Cops: Customer Killed Robber Who Had Fake Gun

Charges unlikely, police say
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Suggested by JohnRitz
Posted Nov 2, 2015 2:10 PM CST
Cops: Customer Killed Robber Who Had Fake Gun
Stock image.   (Shutterstock)

Reginald Gildersleeve walked into a Chicago store Saturday night, wearing a mask, brandished a gun, pointed it at a worker and forced her to the back of the store, and announced his intention to rob the place, police say. That's when another customer, who has a concealed-carry license, confronted Gildersleeve, took out his own gun, and fired several times, killing the 55-year-old robbery suspect, authorities say. It turns out Gildersleeve was only brandishing a fake gun at the time, but police say the investigation is almost finished and charges against the man who shot him are not likely, the Chicago Tribune reports. Gildersleeve's gun has been variously reported to have been a paint gun, a toy gun, and a paintball gun.

Gildersleeve's stepson isn't happy, noting that his stepdad "doesn't even own a gun. He couldn't own a gun if he wanted to" and questioning the actions of the man who shot him. "Some people don't actually know how to use guns. They go to firing ranges, but it's not the same as a bullet going into someone's body, it's not the same as a bullet going into flesh. They should be able to wound first, kill next. He didn't deserve to get shot multiple times," the stepson says. "You just took a brother, you just took a father from a lot of people. Somebody's got to answer for that." But "we're looking at it as a self-defense issue at this point," a police spokesperson tells the AP. "You have situations like this," in which no one else was hurt, "and you have situations that end tragically. The department is not going to advocate for what people should or shouldn't do." (More self-defense stories.)

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