Elderly Man Pulls Gun on Man Allegedly Threatening Him

An alleged threat and reported self-defense counter action at the Tedeschi Food Shop on Village Street in Penacook is being investigated by Concord Police, according to Lt. Timothy O’Malley, the commander of the Criminal Investigations Division.

According to O’Malley and scanner chatter, officers were called to this store on May 11, to investigate a threat incident between a man and a woman and a second man in the store’s parking lot.

The man and woman, who were reportedly in their 20s, got into a “verbal altercation” with the second man, who was in his mid-70s. Things became heated and the elderly man, who had a concealed handgun, pulled the weapon out and pointed it at the younger man. The younger man “backed off,” according to investigators, and the elderly man holstered his weapon and went into the store to conduct his business.

Police were then called in to investigate, spoke to all the parties involved, and looked at video surveillance footage at the store. The elderly man, according to O’Malley, had a concealed carry permit.

No one was arrested but the case remains “under investigation.” O’Malley noted that prosecutors will be given all the information and then be allowed to pursue legal action or not.

New Hampshire has a “stand your ground” law meaning that those people who may feel threatened can utilize a gun for protection. O’Malley said prosecutors would look at whether or not the elderly man’s actions were prudent, whether or not the elderly man had the ability to retreat from the scene, and whether or not the action he took to end the situation that he perceived to be a threat went too far or not.

Police were also on North State Street yesterday afternoon investigation a past tense burglary in the area of Swenson’s Granite.