Store Owner Fatally Shoots Alleged Armed Robber

A store owner shot and killed an armed man who allegedly attempted to rob the business Monday afternoon, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and Newark police said.

The incident occurred at about 3:20 p.m., when a man entered the Top Dollar store on the 500 block of Central Avenue. The man pulled a gun and ordered the owner to fill his backpack with cash and gold, threatening the store owner’s family members, Essex County Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman Katherine Carter said.  

The owner of the store, which sells items including jewelry and brokers in gold, then pulled a gun from behind the counter and shot the man, Carter said. He was pronounced dead shortly afterward at University Hospital.

The identities of the alleged robber and the store owner were not released Monday night. Carter told Nj.com no charges had been filed as of Monday evening. The shooting remains under investigation.

The shooting occurred hours after Newark police shot and wounded an alleged teen carjacker in the West Ward.