Shocking video of an armed confrontation in a West Virginia pharmacy captures the moment an employee shoots and kills a would-be robber during a stickup.
Police said Terry Gillenwater, 25, walked into the Good Family Pharmacy in Pinch, West Virginia, Feb. 18, wearing a mask and carrying a loaded handgun. Security video shows the assailant standing in line for a moment before he pulls a gun and points it in an employee's face.
That's when pharmacist Don Radcliff quick-draws his legally owned concealed weapon, a .45 caliber pistol, and shoots the masked gunman. Radcliff fires three shots. Two hit Gillenwater. The other strikes his weapon, disabling it.
Radcliff and other employees tried to administer first aid to the man who threatened their lives only moments before.
As Radcliff tried to stop the bleeding from Gillenwater’s chest, the pharmacist said, “Why did you make me do this?” and “I didn’t mean to do this,” according to other pharmacy employees who were there.
The suspect later died at an area hospital.
Prosecutors said Gillenwater likely intended to rob the store of prescription medication, based on his iPhone search history, according to the West Virginia Metro News. Documents obtained by the paper showed Gillenwater had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute OxyContin in December. He'd been allowed to enter a drug rehab program and have those charges dropped if he completed it.
The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office determined that Radcliff acted in self defense, according to WCHS. The pharmacist will not face charges in the fatal shooting.
"I must say it took a great deal of courage for Mr. Radcliff to pull his weapon and fire in the face of a weapon being pointed at him that was fully loaded with a round in the chamber," Kanawha County prosecutor Chuck Miller told West Virginia Metro News. "That takes a lot of nerve, but he was completely justified in doing so."
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