Man arms himself, camps out in wife's store after repeated burglaries. Then there's a break-in.

At Cole's Sundry Grocery Store, customers can get a lot for a little — such as cookies from a jar for 10 cents apiece.

Image source: WREG-TV video screenshot

But owner Edith Cole said some non-paying folks have been after a lot more from her small business in Batesville, Mississippi. Two Sundays ago, the establishment suffered its third break-in, she told WREG-TV.

So Cole's husband, Farris, decided to something about it.

He armed himself with a gun and camped out behind the counter overnight, just in case anyone tried to break-in again, the station reported.

“He was determined to catch them ‘cause he said he [wasn’t] gonna let it keep going on,” Cole told WREG.

And last Wednesday at about 5 a.m., it happened again.

Cole's husband caught a pair of 17-year-old males stealing candy after entering the store through a hole in the ceiling, the station reported, and he had them lie on the ground until police arrived.

Image source: WREG-TV video screenshot

“He said one of the guys kept trying to go in his pocket and he asked him, ‘What are you doing?’” Cole told WREG.

Well, it seems that kid had a gun, the station said.

And when he wouldn't stop trying to grab it, Cole's husband opened fire, WREG noted.

“At first he said he thought he had killed them, but then [the teen] started hollering about, ‘You shot me in my ear,’” Cole told the station.

Edith Cole (Image source: WREG-TV video screenshot)

The teen was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, the station said, adding that both juveniles face burglary charges.

And as for Cole's husband? Batesville Police told WREG he won't be charged in the shooting.

“Do what you can to protect your property," Chief Deputy Kerry Pittman told the station. "Not saying always do this, but do what you got to do to protect your property.”

Image source: WREG-TV video screenshot

Cole told WREG she hopes this is the end of the break-ins at her store: "I'm praying and hoping that we don't have this problem anymore."

(H/T: Bearing Arms)