DAYTON — A 22-year-old Dayton business owner fired an AK-47 at burglars breaking into his cell phone store early Sunday morning.
Dayton police were dispatched to Fix or Cell Now at 619 Watervliet Street around 5:09 a.m. after the business owner called to report the attempted robbery.
According to a police report, owner Adam Seaton was blocks away when he received a notification on his phone from the store's security system.
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As he arrived to the store, Seaton told Dayton police he saw two men running from the store. Seaton said one of the men then stopped, pulled out a gun, and pointed it in his direction.
According to police, Seaton then grabbed an AK-47 from his passenger seat and fired at the men. Seaton told our breaking news team he believes one of his bullets hit a suspect, but he cannot be sure.
"Typically robberies at the store are done in 20 to 45 minutes, but I happened to be in the right place at the right time," Seaton said.
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Seaton told police the would-be-thieves wearing black masks fled on foot after he fired shots. He said he followed the two men in his truck as they made their way into a running getaway truck parked in the 2500 block of Mundale Avenue.
Seaton continued to follow the suspects in his truck. That's when he says the suspects began firing shots at his vehicle out of a driver side window.
Police said Seaton ended his pursuit at the intersection of Smithville Road and Linden Avenue before returning to the store to alert police.
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Seaton is calling for stricter punishment for robbers targeting area phone stores.
“Give these guys [robbery suspects] punishment. They’re just stealing them [cell phones] and the courts just let them out the next day,” Seaton said.
"“It’s not the police it’s the justice system. The police arrest them and the courts just let them out the next day."
Seaton said this is the fourth robbery - and the first he's successfully stopped, since opening his store in December.
As for what other business owners can do to prevent robberies, Seaton advises they purchase a folding security gate.
"Just had my security gate save my inventory from getting stolen so invest in one of those," Seaton said.
According to the report, officers reviewed store surveillance which showed one suspect throw a brick through a security-gate reinforced window while another stood watch outside of the store.
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