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Washington
Hatchet-swinging attacker shot dead by shop customer
The customer was in possession of a concealed-weapon permit.
A CUSTOMER CARRYING a concealed-weapon permit has shot a criminal wielding a hatchet dead in a convenience store.
The incident happened in White Center in Washington State in the north west of the US.
The dead man has since been identified by the local King County Medical Examiner’s Office as 43-year-old Steven Blacktongue, local news station Q13Fox reports.
The incident occurred inside a 7 Eleven, a popular American grocery store, at about 5am local time last Sunday morning.
A shop-worker said that a masked man entered the shop and immediately attacked a customer with a hatchet.
While the shop-worker was slightly injured, the customer who had been initially attacked fired the gun he was carrying at the attacker before any fatal blows could be struck.
Blacktongue was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene.
The customer who fired his weapon is 60 years old and a well-known patron of the store, having frequented it daily for the past 12 years.
It seems that he will have no case to answer for his actions, with a King County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson saying that they are happy he was there to intervene.
“Fortunately, because of this customer with his weapon, this could have been a lot worse,” King County Sheriff’s Sergeant Cindi West said.
The clerk could be the one laying there dead on the floor right now.
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