GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA – Al Befekadu, an immigrant from Ethiopia, said today he was alone in his Pendleton convenience store when a gunman came in and asked for money.
“Sure,” Befekadu recalled saying, “Give me a second.”
Befekadu said he went into his back office during Wednesday night’s encounter and came out with a handgun — the same one he bought after a previous robbery on July 23.
“I just fired one warning shot, and he just dropped to the ground,” Befekadu said.
After the gunman bolted, Befekadu said he followed outside, fired another shot without aiming and then called the police.
Anderson County sheriff’s deputies are now searching for a suspect in Wednesday’s incident at the Corner Stop at 5630 U.S. 76, according to an incident report. They got the call at 7:53 p.m., the report states.
Befekadu, 54, said he’s a father of three who works 18 hours a day.
He said the gunman got away with money in the July incident but not on Wednesday.
The gunman in Wednesday’s robbery wore a ski mask and was 30-40 years old, according to the incident report. In July, two men between 19 and 23 years old, including one wearing a bandana, were listed as the suspects, according to an incident report.
Two people were arrested in the July incident, but it’s too early to know whether one of them was involved in Wednesday’s robbery, said Susann Griffin, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office.
2 thoughts on “Ethiopian store owner in SC thwarts robbery with gun”
This is my type of guy. All store owners should have a weapon. They should not only have a weapon but train for it properly. There are many places who can train them. Gun stores have info on this. You could practice at NRA shooting ranges, but you probably have to be a member, cost about 750$. Safety first should be the rule of the game. I would rather worry about the dead body than be gone with out kissing goodbye to my kids. The soft habesha personality doesn’t go with the kind of business most habeshas are in. I get so confused when I see even the warrior type habesha getting scared to handle weapons. This includes former members of Ethio military, eprp, tplf, shabia, edu etc…Do people get softer when they get older? My guess is it is too much sugar in the U.S.A.
If you have a business, it’s a must to have a gun and to make sure u have the gun permit.you don’t have to go to IRA for gun training and pay 750.00. you can go to a local gun shop that have inside gun range and pay less than 75.00