A trip to the grocery store turned into a standoff when a shopper decided to take the law into his own hands.
The shopper, who asked to not be identified, said he had two options – ignore the surrounded elderly man or do something he never thought he would have to.
The photo showing the heated standoff between the shopper and a group of men has quickly gone viral since the incident Wednesday night.
“I was freaking out and I was shaking,” the shopper said.
The 24-year-old said he was leaving the grocery store when he saw something he couldn’t ignore.
“I saw seven people against one guy, and I didn’t like those odds,” he said.
The outnumbered man was elderly, so the shopper said he felt obligated to get involved.
When he had his gun drawn, the attackers turned their attention to him.
“They kept yelling, ‘This isn’t your fight, you need to walk away and you need to put the gun down,’” he recalled.
While all this was happening, other shoppers pulled out weapons of their own – cellphones – so they could record the incident and call police.
By the time police arrived, the attackers and the victim had taken off.
It turned out, they were all related. Police say the elderly man was an uncle being assaulted by his nephew.
The courageous shopper said he’s been carrying legally for years and is glad he’s never had to draw his weapon before.
He said his actions wouldn’t change if he was in the situation again.
“If you see a crime happening and you see someone getting injured and you have the ability to stop it, you should,” he said.
The shopper said he never had the idea of shooting anyone, and he made sure to keep his finger away from the trigger.
The uncle chose to not press charges against his nephew, according to police.
