Jewelry Store Owner Shots, Kills Attempted Robber

A Torrance jewelry store owner took matters into his own hands during an attempted robbery with an armed suspect Tuesday afternoon.

Police say the owner of Leilani Jewelers on Prairie Ave and Hickman Drive called 9-1-1 after he shot and killed an armed man who attempted to rob him.

The store here sells mostly Hawaiian jewelry like watches, rings, earring's and bracelets.

And, neighbors tell me there's a pretty extensive security process to get inside the business.

The details about what happened right before the shooting are still unknown.

Garfield Estes, a friend of the store owner, spoke to him right after shooting.

"He's okay, someone tried to rob him and he got the best of him pretty much. It's just something rare in this neighborhood. And, it's the first i've heard it to happen to Tad," Estes said. "Tad's a pretty soft spoken guy, but if push come so shove, Tad pushes back,"

"He's always there by himself and he has a gate that you have to buzz in and out to get in and out. You can't get in unless you open and close, so some nice jewelry in there," said neighbor Ray Rady, who's visited the store.

Police say the've taken a car they think the suspect drove to the location into evidence. They say it's suspicious, because of the Oregon plates.

They say they're not sure if there was more than one suspect involved . If you have any information regarding what happened out here, police are asking you to give them a call.

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