Man Defends Store from Robbery With His Gun...and Now Could Lose His Lease

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A Tennessee man may lose the lease on his store because he used a gun to defend his business, according to WREG-TV.

The shooting took place on Wednesday after three men entered the business owner’s cookie store located in the Southland Mall in Memphis and grabbed $45 from the cash register.

The store owner chased the men from his shop and into the mall parking lot and fired what WREG-TV says were three warning shots from his 9mm.

But now his lease may be in trouble because the mall has a strict “no firearm” policy, the video report notes.

“Bringing a gun and then pulling it out in front of a bunch of people that’s setting a bad example for your company,” one Memphis resident told the local news team.

Luckily, there were no injuries.

“It could have been a smarter way for it but I guess it’s just a quick reaction based on his instincts and all that. You getting away with my stuff that I worked for and you trying to take it and think I’m not fixing to do nothing about it,” the Memphis resident continued.

Since the 2010 shooting death of a security guard, the mall has worked hard to repair its image a “family friendly” shopping destination. Not even the security guards carry guns.

The store owner’s decision to break the mall’s no-firearm policy and then fire the weapon means he may need to relocate his store to a different area.

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“He could have hit anybody. There are a lot of kids out here in this area, especially around this time at that mall,” said another Memphis resident.

Police are still searching from the three suspects. The mall’s management has not yet commented on the status of the store owner’s lease.

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