An electronics store owner who shot and killed two robbers regretted none of it but his scars. A pet store owner who did the same and briefly became a neighborhood hero closed his shop, moved on to other work, and tried to forget. A jeweler spent the rest of his life wishing he had never chased after two men who robbed his Brooklyn store. The New York Times describes “the real pain” for people who fought back against criminals who “threatened their livelihoods – their lives, even – and their sanity.”
The deep regret such violence can create was hinted at last week when the owner of a restaurant supply store in Harlem killed two robbers with a shotgun. The owner, Charles Augusto Jr., expressed sympathy for the families of the dead men, and said he wished they had just left the store. A few owners said shootings in their pasts, even those from decades ago, were still too painful to talk about. One, who would speak only anonymously, said, “I've been trying to forget about this since it happened.”