affect criminals very hard and a wary public that is prepared to defend home and hearth can only add to their misery.
Why does something tell me the owner is going to get charged with manslaughter, even though he really shouldn't for nailing these idiots.
B R A V O .
"But they were such good kids..." - each burglar's single mom will be quoted saying in tomorrow's Daily News.
You better believe it. It's uncommon to hear someone speak badly of the deceased.
It's so sad to read these stories. They were probably good kids and now their fathers wont have any grandchildren to play basketball with. Boo hoo.
Is there any way that NYC can slow down the ambulance response time to these types of incidents?
Well there are two thugs that we don't have to worry about. Any names yet? Descriptions?
And here I thought Harlem was being gentrified.
"The police said that the four would-be robbers entered the business and announced that they were robbing it. One of them took out a 9-mm pistol and started to to pistol-whip a 33-year old employee inside the store. The owner then took out a shotgun and opened fire, striking the four men."
That area of 125th St. is packed with pedestrians during the day. It's surprising that anyone would be stupid enough to attempt such a brazen robbery with so many witnesses around. No doubt those thugs all have long rap sheets.
P.S. I just hope the owner has a license for his gun. (Is it even possible to get a license for a shotgun in NYC?)
I have worked in the area. It is very crowded during the day. There is also plenty of police officers on that patrolling that corner.
I'm not sure it is possible to have a shotgun license if the resident is in NYC unless he is/was part of some kind of law enforcement. But I'm not sure.
You can have a personal shotgun in NYC, I do. Just need to apply at the rifle/shotgun division in Kew Gardens.
Ain't as easy as that. They do everything they can to stop you from registering
Let's assume this guy has had that shotgun for many, many years. In order to register it, he would have had to turn it in to the NPD during the registration process (usually about 6 mo.). If something goes wrong with the process, you get frustrated and don't follow through, you lose your gun.
What black man living in Harlem, with 72 years of experience is going to turn his gun over to the cops? If he did, he would never see it again and he would probably be dead today.
Good for him!
Any stats on the shotgun? You know – make, model, gauge, pump, semi auto? It could really boost the sales of the company.
What kind of loads was the guy using?
The owner could always plead not guilty because he wasn't aware it was loaded and his sick mother just dropped it off until she got back from the nursing home.
As to the last part of your statement--I concur.
"The police said that the four ~would-be~ robbers..." Now, that is something you don't hear everyday.
Nice shootin' Tex! Nailing all 4 is impressive even with a shotgun.
you don't bring a 9mm to a shotgun party.
I'm glad the owner is OK and admire his gun handling skills.
Were the two injured alleged perps allowed medical care without showing proper insurance ID? Normally it takes about two hours to get any attention in a New York hospital due to filling out forms – your mothers maiden name, years in this country, color of your favorite flower, etc. etc.
No prob having a shotgun in NYC, thousands have them at home or in their businesses, for "sport" or hunting. Even if they never take to the field. As long as they're registered, totally legal. He can always say he was planning on shooting some skeet in the suburbs after work. As long as it's not altered (cut down, pistol grip, etc) he should be OK. If it was a handgun, much dicier. Nothing like a coupla rounds of 12ga double-aught to help decrease neighborhood crime. Good shoot! Mr. Augusto, working even in his older years, just reduced both our taxes and our risk of murder/rape/robbery. Thanks!
LOL (and I hope you're right about the shotgun license)
You make it sound like all you need to do is mail in a form to register a gun. It ain't like that.
that's two motherf'ers who won't be robbing anyone again
Good.
It should be legal for any New Yorker to have a shotgun. How else can we take the geese population down a notch or two?
Uh oh, you just summoned felixthecat2 who thinks that anyone defending their business from armed robbers is a "racist" and who eschews violent attitudes towards overpopulated waterfowl whilst spewing violent hatred towards a nice man who did very well for himself in business and just happens to be our mayor.
Gotta love instant justice
It's so evil to gloat, especially one is shot down in cold blood with a 12 gauge, but what the hey...
This is pretty much the opposite of in cold blood.
"A second dead body rested in the street near a car that had visible blood stains on it. Another man was down across the street with his pants around his ankles, perhaps falling down as he ran away. "
easily the funniest part of this whole story. i just hope that these 2 animals make it through to look forward to a life on a tube.
Pew pew doesn't even begin to describe the last sounds those hooligans heard.
I hope the two in the hospital recover and spend 30 years in a federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison.
For the unfortunate two who were killed, I hope at least their friends are taking note: 12ga shotguns are the new black.
I hope they recover too...but just a little bit.
Don't worry, I'm sure there will be a candle lit for the 2...t-shirts made...and maybe a Myspace page.
A shotgun is not a concealed weapon, and the NYC regulations around long guns are far less stringent than around handguns.
I would be really surprised if this guy gets handed more than a ticket.
(Frankly, I think he deserves a medal, and I think comparing him to Bernie Goetz is massively unfair to this guy.)
"Another man was down across the street with his pants around his ankles, perhaps falling down as he ran away. "
Maybe he had to go poo-poo, especially after seeing his two buddies take a concrete nap.
Damn! The old guy had a Winchester 12-gauge pump shotgun with a pistol grip. Those four robbers probably weren't expecting that...
I don't know much about the restaurant supply business, but how much cash did those four guys think they were going to get robbing that store?
I believe he dealt in stoves mostly (hence the name.) Commercial stoves are very pricey and the article said he did a lot of cash business. So the take would have been several thousand dollars.
Lets see. $4,000 divided four ways, oops two ways now, is $2,000. Not bad for a few minutes work. Unless of course you are one of the other two that don't need the money anymore.
"The business, the Kaplan Brothers Blue Flame Corporation, at 523 West 125th Street, near Amsterdam Avenue, provides parts and repairs for commercial gas and electric ranges." From the article above... feel free to read it before commenting. I'm sure most commercial clients pay for expensive parts and repairs with crumpled up 50 dollar bills. And the owner carries out $2 million worth of them in 2 white bags with $ signs on them every Friday morning.
You are a total fool. I had a $400 gas range repaired and it cost me $475 after it was all said and done because of parts that would have cost me under a $100. And the repairmen wanted cash payment.
This guy had a very good cash business going because most restaurants deal in cash. WAKE UP FOOL!
Damn, crooks are stupid. Even if it was $2000 per man is it worth risking your life and committing a major felony for? Those two guys who were only injured should be glad the store owner shot first and not their friend or else they'd be going away for murder.
i was watching the news last night and a neighborhood patron of the store said it was a "No Cash" business. Check or credit, that's it.
Which makes this even more hilarious. Although it could have made it much more terrible...
I can't possibly see how they thought they would get away lugging an industrial size stove down the block.
wtf.
Of course that would be stupid. Those big cast iron stoves are heavy. that's why there were four of them. They were shopping the deep frier aisle when all hell broke loose.
These idiots made the old man a Hero!
Impressive!
72 is the new 35.
I AM VERY ANGRY BECAUSE THOSE TWO SURVIVORS WERE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL.---
PLEASE, TAKE THEM BACK TO THE SCENE AND LET Mr. AUGUSTA FINISH THEM OFF.