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A 28-year-old armed with a hammer was fatally shot while trying to rob a gun store in Livermore, California. The Livermore Police Department said that the suspect, who was not identified, walked into East Bay Firearms on Sunday (October 22) "wearing a mask, a hooded sweatshirt pulled over his head and gloves."
As the thief attempted to snatch a weapon, the store's owner grabbed a gun and fired two shots at him.
When officers arrived, they found the suspect with two gunshot wounds. Paramedics attempted to provide life-saving measures, but the suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities said there were five customers in the store at the time, and none of them were injured.
The gun store owner is cooperating with the investigation and is not expected to be charged.
"At this stage in the investigation, it appears that this was a case of self-defense," the Livermore Police Department said in a news release posted on X.
The police said they would release the identity of the suspect after his next of kin had been notified.