A West Charlotte, North Carolina, Pizza Hut worker shot and killed one of three robbers at the store early Sunday morning.
The Pizza Hut employee shot 28-year-old Michael Grace with his own personal handgun during the attempted robbery, WSOC-TV9 reported. Grace was later found to be carrying a gun, as well.
The other two suspects fled when Grace was shot and have not yet been found. No customers were in the restaurant during the robbery, which took place around 1:40 a.m. Sunday.
Grace was pronounced dead at the scene following the shooting. The employee, whose name has not been released, has been placed on leave from his job while an investigation into the shooting is conducted.
Defense attorney and former prosecutor Tony Scheer said it is highly unlikely he will be charged. “It’s going to be a rare case that they want to do anything to the person that defended themselves to shoot somebody,” Scheer said, according to WSOC.
The restaurant was closed Monday. Pizza Hut released a statement about the shooting, saying, “[Pizza Hut is] providing support to the team members involved to ensure their health and well-being following this incident,” WSOC reported. The policy on employees carrying a weapon at that location is unclear.
Scheer said under current law, the other two suspects, if caught, could be charged with murder in this instance, though that rarely happens. Crime Stoppers and the Charlotte Police Department are still actively looking for the other two robbery suspects.
In 2010, a deliveryman from another Charlotte, North Carolina, Pizza Hut shot two robbers dead when he discovered them pistol-whipping store employees inside a cooler, USA Today noted.