75-year-old deli owner shoots suspected robber on Detroit's west side

DETROIT (WJBK) - A suspected robber tried to hold-up a Detroit deli but the owner fights back grabbing his gun to defend his store and his wife.

It happened at Teenie's Deli about 4 p.m. Thursday on Seven Mile, when 75-year-old Johnnie Christopher was working in the back of the diner and his wife at the front.

"You have to act, you can't react," said Christopher. "You have to act. Bop, just like that."

A 22-year-old black male runs in, saying he is being chased. 

"He came in here and he was just standing here and all of sudden he jumps," Christopher said. 

The man jumped over the counter and at that point, Christopher believed he was being robbed. 

"Of course, I’m in the back," he said. "My wife is screaming and hollering. What would you do? That's all I can tell you."
 
Christopher grabbed his gun and fired several shots, hitting the man. The victim was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. 

"It happened so fast, I'm in the back, my wife is screaming," Christopher said. "I come out and there he is. There is nothing I can do but act. Do something, you can't just holler."

Christopher has been in business for 40 years and has been robbed before which led to his quick decision to start shooting.

"I've been robbed three times with a gun in my face and my being in business for 41 years, coming up in January," Christopher said. "And I've been, I guess, prone to it because it's happening and I'm aware of it every day."

Police are treating the case as self-defense with no charges of yet.