Liquor store owner fatally shoots would-be robber

RIVERVIEW (FOX 13) - A would-be robber was himself shot and killed moments after bursting into the back of a liquor store Tuesday afternoon, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies said it happened just after noon, at Ace Beverage Castle on Highway 301 in Riverview.  

A masked man came up to an employee, who was cleaning out a freezer in the back of the store. The suspect pulled out a handgun and asked for money, but that employee didn't have any. 

When the firs target had nothing to hand over, the gunman took the employee to the front of the store, where he demanded money from the store clerk.

That's when the store's owners, a father and son, came out from the back office.

One of them pulled out his own gun -- which he was licensed to have, deputies pointed out -- and shot the would-be robber several times.

The suspect, later identified by deputies as 24-year-old Joel Alberto Torres of Brandon, was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where he died.

Meanwhile, employees at the store said they were still shaken by what happened, and worried for their employer who pulled the trigger. 

"The owner's son was very upset, like, 'Why are you doing this, man? Why'd you make me do this? Why'd you make me do this?'" employee Keith explained to FOX 13 News.

No charges were being filed against the store owners.