A Little Caesars pizza worker was closing up the Holly Hill, Florida, restaurant shortly before midnight Saturday when a man wearing a demon mask attacked him just outside the door, WFTV-TV reported.
The masked man — Jesse Coggins, 53, of Greenville, North Carolina — hit the worker on his face and shoulder with a wooden post until it broke and also tried to stab him with scissors, police told the station.
Image source: WFTV-TV video screenshot
That's when the Little Caesars employee — 28-year-old Heriberto Feliciano — pulled out a gun and started firing, WFTV said.
Feliciano — who has a concealed weapons permit — shot his attacker four to five times at close range, the station said, citing the police report.
A 911 call from a sobbing Feliciano was released Tuesday on which he's heard saying, "Please help me. I think he’s dying," WFTV noted.
“I’m bleeding all over the place," he also told the operator.
Image source: WFTV-TV video screenshot
Coggins was taken to a hospital where he later died, WFTV reported, adding that deputies said Coggins has no local arrest history so it's unclear how long he's been in the area. Police released a photo of the mask he was wearing.
Feliciano‘s father told the station the attack deeply affected his son, who has had trouble sleeping as he recovers at home. He also met with detectives Tuesday, WFTV said.
Holly Hill police Chief Steve Aldrich told the station there's no indication that anyone besides Coggins was involved in the attack.
"As soon as [the victim] exited the building, he was immediately attacked by an individual that was wearing a scary clown mask and brandishing a wooden stick," Aldrich told WFTV. "I'm glad that he was able to defend himself and that he's OK. It's just unfortunate that this whole episode occurred."
(H/T: Bearing Arms)
