By:Cris Italia
During what appears to be a robbery gone slightly awry, an Oceanside man in his 70s tried to take matters into his own hands.
Witnesses say that an elderly man was entering his car at the Great Lincoln Shopping Center off of Atlantic Avenue in Oceanside, when the he heard someone say "Hey, you dropped a dollar." After being robbed of a bag the thieves probably thought was cash--but actually contained several hand guns--the elderly man allegedly displayed another revolver and began unloading rounds as the robbers drove away.
"I was working in the store when I heard four loud pops," said Seth Koslow, 20, a salesman at the Play Again sports store. "I looked out and saw an old guy by a blue SUV and he had a pistol. Then he went in and out of his car. He went into CVS to get his wife. . . This guy, apparently didn't think that he did something wrong. If you are going to shoot at the bad guy, shoot at the bad guy."
The four shots missed the shooter's target, hitting four different stores along the shopping center. One bullet pierced the window of the vacant Cafe Al Fresco Italian Restaurant, another hit the bake shop and the health foods vitamins juice bar and the another shot went through the Dry Cleaners.
"We just heard shots. No people were hurt, no one was paying attention," said an employee in the Lincoln Shopping Center who declined to give his name.
A CVS employee, who also did not want to be named, confirmed that the man claimed he was being robbed. "He came in and took his wife and they tried to leave," the employee said. Fourth Precinct officers arrived at the scene before the couple could leave.
Police said that the elderly man had just taken four hand guns out of a safety deposit box from the bank. When he put the guns in the his car, he was approached by a group of people who stole the bag with the guns, thinking it was money.
"Evidently they followed him from the bank thinking he had money. They saw he was an older man and probably thought 'easy mark,'" said Officer Webb of Fourth Precinct. She added that the man had recently undergone open-heart surgery.
As the elderly man shot at the suspects, they sped away in a green vehicle. One of the guns stolen was found in the middle of the street.
"This guy was taking his guns to headquarters to turn them in. He had a permit for them," said witness Scott Offner, an Oceanside resident. "Someone said he dropped a dollar or some money and he was knocked down or fell down. He felt threatened. He felt he was being attacked. He was an old man. He shot at a green car right in front of that blue SUV. The shooter was taken away in handcuffs."
"He could have been a victim, but a victim that was shooting, well, there's a problem," Offner said.
Police officials said the elderly man was still in for questioning on Monday morning.
