I stole this post from free North Carolina because I live in Philadelphia

Philly mayor, police commissioner scold gun store owner for 'vigilante justice' after he defends himself against looters   By Robert Laurie Published June 3, 2020

I’m always amazed that people try to loot gun stores. I get that the contents are valuable on the black market but, given the fact that the people who run the establishments know how to use the products they sell, the risk seems awfully high. As if “regular” looting isn’t a bad enough idea, looting an arms dealer just feels like you’re begging to get shot.

It’s a lesson one would-be looter learned the hard way last night at a Philadelphia gun store.

The shop, Firing Line Inc., is owned and operated by 67-year-old Gregory Isabella. Suspecting his business could be targeted by rioters, the proprietor decided to spend the night on the second floor of the establishment. At roughly 4 o’clock in the morning, a group of four men used bolt cutters to breach the front door of a South Front Street firearms dealer.

They entered, and Isabella was ready.

Isabella “heard them walking up the steps, and one of the individuals who broke into the property pointed a handgun at him,” Philadelphia Police Inspector Scott Small told Fox 29. “And that’s when the store owner fired his own weapon, striking the one perpetrator at least one time in the head.”

Note that the intruders used tools to destroy the locks, kicked in the doors and were armed. Gregory Isabella didn’t go out looking for them. He didn’t want this to happen, and he did nothing to make the incident occur. He was a victim and he acted to protect his person and property.

Yet Philadelphia’s mayor and police commissioner have labeled the incident “vigilante justice.”

Via the Philly Enquirer:

During a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Jim Kenney and Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said that while they respect the rights of business owners to protect their property, they were disturbed to hear that a business owner shot and killed a potential burglar.

“We do not endorse or condone any form of vigilante justice or taking the law into one’s own hands,” Outlaw said.

Kenney described himself as “deeply troubled” by the death.

But across the city, gun store owners say they are sleeping inside their shops after break-in attempts.

So far, they have not explained how Isabella’s actions constitute vigilante justice. This isn’t like Batman, prowling the rooftops looking for fights. The fault here lies unquestionably with the looters.

Still, Philadelphia officials are asking people to defend themselves against violent mobs using safe, nonviolent methods. They do not say what those are, or how they would work against armed thugs who have you cornered in your own business. Apparently, you’re just supposed to ask them nicely to leave.

An investigation is ongoing, despite the fact that the commissioner has admitted “there are very clear laws that allow us to protect ourselves and our property from harm.”