Kevin McLaughlin of Orrville, Ala. walked in the Dollar General in his hometown around 12:45 p.m. last Thursday, pulled out a pistol and forced the cashier and a customer to start making their way toward the break room.
Unfortunately for the would-be hostage taker, Marlo Ellis, also from Orrville, was the customer.
As Ellis was being escorted at gun point to the break room, he waited until just the right moment, pulled out a legally concealed pistol of his own and shot McLaughlin in the chest, killing him.
“He escorted a customer who was trying to leave the store and a cashier toward a break room. The cashier went in first and the customer went in behind her, and the individual had the gun on the customer and the customer had a pistol concealed in a holster,” said Dallas County Sheriff Harris Huffman. “And when the customer got to the door, he turned around and shot the individual.”
District Attorney Michael Jackson said he does not expect Marlo Ellis to face any charges as a result of the shooting.
“In Alabama you have the right to defend yourself or a third party, Jackson told WSFA. “So when the perpetrator went in there with a gun anybody in the store had the right to deadly force and that’s what happened. He actually was a Good Samaritan in this situation because other people could have been injured if he hadn’t taken action.”
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