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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Gun Shop Owner Shoots at Would-Be Thief Who Smashed Case With Hammer: NYPD

BROOKLYN — A thief fled empty handed when a gun shop owner shot at him for smashing a glass case with a sledgehammer Wednesday morning, police said.

The suspect walked into DF Brothers Sports Center at 7919 New Utrecht Ave., near 80th Street, and asked to see a gun in a glass case about 10:30 a.m., an NYPD spokesman said.

The shop's owner, a 60-year-old man, asked to see a permit, but the man didn't show one, police said.

The suspect then smashed the case with a hammer, prompting the owner to pull his gun and open fire, police said.

The suspect fled empty handed and hadn't been arrested as of Wednesday afternoon, police said.

There was blood splatter at the scene, but police didn't know if the suspect was hit with a bullet or cut himself on glass.

A staffer at the shop declined to comment.