At the top of the newscast we told you about a store robbery on Iguana Street that ended in murder; fortunately the outcome was different at Gordo's store which isn't too far away from this morning's murder scene.
It's on "Pitta" Street where Salvadorean shopkeeper Myra Lopez fearlessly fended off a trio of masked, armed robbers using a bottle of acid. That's right, the same muriatic acid that she sells in her store. It's sometimes used as a high powered cleaner - but last night she used it as a sure-fire crime deterrent. Monica Bodden found out how:...
Monica Bodden Reporting
This is the bottle of muriatic acid that shopkeeper Myra Lopez sprayed on one of her attackers.
Jules Vasquez
"So you spray it then?"
Myra Lopez
"Yes like that."
Considering the circumstances, it is an act of either extreme bravery or dangerous foolhardiness: around 8 last night armed mask men - two with knives and one with a handgun - entered her store.
Myra Lopez
"I remember when my husband went to open the gate and he went to take a walk with my brother and sister, he forgot to close the gate so he came back to close the gate. I didn't see anything, I see my step sister look frighten, and then I see the man put the gun to her head. I didn't know what to do. Then man pushes me to kneel down on the floor. The other man got the gun to my husband."
That was when Myra grabbed the closest thing that was nearby - a bottle of muriatic acid.
Myra Lopez
"I open the bottle of acid and then I threw it in his face. The other man took the money and went. The man who I threw the acid in his face came back to shoot me."
Even though she tried to fight back the best way she could have - Myra was shot to the left upper side of her ribcage and to the left arm. Fragments of the bullet are still lodged inside her.
The three armed robbers left with two hundred and sixty dollars from the store's cash pan.
Police report that despite the acid attack, the robbers did manage to get away with $260.00 from the cash pan.
