A pet-shop worker whose store has been robbed several times turned the tables on a pack of armed crooks last night – grabbing control of an attacker’s gun and shooting two of the bandits dead, cops said.
The ill-fated holdup went down at about 8:10 p.m. at Quality Canines, on Stillwell Avenue in Gravesend, Brooklyn.
Area residents told The Post they saw four men run into the store. Cops said they were armed and wearing walkie-talkie headsets.
One of the crooks tried to duct-tape a store worker. That enraged the man, said cops.
Somehow, he got control of one of the hoods’ guns and opened fire, blasting two of the robbers dead on the floor amid cages filled with barking dogs.
After the shooting, neighbors said, two of the four robbers ran out – although police last night could not confirm that total.
After the robbers fled, the store’s two workers ran outside in a panic.
“I heard the shots, and then I saw the guy come out of the store, saying, ‘Oh, my God! Oh, my God!,’ and he was putting his hands over his mouth and he had blood over his hands,” said witness Richard Solis, 31.
“The cops came up, and he told them, ‘I think I killed them. I got the gun. I think I killed two people.’ ”
Law-enforcement sources said the dead men were wearing communications headsets with microphones – an indication that more than two hoods were involved.
One of the store’s workers was hospitalized with a wound to the hand.
Neighbors said robbers have frequently targeted the store, stealing money or dogs.
“If they were trying to rob him and they got shot, that’s street justice. They got what they deserved,” said Cesar Rafael, 37, a friend of the shop’s owner.
“Two months ago, he got robbed at gunpoint. He gets hit at least two or three times a year . . . He’s been beat up by robbers.
“I remember one time, his whole face was swollen from a beating.
“It got to the point where he kept his door locked. You could only get in by buzzer.”
Additional reporting by Murray Weiss