Oklahoma City Police arrested Christopher Parker, 19, after he held up an auto shop where he was shot at by the business owner.
Parker initially went to Flash Auto Repair by way of sneaking in from a nearby neighborhood. Only the shop owner and an employee were present. Parker allegedly demanded money and even pistol-whipped the owner.
Ironically, both the owner and employee thought the gun was not real.
“While they complied with the demands, the suspect shot multiple times into the air,” said Sgt. Megan Morgan, Oklahoma City Police Department.
The employee ran to another business seeking help, while the owner was able to obtain his gun and get shots at the armed teenage robber.
Parker evaded the shots to his getaway driver, but not without full escape. Through the shots heard by the nearby neighborhood, a resident in his car noticed the getaway car speeding off and followed them.
“They might shoot at me so hold on, hold on, they know I’m following them,” said the witness.
The accomplice has yet to be found, but Parker was thanks to the witness providing the plate information of the getaway car.
Even with complying, the bad guys will still try and overexert their own dominance. Parker only wanted the money and fired warning shots thinking he could prey on these victims. In reality, the owner chose not to be a victim and at the very least kept himself armed to protect not just his business but his employees, albeit the one who ran for help.
Unfortunately, Parker was able to leave with the money at first, but likely not without being even more scared himself from being fired at. The presence and use of the owner with his gun was enough to get this cowardly criminal to think twice about any more violence.
As for the good samaritan, he took a rather significant risk to follow the suspects, especially knowing they were armed. Whether or not he was armed himself, following and attempting to stop a crime you were not involved in is always dangerous. Thankfully he was able to obtain the right information without harm and help rid the streets of a criminal.
