A delivery driver with his concealed carry permit shot & killed a man attempting to rob the Papa John’s.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office in New Carlisle, Ohio says Gage Melton, 21, died after he was shot during the attempted robbery.
Investigators say two masked men entered the Papa John’s at about 11 p.m. Sunday. A worker who called 911 said one of the suspects was armed with a crowbar while the other appeared to be holding a knife.
The delivery driver opened fire, wounding Melton in the store.
Another person involved in the robbery ran off from the scene and remains at-large.
WDTN-TV reports on the 911 call:
"The 911 call begins with an employee saying, “Papa John’s New Carlisle 410 North Main Street. Someone just broke in and they were shot in self-defense.” The 911 operator says, “Ok, somebody just broke in?” The employee says, “They came right in with weapons and tried to rob us. They’re still in here. There’s one shot and wounded on the floor. One of them ran out.”..
On the call, the employee said, “They had weapons. The one’s got a big crowbar, the other one had what looked like a knife. And they were sprinting towards us.” He went on to say, “It looked like a knife or like hedge clippers or something. They came sprinting in and ran up on us fast.”
A delivery driver shot at the suspects. One of them — later identified as Melton — was hit and lay bleeding in the store, the other suspect fled.
The driver that pulled the trigger also spoke with 911 on the emergency call, saying, “I’m too upset to talk right now. I’m willing to cooperate when you get here, I don’t have the firearm in my hand.”
The employees told 911 they worried the other suspect may be waiting for them outside. The 911 operator told them to stay inside while emergency crews headed to the store and tried to coach them through administering life-saving aid. But they were too distraught, adding there were no clean towels to stop the bleeding.
Then the first employee said he thought the suspect was no longer breathing.
The 911 operator asked, “Where is the gun at? Does [name redacted] still have it or is it put away?” The first employee responded, “He still has it, do you need him to put it somewhere?” The 911 operator said, “Yeah. Have him put it on a counter.” The employee then said, “Put the gun right here [name redacted] so it’s out in the open. So the cops know it’s out in the open.”
The Sheriff’s Office say this case appears to be a justified use of force in self-defense.