The 80-year-old California liquor owner who was caught on video opening fire on a would-be robber with a shotgun is now speaking out, saying ‘I did a lot of hunting when I was a kid.’ The early Sunday morning incident at Norco Market & Liquor in Norco, just east of Los Angeles, forced the armed suspect to flee his business screaming “shoot my arm!” “I would always protect my employees, my customers, myself. In this case, luckily, I was here by myself so that’s all I had to worry about. I took care of it and that was it,” said the owner shop. CBS LA as Craig Cope, told the station. “I did a lot of hunting when I was young,” he added. “I had put food on the table. So I still remember things from a long time ago.” ELDERLY CALIFORNIA HOMEOWNER SHOOTS AT ARMED ROBBERY SUSPECT WHO SHOUTS, ‘SHOOT MY HAND!’ Two of the armed suspects police say are in custody after the attempted robbery of a liquor store in Norco, California, on Sunday, July 31. (Riverside County Sheriff’s Office) Cope also told CBS LA that he thinks “more people need to vote and vote the right way, and I think politicians … that’s not going to get me on the right side of a lot of people, but there are a lot of people out there, they had no idea what it was like to try to run a small business. AMERICA’S AMERICAN CRIME CAPITALS: THESE CITIES HAVE THE HIGHEST INCIDENTS “And when they let people out … and we have bad people, let’s face it. There are bad people, bad people that we don’t need. We have to lock them up because that’s a scary situation when that happens,” he also said. “Everybody they work hard. They have bills to pay. These guys will come in and take them from you. Not here.” The liquor store in Southern California where the robbery attempt took place (Google Maps) Cope told Fox11 LA that “there wasn’t a lot of time to think” about the incident as it unfolded. “When you point a gun at me directly and you’re that close and I see what you’re carrying, I don’t wait,” he said. The store owner also said the first clue he got that something was going to happen was when he saw the suspects “from the front door drive into this parking lot, but they didn’t park where a normal person would park, so that was a red flag .” “When I looked and saw them get out of the vehicle, they got gloves, masks, a gun, that just sealed the deal for me, I knew what was coming,” he added. The 23-year-old gunman seen on surveillance footage holding a rifle — who has not been publicly identified — was later located at a local hospital “suffering from a gunshot wound combined with a shotgun blast,” according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. .
He remains in critical but stable condition and will go to prison after his release.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Three other men police say were in a getaway vehicle at the time of the attempted robbery are in custody and facing robbery and conspiracy charges. Cope, meanwhile, returned to work Tuesday after suffering a heart attack following the shooting, according to media reports.