A gang of armed robbers ran scared on Friday afternoon when they tried to rob Rosado's Hardware on the Western Highway. Oscar Rosado Sr. says he was inside his store near Lord's Ridge Cemetery around 3 pm when three young men on bicycles rode in. What the would be robbers didn't know is that Rosado has been robbed before and he was ready to fight back with his licensed special 38 revolver. He told us how he did it.
Oscar Rosado Sr., Rosado Hardware
"Two of them, well the three of them dropped their bikes. Two of them came in and I asked if I could help them and they didn't answer. Then the third one came in and he pulled down his little hat, he had a fancy hat, and he pulled out his gun and that's when I took out my gun and shot at them. When I fired the shot the three of them run, they left their bikes. The police came and took the bikes.
I saw that he was bringing out the gun and I have been through it already. I have been robbed and I have been shot in my back."
Keith Swift,
What message you think this will send to other robbers?
Oscar Rosado Sr.,
"I think the parents should teach their children to get a job instead of robbing."
Keith Swift,
You think they thought you were an easy target?
Oscar Rosado Sr.,
"I believe so. They thought I was an easy target but since I have been through this already, I spent a Christmas in the hospital, I am not an easy target. That is a message for them: I am waiting for them. I am not inviting them but I'll be waiting for them whenever they come."
Rosado was shot in December of 1999.
