After seeing an uninvited man rummaging through his van in Federal Way, the owner decided to confront the suspect — but after a gun discharged, looking back, he said he would think twice about confronting the thief.
Chris Rodriguez from Pasco was staying at the Hampton Inn and Suites at 31720 Gateway Center Blvd. on Sept. 27 for work when he heard a car alarm go off. Rodriguez said he didn’t think much of it until he looked out the window from his fifth-floor hotel room and saw a man rummaging through his work van, taking his tools, and putting them in a truck parked next to it.
Rodriguez said he ran down to the parking lot and began recording the interaction for evidence. Rodriguez said when he confronted the man, he started grabbing him so he could get his stuff back. During the scuffle, Rodriguez said he almost got him, but then a threat of bodily harm made him disengage.
“I scuffled with him a little bit, but it all happened so fast. I grabbed him by the neck, and he says, ‘I’ve got a gun, don’t make me shoot you,’” Rodriguez said. “So, at the same time, I’m trying to get a good grip on him and look at what he has in his right hand as he was searching for something underneath all the stuff he had in his passenger seat.”
Rodriguez said the thief fired the weapon toward the floorboard, so he decided to let the thief and his equipment go. Rodriguez said he doesn’t know whether the thief was just trying to scare him with the gunshot or if it was an accidental discharge. He said when the thief discharged the firearm, the thief’s eyes were wide, like he was surprised.
In total, Rodriguez said around $5,000 worth of tools — such as drills, drill bits, a laptop, chargers, batteries, and even his sweatshirts and phone charger — were stolen. Additionally, Rodriguez said that now, as he’s working on projects, he keeps noticing things that are missing that he didn’t realize were stolen.
Despite the loss of tools, Rodriguez said he’s not sure if he would approach the man and get physical with him if he were in the same situation again. He said he has kids, a newborn and a wife, so he can’t imagine what would happen if he lost his life.
Rodriguez said his wife works retail, so he hears about the constant shoplifting. He said he used to tell himself that if he ever saw someone stealing, he would do something about it, but now he’s unsure if it’s worth it.
“As a person that works a lot of hours and hard for his money, it kind of makes you mad just to see people go in there and just take whatever they want. I always told myself if I see someone stealing, I’m going to approach these people,” Rodriguez said. “I got to see one, but was it worth it? I don’t know. He had a weapon. That could’ve changed everything.”
Watch a video of the incident below or click here:
