Boy, 14, shoots would-be robber in face as culprit was strangling his mother in pizza shop where she works

The 14-year-old boy stepped in to rescue his mother as a would-be robber was strangling her in a Philadelphia pizza shop where she works — shooting the culprit in the face.

What are the details?

The robbery suspect entered Bold Pizza on the 1500 block of Spring Garden Street around 9:47 p.m. Thursday and tried to reach over the counter and take money from the register, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Image source: WPVI-TV video screenshot

With that, a struggle ensued between the robbery suspect and an employee — the teen's mother — and the robbery suspect "started to strangle" her, police told the paper.

The teen then grabbed a handgun from under a counter and shot the robbery suspect once in the face, police told the Inquirer.

"There was money on the floor, and there was also some broken glass inside the store, and there was also a large amount of blood," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told WPVI-TV.

Image source: WPVI-TV video screenshot

Responding officers followed a trail of blood from the pizza shop toward a subway entrance where several passersby said a man was bleeding from the face, the paper said.

Officers found the robbery suspect on the subway concourse and took him to a hospital where he was in critical condition, police added to the Inquirer.

Image source: WPVI-TV video screenshot

Small told the station that police "found some cash in the subway" along with the 33-year-old male suspect.

Police said the teen's father legally owns the gun; authorities didn't say if the robbery suspect or the teen would face charges, the paper reported.

Police didn't identify the teen, his mother, or the robbery suspect, the Inquirer added.

Calls to Bold Pizza went unanswered Friday, and attempts to reach employees were unsuccessful, the paper said. WPVI said the pizza shop was closed Friday.

What did local folks have to say?

People who live nearby told the station they understand the teen was just trying to protect his parent.

"I am very proud, and it's kind of sad that a 14-year-old had to shoot the suspect, but it was quick thinking, and I'm glad that they were able to catch the person so fast," Raina Harris told WPVI.

Image source: WPVI-TV video screenshot

"I think most people would do that in that situation ... to protect someone that they love ... when they're being threatened so violently," Nina Adams added to the station.

Nina AdamsImage source: WPVI-TV video screenshot

Connection to earlier attempted robbery?

Police said the suspect may have participated in an attempted robbery that occurred just minutes earlier, the paper said.

Three men entered a CVS located a half block from Bold Pizza around around 9:43 p.m. and demanded cash from the register, police told the Inquirer. When the cashier said she couldn’t open the registers without a code, police told the paper one of the three men threatened to shoot her.

Another member of the trio then pulled out a register drawer and threw it on the floor, police told the Inquirer, adding that nothing was taken, and the three men left the store.

Police said at least one of those men then entered the Bold Pizza Shop, WPVI reported, and that the description of the shot suspect matches what was seen CVS surveillance video.

Police are still looking for the other two suspects in connection with the CVS attempted robbery, the station said.