A would-be robber in Atlanta’s Little Five-Points area was gunned down by a patron waiting outside of a store to purchase the newly released Lebron James‘ sneakers, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
The LeBron X Denim shoes retail for $180 and have been eagerly anticipated — especially in light of the Miami Heat pulling out a nail-biting victory over the San Antonio Spurs last Thursday.
The unidentified robber was fatally shot outside of the Wish clothing and shoe store after trying to rob a group of people. His shooter is reportedly licensed to carry a concealed weapon and returned to his place in line after the shooting.
“He really stood up for all of us,” Taylor White told Channel 2. He said he was in line when the shooting happened. “I salute the homie that did that.”
Read more from the AJC:
Police responded to the shooting at 5:30 a.m. — six and half hours before Wish opened.By 11:30 a.m., a line 45 people long stretched from Wish’s door down to the sidewalk and almost halfway up the next block.
Some brought chairs to make their wait more comfortable, but police tossed them aside and made the sneaker-hungry customers stand in a single-file line instead of clustering around the store’s entrance. A few, concerned that they would lose their place and miss their chance to get the sneakers, briefly attempted to resist the police’s entreaties that they form a single-file line.
“It ain’t that serious,” one woman said as she looked at fellow customers trying to stay as close to the store’s entrance as possible. But that woman wasn’t giving up her spot in line, either.
Many in line were aware of the shooting that took place a few hours earlier, but they were still answering the sneakers’ siren call.
“Sounds like he brought it on himself,” a man who would not give his name said of the shooting victim.
See news report below:
Police consider the shooting to be self-defense and no charges have been filed.
