In a dramatic flip of occasions, a comfort retailer worker at a gated Essex Meals Retailer in Portsmouth, Virginia, defended himself towards a thief final Thursday afternoon, ensuing within the thief’s loss of life.
It was round 2:25 p.m., when 27-year-old Rahsaan Nixon entered Essex with the acknowledged intent to steal merchandise. This incident adopted an tried theft by Nixon the earlier night time on the identical retailer. In line with a person interviewed by WAVY 10 within the retailer car parking zone, Nixon had tried and didn’t rob the shop on Wednesday night time, returning Thursday to repeat his crime.
“He tried to rob the shop the night time earlier than, and he got here again the following day to do what he didn’t do Wednesday night time,” mentioned the person. “He tried to rob the place. … I don’t know if he succeeded, however he tried to rob the place, so when he comes again on Thursday, he will get killed.”
Police didn’t verify the Wednesday confrontation to the information station, however the man they interviewed appeared to know precisely what went down.
“All these photographs, I come out and discover the man was useless. I feel it was silly. Why was he making an attempt to rob a spot one night time and are available again and hit the identical spot once more? He has obtained to know he’s going down,” he mentioned.
And “down” is strictly the place Nixon went.
When he entered the shop and started grabbing merchandise, Nixon was shortly confronted by the clerk. An altercation ensued, resulting in the worker to open fireplace in self-defense.
Police arrived to seek out Nixon shot, and regardless of being rushed to a neighborhood hospital, he succumbed to his accidents.
“He tried to rob the place. … I don’t know if he succeeded, however he tried to rob the place, so when he comes again on Thursday, he will get killed,” the witness advised WAVY.
The Portsmouth Police Main Crimes Unit has launched a prison investigation, however no costs have been filed towards the shop worker. Police Chief Stephen Jenkins acknowledged the unlucky actuality of violence in communities however emphasised the proper to self-defense, particularly in conditions the place people face repeated threats.
Mockingly, proper exterior of the shop stands a big billboard that reads: Gun Crime Means Extra Time. Whereas there isn’t any indication Nixon had a gun, his crime nonetheless value him lots of time, like endlessly.
This incident serves as a stark reminder of the need for law-abiding residents to be ready to guard themselves and their property. The Essex Meals Retailer, with its caged home windows as a precaution towards break-ins, is a testomony to the fixed vigilance required in immediately’s society and the danger criminals face and the worth they could pay, when good individuals combat again.