Back in May, two would-be stick-up men walked into the Bountiful Pawn Shop near Salt Lake City just as the owner was opening the store. One of them, Kleydys Arbolaez-Hernandez, had a handgun and pointed it at the owner’s head while his accomplice, Alexander Cutino Sanchez, armed with a hammer, searched for loot.
But while Arbolaez-Hernandez tried to close the front door, the owner put some distance between himself and the gunman, allowing him to pull his gun.
Now, the Bountiful Police Department has released security footage of the incident.
From deseretnews.com:
In the video, the clerk raises his own gun and appears to fire before the two struggle on the floor at the back of the room. The clerk frees himself from the robber and leaves the side room, his right hand covered in what appears to be blood. The second man with the bag is seen running from the store just moments before the clerk left the side room.
Bountiful Police Lt. Dave Edwards said the clerk only had a 1- or 2-second window to decide whether to pull the trigger.
“The suspect could have left. He could have left the store then, but instead he continued to pursue (the clerk), and immediately as he comes around the corner again, points the gun again. The clerk defends himself,” Edwards said.
Arbolaez-Hernandez died there on the floor of the shop. As for his accomplice,
Sanchez also has been named as a suspect in several robberies in Oklahoma, Colorado and Texas. He was arrested in Texas on May 31 after fleeing Utah following the pawn shop shooting.
The “good guy with a gun” narrative is a myth meant to scare people into buying guns for self-defense.
The truth? People rarely use guns for self-defense. Read more: https://t.co/JiRK3zkvkl
— Giffords (@GiffordsCourage) July 6, 2018
Gabby Giffords was unavailable for comment.