He Thought He Could Stick Up a 67-Year-Old Man Using a Pellet Gun. It Was a Fatal Miscalculation.

A 67-year-old man was taking a stroll on a park trail outside Philadelphia when he was approached by a masked man who stuck a metallic pistol in his face and demanded money.

But the 67-year-old didn't shrink back — instead he battled the assailant for the weapon, WCAU-TV reported.

Then the victim — who has concealed weapons permit, police said — pulled out a .38 caliber handgun and fatally shot his assailant in the head, police said.

Tyler Williams (Image source: KYW-TV)

Declared dead in Cobbs Creek Park in Upper Darby was Tyler Williams, 18, of West Philadelphia, police told KYW-TV. He had no previous criminal record.

More than that, Williams' gun — which looked like a semiautomatic pistol — turned out to be a pellet gun, police added to KYW.

Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood told KYW that police thought the pellet gun looked like a real weapon until they got a closer look at it.

Chitwood told KYW he spoke to the 67-year-old who feels sad about Wednesday's incident.

“He was very remorseful and wish it hadn’t happened and I and other detectives told him 'you did nothing wrong,'” Chitwood told KYW.

“If I was the older guy I probably would have done the same thing, straight up,” Fred Williams of Upper Darby told KYW.

“People are getting fed up so you have to protect yourself these days,” neighbor Kathryn Cooper told KYW in an earlier story.

The victim initially told police second assailant got away, KYW noted, but he later stated it could have been a person standing nearby. Police believe Williams acted alone.

The 67-year-old was released from a hospital Thursday, KYW said; he was taken there after the incident complaining of chest pains. No charges against him are expected since he was acting in self-defense, Chitwood said.

“It’s a shame somebody had to die," Chitwood told KYW, "but at the end of the day the bad guy pulled a stickup and lost."

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