The family of an armed robber shot dead by a Dollar General clerk claim the clerk should have called the police instead of defending himself.
Roosevelt Rappley, 23, was shot dead by the clerk of the Dollar General on North Gettsyburg Avenue in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday, after entering the store brandishing a firearm and demanding money. The clerk, who has not been identified, called 911 shortly after he shot Rappley, and told them what happened:
I just had somebody try to attempt and rob me over here at Dollar General on Gettysburg… Came in with a firearm, threatened to take money out the drawer, pointed a gun at me and my staff members. He pointed a gun at me, I had a firearm on me, I pulled my firearm and I shot him in self-defense.
Lieutenant Jason Hall said that Rappley was already known to police:
The deceased did have a pending weapons charge that was waiting to move forward,” he said. “Right now we are looking into the possibility of this individual may have been involved in several other commercial robberies. As far the as the employee at Dollar General, he was legally possessing a weapon. He was on private property at his place of employment.
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In an interview with local media, the brother and sister of Rappley defended his actions, with the sister saying that all of the blame for his death did not lie with Rappley himself:
At the end of the day, that’s not right. He got some responsibility, but not all… It was wrong for that clerk to shoot my brother in the chest. Yes, he’s robbing the, oh well! Call the police! That’s what y’all supposed to do, you’re not supposed to take matters into your own hands… [You should not] bring a gun to work for safety, period!
Dollar General released a statement on the incident to the media:
At Dollar General the safety of our customers and employees is a priority. In line with that commitment, we employ a number of safety and security procedures to prevent, deter, and if necessary, respond to criminal activity in our stores. To protect the integrity of these measures, we do not comment on them specifically. We are continuing to review the circumstance surrounding this evening’s events in Dayton, Ohio, and are cooperating with local authorities in their investigation.
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Another Dollar General was robbed in Dayton on Friday evening, only two days after Rappley was shot. The robber, wearing a black mask and black jacket, escaped from the Salem Avenue store with money he had taken from the cash register. No shots were fired.
