A parking attendant in New York City was hit with an attempted murder after he confronted an armed robber and drew his gun before shooting the suspect.
Moussa Diarra, 57, is charged with assault and possession of a weapon in connection with the incident, which happened around 5.30am on Saturday morning.
The guard saw a man staring at cars on the second floor of the West 31st Street garage in Manhattan, according to the New York Post. Suspecting that the man was stealing, Diarra went outside and asked him what was inside the bag.
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A parking attendant in New York City was hit with an attempted murder after he confronted an armed robber and drew his gun before shooting the suspect. (Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The man then threw a gun at Diarra, who tried to grab the firearm. The gun was fired, and Diarra was shot in the stomach and a bullet grazed his ear.
Diarra started pointing the firearm at the would-be robber and shot him in the chest.
The alleged robber, 59-year-old Charles Rhodie, was charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon. He also faces a theft charge, police said.
Moussa Diarra, 57, is charged with attempted murder, assault and possession of a weapon in connection with the incident in the parking lot. ((Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images))
Diarra and Rhodie were taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition after the incident in the parking lot on Saturday.
The charges against Diarra for defending himself against an attacker follow a similar incident last year. In July, Manhattan bodega clerk Jose Alba was charged with murder after an in-store confrontation in which he attacked an angry customer behind his counter. Alba stabbed and killed the assailant in self-defense, but found himself in Rikers Island jail on a murder charge.
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A similar incident occurred last year when a clerk at the bodega was charged with murder for stabbing the assailant to death. District Attorney Alvin Bragg later resigned after public pressure. ((Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images))
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Alba spent six days in jail before District Attorney Alvin Bragg dropped the murder charge amid intense public pressure.