Would-be victim shoots, kills robber at Orange County carwash
Gunfire at a South Orange Blossom Trail carwash Friday left a suspected robber dead at the hands of his intended victim, Orange County deputies said.
The attack took place about 6:40 p.m. when two men, one armed with a sawed-off shotgun, walked up to a customer inside a carwash bay at 5101 S. Orange Blossom Trail. They tried to rob the patron, but he pulled out a handgun and fired, striking one of his attackers, Cmdr. Paul "Spike" Hopkins said.
"The bad guy was killed, and this guy [the customer] is safe tonight," Hopkins said. Investigators did not release the names of those involved. The second suspect ran off and had not been found early today.
Friday's shooting was the second time in four days that a customer at an Orange County business shot and killed a robbery suspect.
In Ocoee on Tuesday, a customer fatally wounded Freddie Carson, 40, who police said was trying to rob a clerk at the Kangaroo Express gas station. Carson was beating the clerk on the head with a bottle
when the customer pointed his .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun and shot twice, police said.
The clerk, Marina Rodriguez, escaped with injuries that were not life-threatening.
Police are investigating whether the shooting was justified.
Florida law permits the use of deadly force to protect yourself or another person from death or serious bodily harm and to prevent a "forcible felony" such as robbery.
During Friday's shooting, the wounded suspect tried to run away but collapsed in the carwash parking lot. Paramedics took him to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The customer was uninjured.
The robbery victim had a concealed-weapons permit and no criminal history, Hopkins said.
The attempted robbery was similar to five attacks during the past week along a one-mile stretch of South Orange Blossom Trail, Hopkins said. Two men, one armed with a shotgun, demanded money from their victims. Investigators are trying to establish a possible link.
Fred Johnson, 39, who owns a hair and nail salon next door to the carwash, spotted the suspected robber lying in a pool of blood.
"You can't go around robbing people. Simple as that. It's not fair," Johnson said.
Willoughby Mariano can be reached at 407-420-5171 or
wmariano@orlandosentinel.com.