A \u201cbrave\u201d female shopper shot dead an alleged creep who groped another customer and threatened to kill everyone inside a Los Angeles beauty store.<\/p>\n
Deputies responded to reports of a shooting at Pink Beauty Supply in Compton around 3:30 p.m. Sunday and found a man dead from a gunshot wound, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff\u2019s Department<\/a>.<\/p>\n Officials said the man entered the store and followed a female customer before he groped her, prompting employees to demand he leave.<\/p>\n Deputies were called to Pink Beauty Supply in Compton around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, where they found a man dead from a gunshot wound. Citizen app<\/p>\n The alleged pervert became \u201cincreasingly verbally assaultive toward employees and customers,\u201d and started \u201cthrowing and damaging merchandise in the store.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe incident rapidly escalated. Employees and customers noted that the male had an object in his hand that they believed was a knife,\u201d officials said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe male made verbal threats that he was going to kill and harm everyone in the store.\u201d<\/p>\n Following the threats, another female customer pulled out a gun and fired a warning shot at the suspect.<\/p>\n The man, however, rushed at the armed female customer, who fired a fatal second shot.<\/p>\n Police did not identify the man who was killed, but CBS LA<\/a> reported he was a 42-year-old with possible gang ties and a criminal record that included assaults, robberies, and thefts.<\/p>\n Officials said the man entered the store and followed a female customer before he groped her, prompting employees to demand that he leave. KABC<\/p>\n Cops said the customer who pulled the trigger did so out of fear for her safety and was not arrested. She is also cooperating with detectives during the investigation.<\/p>\n The LA County District Attorney\u2019s office will decide whether the woman needs to face charges, ABC 7 reported.<\/p>\n The investigation remains ongoing, police said.<\/p>\n A witness to the shooting praised the \u201cbrave\u201d customer who shot the suspect as a hero.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s crazy to me because children go in there a lot, so what if I was there by myself and that just automatically went off? I could\u2019ve gotten hit or something could\u2019ve happened to me,\u201d an unidentified witness told\u00a0KABC<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m glad that the woman that did it was brave enough to even go and do something like that to save somebody else.\u201d<\/p>\n Surveillance footage from the beauty store suggests additional customers were present during the altercation and shooting, investigators said.<\/p>\n Another female customer pulled out a gun and fired a warning shot at the suspect. Citizen app<\/p>\n Frequent shoppers Almond Le Joice and Melody Johnson were stunned, calling the incident unexpected for a store that\u2019s been part of the neighborhood for years and is usually calm and friendly.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would somebody do that here?\u201d Le Joice told CBS LA, shocked that a customer was inside the store with a gun.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m glad nobody else got hurt, but for her to walk in here and have a weapon, that\u2019s concerning,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThat\u2019s awful that this happened here in this community.\u201d<\/p>\n Compton ranked among America\u2019s deadliest cities in 2024 \u2014 landing ninth for homicide rate, according to the Center for Public Safety Initiatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n