A 65-year-old man recently fought off an assault by two young men by drawing his concealed handgun, wounding both of them.
According to a report from NBC Philadelphia, the man and his wife were walking in the Queen Village neighborhood at 8:30 p.m. on March 1. As they passed two young men, aged 21 and 20, one reportedly asked the husband, “What are you looking at?”
News station NBC 10 is reporting that this is where the incident turned violent.
According to the wife, her husband repeated the question back to the young man, at which point the two young men allegedly punched him and threw him to the ground. Witnesses reported hearing the commotion and seeing two men repeatedly kicking the 65-year-old man while he was on the ground.
However, it seems that the two young men picked the wrong senior to attack.
The 65-year-old man reportedly pulled out a .45 caliber pistol and shot the two attackers. The 21-year-old assailant was shot in the shoulder and the 20-year-old was shot in the stomach. Both men were taken to the hospital and are in stable condition.
The 65-year-old man sustained bruises on his head, face and chest. He was treated at a hospital but has been released. His wife was not injured during the altercation.
Police have said that the shooting was in self-defense and that the shooter was licensed to carry a concealed weapon.
“This man is very lucky he was able to defend himself and defend his wife because we don’t know,” Philadelphia Police Lieutenant John Stanford said of the incident. “We don’t know if he didn’t have a firearm, we don’t know what we may have been talking about at this point in time.”
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office is currently reviewing the incident to determine whether any charges will be filed.
It is a good thing this man had the foresight to carry his concealed weapon and that he was prepared to use it when his evening took an unexpected turn. The situation could have turned out much differently.
You can see the news footage about the incident by clicking here.
