Readers of Blaze News won't soon forget the headline-grabbing plight of Jose Alba, a 61-year-old worker at a Harlem deli who fatally stabbed a much younger male who was physically attacking him inside the business on July 1, 2022.

A female tried to use a benefits card to buy potato chips for her 10-year-old daughter around 11 p.m. at the Bluemoon Convenient Store on Broadway near West 139th Street, the New York Daily News reported. The transaction was declined, the Daily News said, citing the criminal complaint. Amid an argument, prosecutors said Alba reached over the counter, grabbed the girl’s hand, and yanked the chips away, the paper reported.

'The restaurant worker was struck [and] hit the ground. ... As he was coming back up, he drew his own legally-owned firearm and fired three shots.'

Alba's boss — deli owner Maad Ahmad — told the Daily News the mom became enraged: “The lady threw everything from the counter and the [benefits card reader] machine, too. She said, ‘I’m going to get my man, and he’s going to get you.’”

The mother then came back inside the deli with Austin Simon, who got behind the store's counter to confront Alba, the paper said. Security video shows Simon physically attacking Alba — after which Alba grabs a knife that appears to have been stashed behind the counter and starts fighting back, stabbing Simon at least five times in the neck and chest, the Daily News said.

Simon was pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital, WNBC-TV reported. Simon was 35 years old, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Alba was arraigned on a second-degree murder charge, the Daily News said. He also was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, police told WNBC. Alba soon ended up at the notorious Rikers Island prison.

But the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was intensely criticized for charging Alba with murder and sending him to Rikers — as well as the $250,000 bail Alba would have to raise to get out. One of Alba's defenders was Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who called Alba "innocent."

Soon, Alba was released on a reduced $50,000 bail and maintained he was defending himself against Simon. Pressure mounted daily against Bragg's office to drop charges against Alba. Finally, the DA's office said “a homicide case against Alba could not be proven at trial beyond a reasonable doubt" as part of a motion to dismiss the case, the New York Times reported, adding that the case won't be presented to a grand jury.

The following are nine other times when store employees made thugs pay the ultimate price for physically attacking, threatening, and trying to rob them.

Dollar General clerk fatally shoots armed robber in self-defense — but robber's siblings are outraged: 'Yes, he's robbing them. Oh, well! Call the police ... You're not supposed to take matters into your own hands!'

Roosevelt Rappley, 23, entered a Dollar General store in Dayton, Ohio, around 6:20 p.m. Oct. 2, 2019, and pulled a firearm, pointed it at several individuals in the store, and demanded money from the clerk, WHIO-TV reported. An employee pulled a gun and shot Rappley in the chest, after which Rappley left the store and collapsed outside, where he died.

Rappley's siblings told WHIO it was "wrong" that the employee shot their brother. "He's got some responsibility, but not all," Rappley's sister told the station, adding that it "was wrong for that clerk to shoot my brother in the chest."

She continued, "Yes, he's robbing them. Oh, well! Call the police, that's what you're supposed to do. You're not supposed to take matters into your own hands!"

The employee said on a 911 call that the shooting was in self-defense: "I just had somebody try to attempt and rob me over here at Dollar General on Gettysburg. Came in with a firearm, threatened to take money out the drawer, pointed a gun at me and my staff members. He pointed a gun at me, I had a firearm on me, I pulled my firearm, and I shot him in self-defense."

Charges weren't expected against the employee who shot Rappley.

Masked, hooded crook demanding cash pistol-whips restaurant employee. But knocked-down worker turns the tables, pulls his own gun, and shoots suspect dead.

Police in Warner Robins, Georgia — which is about a half-hour south of Macon — said a man wearing a mask and a hood and armed with a gun entered the American Philly N Wings on Watson Boulevard around 9:45 p.m. Dec. 5, 2022.

The gunman — identified as 23-year-old Joshua Hickey — jumped the counter demanding money and pistol-whipped a male employee amid a struggle for the gun, police told WMAZ-TV.

"The restaurant worker was struck [and] hit the ground," police Sgt. Justin Clark noted to the station. "As he was coming back up, he drew his own legally-owned firearm and fired three shots at Mr. Hickey. Mr. Hickey was struck twice and fled on foot."

Officers found Hickey on Vernon Drive and took him to a hospital, where he died, the station said. Police concluded that the restaurant employee was acting in self-defense, WMAZ said.

Knife-wielding Harlem fishmonger 'was like a machine' when he stabbed 2 brothers — 1 fatally — who were physically attacking co-workers in seafood market

The New York Post reported that Junior Aquino Hernandez, 34 — a father of four with no criminal priors — was working at the Fish Express Fish Market in Harlem on the night of Feb. 21, 2023, when an individual came in and attempted to steal some product.

Pedro Laza, a 60-year-old witness, told the Post that Robert Burrell, 29, "tried to stick a lobster down his pants." A police source told the Post that the alleged thief punched an employee then fled the store only to return with his brother four minutes later.

When Burrell and his 25-year-old brother Malik returned, they reportedly went straight to the employee-only area behind the counter, where a fight broke out between the brothers and the fishmongers.

During the melee, Francisco Morales — a worker at the market — had his teeth knocked out, reported the Daily Mail.

Hernandez's tried to break up the fight but was interrupted when Robert Burrell threw a chair at another cook, the DA's office said.

Prosecutors alleged that Hernandez grabbed a fish knife and rushed to defend his coworker, ultimately stabbing both brothers, first Malik and then Robert, who dragged his wounded brother out the door. "Nobody stopped him stabbing," said Laza. "He was like a machine."

Both brothers were rushed to Harlem Hospital, where Malik Burrell died; Robert Burrell survived with a punctured lung and other injuries.

Zaimar Eusebio, the mother of Robert Burrell's daughter, remarked after seeing the body of the deceased, "His whole stomach was out." The father of the Burrell brothers told the Post, "My sons were good kids, they ain't get in no trouble, they not no hard criminals. ... I'm crushed, man, I'm hurt. I can't believe my boy was killed over some shrimps. They killed my baby on his birthday."

Hernandez initially was charged with murder, assault, and weapons possession.

But Manuel Perez, the manger of the establishment, said the Burrell brothers "broke the door and started hitting one of the employees that took the shrimp from them. They broke his face, his mouth, he was in really bad shape." Perez added that only when the "fight got really bad did Hernandez intervene with the knife."

Robert Burrell — who was charged in 2019 with felony assault — was charged in the February 2023 incident with robbery, burglary, and assault, the NYPD said.

In an about-face, however, the DA soon dropped the murder charge against Hernandez and released him from custody, stating that "we are not prepared to go forward with the charges related to the death of Malik pending a full investigation" but "we are, however, filing charges with regard to the incident at the door for the stabbing of Robert Burrell."

A high-ranking police source told WCBS-TV that surveillance video will inform prosecutors on how to proceed, noting that if Hernandez is seen "fighting them off with a knife, that's one thing. If he's charging at them with the knife, that's something else entirely."

Armed crook tries to rob Seattle smoke shop, opens fire at co-owner. But wounded victim is armed, too — and blows crook away.

Seattle police said a 30-year-old male entered King Smoke Shop at 7758 15th Ave. NW just after 4 p.m. Feb. 20, 2023, and tried to rob the store, KING-TV reported. The station said the suspect shot at the employee, who returned fire.

Responding police attempted life-saving measures on the suspect, who died at the scene, KING reported, adding that officers discovered the shop's co-owner also was shot.

Community members made tourniquets out of belts for the co-owner while waiting for medics to arrive, KING said, adding that the 38-year-old man was taken to Harborview Medical Center in serious condition.

A man who preferred to remain anonymous told the station he was in his car when he saw the suspect fall to the ground.

"I was at that red light, making a right turn, and the individual, as you can see where the police [are] standing right now, that's where he fell," the man told the station. "So literally like feet away from me."

The man added to KING that "the guy came stumbling out with a gun in his left hand, and he fell face-first onto the sidewalk, or into the parking lot right here. And as he fell, the gun left his hand." He added to the station that he called 911, and police were on the scene in a matter of minutes.

Would-be robber attempts stickup of Chicago auto parts store, but the manager of the business shoots him dead instead, police say

An apparent good guy with a gun turned the tables on an armed robber at a Chicago auto parts store on April 1, 2023.

The would-be robber between 30 and 40 years old entered the O'Reilly Auto Parts store in the Calumet Heights neighborhood, flashed a firearm, and demanded the manager hand over money from the store's cash register, according to the Chicago Police Department.

But the store manager, who police said is a valid Firearm Owner's Identification cardholder, shot the would-be robber instead.

Police said the suspect was rushed to the University of Chicago Hospital in critical condition but later died from his injuries. Police had not identified him at the time of the report. While they were investigating the shooting, no charges had been filed against the store owner, who seemingly acted in self-defense.

Masked, hooded crook actually tries to steal gun from gun store while armed with hammer, cops say. But gun store owner (of course) wields much deadlier weapon.

A masked, hooded male tried to steal a gun from a gun store in Livermore, California, on Oct. 22, 2023 — and did so while armed with a hammer, police said.

As you might imagine, the gun store owner had a much deadlier weapon at his disposal and fatally shot the would-be robber, police said.

Police said their investigation revealed that a 28-year-old male from Redwood City entered East Bay Firearms in the 4000 block of First Street around 2:30 p.m. wearing a mask, gloves, and a hooded sweatshirt pulled over his head while "acting suspicious." The male then tried to rob the gun store by taking a firearm while armed with a hammer, police said, citing witness statements.

Police said the gun store owner fired two rounds, fatally wounding the main. Police said they found the man suffering from a gunshot wound when they arrived at the scene, and they, along with paramedics, performed lifesaving measures, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the gun store owner was cooperating with the investigation, was not a suspect in a crime at the time, and that it appears the incident was a case of self-defense.

Would-be robber tries to hold up Dollar General in Philadelphia with what later turns out to be a toy gun. Unwise move, as the store manager has a real gun and promptly puts down the threat.

A 36-year-old male barged into the Dollar General at 9th Street and Girard Avenue in Philadelphia around 8:30 p.m. March 24, 2022, demanding a cashier empty her register, WPVI-TV reported.

The threatened cashier alerted her 45-year-old manager, who reportedly tried to talk to the suspect and reason with him — but the manager's de-escalation attempts weren't enough.

"The manager came over, attempted to talk to him. The suspect then said again, 'I have a gun, give me all your money,'" Philadelphia Police Inspector D.F. Pace told reporters.

Police said the suspect then brandished what appeared to be a handgun wrapped in plastic. That's when the manager, who's licensed to carry a firearm, allegedly shot the suspect twice, striking him at least once in the head. Emergency responders tried to resuscitate the suspect, but he died at the scene.

WCAU-TV later reported that the suspect actually was carrying a toy gun that he had wrapped in plastic to make it look like a real gun. Police said the store manager acted quickly to put down the threat. He wasn't expected to face any charges.

Manager of Dollar General in Texas fatally shoots would-be robber who brandished what turned out to be an airsoft gun, police say

A 30-year-old suspect walked into the Dollar General in the 15000 block of Ella Boulevard in Houston on Dec. 20, 2023, and threatened to shoot an employee while demanding that he open the store's safe. That employee told the male suspect that he didn't know the safe's code and promptly called the store manager.

But the manager came out with his own gun and allegedly shot the suspect twice.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the suspect got into a gold-colored Jaguar and fled the scene only to crash into a metro bus only about 50 yards from the store. The suspect passed out in the car after the crash, was transported to a hospital in critical condition, and was pronounced dead later.

“It appears he had been bleeding out based on some of the evidence we're seeing inside the vehicle and collided with a METRO bus that was here and eventually came to a stop,” Gonzalez explained.

Five passengers departed the bus and left the scene before police arrived, and the driver was taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure.

Gonzalez added that the suspect was armed with an airsoft gun, which employs springs and compressed air for firing nonlethal plastic pellets.

“But again, they look very realistic, and at the time when somebody's facing that at gunpoint, they don't know what kind of pistol it is," he also said, adding that police believed the suspect's Jaguar was involved in another incident days before the shooting.

KPRC-TV reported that a grand jury will decide if the manager should face any charges over the lethal shooting. You can view a video report here about the incident.

Texas store owner guns down two thugs who physically attacked, tried to rob him in botched 'jugging' incident, police say

Houston police believe two suspects killed outside of a family-owned convenience store were trying to rob the owner in a "jugging" incident on Aug. 16, 2023.

The owner of Ruiz Cash & Carry in the city's East End went to the bank and came back to the business. Suddenly he was hit in the back of the head with a blunt object, and he turned to see masked men wearing gloves attacking him. He fired his gun at them, and a store employee who heard the commotion also fired at the suspects.

Both of the suspects died at the scene, while a third suspect was caught on video driving away from in a newer model black Lincoln Navigator with Texas license plate RTS-3919.

Police said there has been a rise in "jugging" incidents, in which robbery suspects identify victims at ATMs or banks and follow them in order to eventually rob them.

The daughter of one of the store's employees spoke to KHOU-TV and said it was not the first time robbers targeted the store.

“It scares us just because a situation like that had already happened here," Jacqueline Hernandez said.

You can view a video report here about the incident.

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