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."
