Dramatic Moment California Liquor Store Owner Blasts Rifle-toting Robber With A Shotgun

By Tom Brown For Mailonline and Andrea Cavallier For Dailymail.Com

Published: 07:15 EDT, 2 August 2022 | Updated: 11:04 EDT, 3 August 2022

An 80-year-old liquor store owner in California is being hailed a hero by his community after he fired his shotgun at an armed intruder who then frantically fled with three other suspects screaming 'He shot my arm off!'

Craig Cope, 80, was inside his Norco Market & Liquor shop in Norco, California just before 3 a.m. when he noticed a gang of men armed with guns creeping up to the door. Employees say their boss didn't hesitate to defend the place he's owned for 55 years.

As a 23-year-old suspect armed with an AR-15 entered the store, Cope grabbed his shotgun and fired a single shot, striking the intruder in the shoulder. As the suspects fled, Cope suffered a minor heart attack from the traumatic incident.

Cope's wife Nancy, reports her husband is now recovering at home, to the relief of their family and his employees, who describe him as a beloved father, grandfather, 'great boss' and now a hero.

Riverside County Sheriff's Department later said in a news release that four suspects armed with guns and wearing facial coverings had planned to rob the store when they showed up in a stolen vehicle early Sunday.

But employees say Cope spotted the men heading his way and sprang into action. Security camera footage captured the dramatic encounter.

'He shot my arm off! He shot my arm off!' the man can be heard shouting as he frantically runs back to a black BMW SUV that deputies later said was reported stolen.

The suspects were located a short time later at a local hospital, where one of the suspects, a 23-year-old male, was suffering from a gunshot wound consistent with a shotgun blast, according to a Riverside County Sheriff's Department release. He remains hospitalized in critical, but stable condition.

The three other suspects were taken into police custody and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center for robbery and conspiracy. They are being held on $500,000 bail.

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Video shows a 23-year-old male holding the rifle in Norco Market & Liquor on Sixth Street in Norco at 2:47am on Sunday

The man screams out as he's hit in the shoulder, fleeing the store and shouting: 'He shot my arm off! He shot my arm off!'

Craig Cope, 80, opened fire with a shotgun when a would-be armed robber burst into Norco Market & Liquor with an AR-15. The suspect was shot in the arm and fled the store. Cope then suffered a minor heart attack from the shock of ordeal

Deputies identified the suspects as 22-year-old Inglewood resident Justin Johnson, 27-year-old Los Angeles resident Jamar Williams and 24-year-old Las Vegas resident Davon Broadus.

The 23-year-old man who was shot is in critical but stable condition. He remains unnamed.

Deputies responded to reports of an attempted armed robbery around 2:47 a.m. at the store in the 800 block of Sixth Street in Norco, near San Bernardino.

Surveillance video revealed the suspects approached the business armed with long guns wearing facial coverings and hoods. As soon as the first suspect walked inside, his gun aimed, the store's owner Craig Cope, fired a single shot from a shotgun, and the suspect fled the store.

They jumped in a dark-colored BMW SUV, that had earlier been reported stolen. It was also found to contain numerous stolen firearms, deputies said.

Hitting the accelerator, the driver almost left one of the accomplices behind - having to stop so the last hooded assailant could jump into the vehicle.

Back inside the store, Cope suffered a heart attack from the shock of the incident and had to be rushed to hospital.

Some of Cope's employees posted on social media that their boss is at home recovering and that he is eager to get back to work.

Tamara Gibbons, who has worked at the store since October, told DailyMail.com that Cope is loved by the community and is a great boss who gives anyone and everyone a chance.

'He's just very kind and never turns anyone away,' Gibbons said, adding that Cope has been known to help transients in the area. 'He treated everyone equally.'

Gibbons said her boss was the only one working on Sunday overnight when the would-be robbers crept up. But that he saw them coming - armed with weapons - and he was ready to defend his business of 55 years.

Business owner Craig suffered a heart attack, having to be rushed to hospital after the shock of the attack

Hitting the accelerator, the driver almost leaves one of the accomplices behind. The suspects are now in custody after police found them at the hospital, identifying them from the gunshot wound

Back inside the store, Cope suffered a heart attack from the shock of the incident and had to be rushed to hospital

'He was on his toes, thank god,' another store employee Marnie Tapia, told ABC7. 'He just prepared himself. He's always prepared as far as weapons go.'

Tapia credits the store's newly installed, high definition security cameras with saving her Cope's life. She said her boss put the security system in place because of a recent uptick in convenience store robberies.

'The sheriff came in and warned me about eight months ago or so that this was going on and to keep an eye out and pay attention, be on your toes,' she said.

She added that having Cope as her boss makes employees feel safer.

As of Tuesday evening, the three suspects taken into custody remained behind bars on $500,000 bail despite being in the state of California, where Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon has been under fire for his progressive policies that have given some criminals a get-out-of-jail-free card.

The progressive prosecutor - who was elected in 2020 - has been vocal about the need to reform the criminal justice system to focus more on intervention and rehabilitation, blasting 'tough-on-crime' policies as racist and a failure.

Cope will not face any charges in Riverside County, unlike the New York City bodega worker who was charged with murder for fatally stabbing an attacker in self-defense.

'In this case, a lawfully armed member of our community prevented a violent crime and ensured their own safety while being confronted with multiple armed suspect,' the sheriff's department said in a release referring to Cope's case.

However, in New York last month, store employee Jose Alba was arrested and initially charged after he fatally stabbed a man who physically attacked him over a bag of chips. The store employee said he was acting in self-defense.

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Alba, 61, who had faced a second-degree murder charge, was working at the Blue Moon deli on July 1 when he fatally stabbed Austin Simon in the neck and chest.

Surveillance footage clearly showed that Simon, 37, had moved behind the counter at the convenience store in Hamilton Heights and pushed the store clerk into a stack of shelves before grabbing him.

It was only then that Alba reached over to a shelf and pulled out a knife to fight back.

Public outage at DA Alvin Bragg's charges against Alba grew to such a level that he gave into pressure and dropped them.

Jose Alba (right) posed for a celebratory photo with Francisco Marte, President of the Bodega and Small Business Association of New York last month after DA Alvin Bragg dropped the murder charges against him

Bodega worker Jose Alba (right) was physically attacked by a customer before pulling out a knife and fatally stabbing the man. Charges against Alba have been dropped