These posts are based on our Good Guy with a Gun calendar. Today’s post is somewhat updated from the calendar version.
Oriental Express is a family-run Chinese takeout restaurant in Capitol Heights, Maryland. One neighbor called the owners “quiet, hard-working people,” and the Yelp reviews are four-star — looks great for tasty, reasonably priced Egg Foo Young in particular.
One Thursday, just before the dinner rush, 27-year-old Victor Rios Rubio attempted to rob the restaurant and assaulted some of the employees. (Luckily, there were no customers in the restaurant at the time.)
One of the workers was armed, and they fired at Rubio, who was pronounced dead by police when they arrived.
7News reported that the witnesses spoke only Mandarin Chinese, so the county brought in an investigator who speaks the language to conduct the interviews.
Customers told News4 the place had been there about twenty years, run by a family. A security camera sat near the register.
Arslan Raja lives nearby, and he talked to two stations about it. “It’s bad because that shouldn’t happen,” he said. “That’s where families come and go to the shop, the nail salon and hair salon. You should feel safe coming to a place like this.”
The next day, news reports indicated that the restaurant was still shuttered, and there were flowers and teddy bears left outside the door.
Sources
News
NBC4 went out to the strip mall and talked to the people who shop there. Maryland carryout employee shot and killed man during robbery, police say (NBC4 Washington, Jackie Bensen and Andrea Swalec)
7News got the interpreter detail. Would-be robber fatally shot by restaurant employee in Capitol Heights, sources say (WJLA / 7News)
Other coverage:
Employee Fatally Shoots Robbery Suspect Inside Prince George’s County Restaurant (The BayNet)
Prince George’s County police: Man shot, killed after assaulting employees at restaurant he was robbing (DC News Now)
Employee shot, killed suspect robbing Maryland restaurant and assaulting employees: police (FOX 5 DC)
Man Fatally Shot While Robbing Restaurant, Assaulting Employees: Police (Patch)
One Killed In Midday Capitol Heights Shooting At Area Business, Police Say (Daily Voice)
Employee fatally shoots man inside Pr. George’s restaurant, police say (The Washington Post; paywalled)
2A / specialist media
Luke McCoy wrote it up at USA Carry. Employee Fatally Shoots Robbery Suspect Assaulting Staff at Maryland Restaurant
Brandon Curtis wrote it up at Concealed Nation. Restaurant Employee Shoots Robber Dead During Robbery And Assault
I don't think I'd leave flowers and teddy bears (why do they leave teddy bears for adults, anyway?) where someone I knew had been shot because he was a violent thief. Pretty tone-deaf, even if you don't believe the story.