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<\/p>\nA man was arrested after he attempted to rob a Brandy Melville clothing store in Center City and then got into a scuffle with a security guard Tuesday afternoon, Philadelphia police said.<\/p>\n
Police said a 41-year-old man went behind the checkout counter and refused to listen to the security guard, who demanded that he leave. Investigators said the suspect and the security guard got into a physical fight, and the guard used pepper spray on the man.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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CBS News Philadelphia<\/p>\n
However, police said the pepper spray didn’t have much of an effect. According to police, the security guard fired his gun.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The suspect, who didn’t get hit, ran away from the store.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Investigators found the 41-year-old shortly later on 15th and Spruce streets and brought him to Pennsylvania Hospital for pepper spray exposure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mark Rodriguez, the security guard, said he used pepper spray first because his goal is always to use “less lethal” force whenever possible. He described the gunshot as “a warning shot.”<\/p>\n
“He just started fighting people for no reason,” Rodriguez said about the suspect. “We were just scared. I have a store full of females, so I had to defend them (the) best way as I possibly could.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rodriguez, who said he has been a security guard for 30 years, said he was “shook” but OK after the incident and that he recovered everything that was taken. The job is tough, he said, but he plans to return to work on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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CBS News Philadelphia<\/p>\n
A weapon and one spent 9mm shell casing were recovered from the scene. The security guard is certified to carry a firearm, according to police.<\/p>\n
Philadelphia police officials at the scene said no one else was hurt, and one arrest was made during the very tense moment in the densely populated part of the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A witness told CBS News Philadelphia that the suspect had gone into the Brandy Melville clothing store on Walnut Street with several bags and began stuffing them with clothes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brandy Melville was closed for the rest of Tuesday. Police are investigating.<\/p>\n
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