Crime & Safety

DeKalb Armed Robbers Stopped By Armed Would-Be Victim

The man says he opened fire on two suspects after they pointed guns in his face from less than a foot away.

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A group of armed robbery suspects in DeKalb County got more than they bargained for when their mark turned out to be armed as well.

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Joshua Hamadi, who boots trucks illegally parked on private property, was parked in the Bouldercrest Plaza shopping center at 3 a.m. Tuesday when a black Kia Spectra pulled up behind him, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Always armed on duty and suspicious of the Kia, Hamadi pulled out his weapon and had it at the ready in case anything happened.

That’s when two people jumped out of the Kia, guns drawn, and got to within a foot of Hamadi, the AJC said. Hamadi brought his own weapon to bear and shot at his would-be robbers, wounding one and scaring the other off. The Spectra returned to the parking lot several minutes after the initial incident, and Hamadi once again fired on the vehicle to drive it off for good.

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Hamadi detained the wounded suspect until he was attended to by medical personnel, the AJC said. The 15-year-old is recovering at Grady Memorial Hospital. Police tracked down the bullet-ridden Kia, which was stolen, and a police spokesman told the AJC that it’s unlikely that Hamadi will be charged for his actions.


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