A felon who was recently released from prison for a past armed robbery received a harsher sentence Tuesday when he tried to rob a pawn shop in Indianapolis.
Police say 25-year-old Tyerre Allen entered Cash America Pawn brandishing a gun at around 2 p.m. While it was initially believed that the shop’s owner shot Allen, witnesses told police that a customer pulled his gun and exchanged gunfire with the would-be robber, the Indianapolis Star reports.
The customer protected himself and several others in the store. At least three employees were on the clock when Allen tried to pull off the heist.
According to Indianapolis Metropolitan police, Allen had recently been released from prison for a robbery several years ago. He was a suspect in several other recent robberies in the area, which police called a “hot spot” for criminal activity.
Police said that the customer is cooperating but that he is “very traumatized and fears for his life.”