Charlotte, NC — An unidentified man won’t be facing charges after he used his gun in self-defense to stop two gun-wielding thugs in a Charlotte, NC gas station.
Police were called around 4:00 am to the 7-11 in the 4800 block of Brookshire Boulevard.
Once they arrived, they learned that two teenagers, identified as Qwanterrius Stafford and Brenna Harris had burst into the store with guns drawn.
Sargent Brian Schard with the CMPD said, “They immediately went straight to him, pointed a gun at him, within inches of his face, very aggressively pointed a gun at him.”
The customer handed over his wallet, but the thugs never considered he might have more than a wallet on him.
The two teenage thugs turned their attention to the store clerk and demanded money from the cash register.
Once they had taken his wallet and turned their sights on the poor clerk, the customer decided to take control of this dangerous situation.
He pulled out his concealed weapon and shot at both of the robbers.
One thug, Qwantterius Stafford, only 16 years old, died inside the store.
Brenna Harris, 17, made it a mile and a half down Saratoga drive before police located him and took him into custody.
Harris was initially taken to the hospital for treatment but was later taken into custody. He will be charged with attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and armed robbery from person.
Police said that the store clerk was not hurt, and that the 7-11 was closed for most of the day for police to gather evidence.
While the clerk is unharmed, CMPD’s Lieutenant Bryan Crum said of the clerk, “You come to work as a store clerk doing your job, a hard job at night and you fall victim to a violent situation like this, I’m sure that they’re fairly shaken up at the least.”
Sargent Scharf said of the heroic customer, “I believe in self-defense. It’s certainly not something we like to see, but everybody has to make their own decision whether they’re life is in danger or not.”
Police say they will investigate further to see if Harris and Stafford could be connected to other robberies in the area.
Meanwhile, neither of these teenage thugs should have had a gun as they were underage, didn’t have permits to concealed carry, hadn’t undergone a background check, and it’s illegal to commit a crime with a gun.
But that never stops criminals.
Thankfully there was an armed customer who was willing to stop them before they could kill anybody.
Maybe other thugs will think twice before they decide to hit up a gas station in Charlotte, NC anytime soon!