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Two thieves, aged 18 and 25, died after shooting and attempting to rob a hardware store in Las Heras in February 2012.
“Everything that happened wasn’t because of the robbery,” the man who killed two criminals when he was 55 clarified from the outset. “It was because the criminal made the mistake of pointing the gun at my wife in the face. I know what a shot in the face is“.
He indicated: “I was giving the guy the money, I was giving it to himbut to scare me he loaded the gun in my wife’s face and that took me out, it disconcerted me. I left the money, grabbed the gun and I shot the one in front of me“.
He related: “The other one was kneeling on the counter and leaning in, I also shot him but I escaped him. The guy goes to the door, opens it because they had closed it when they entered, and He threatened me with the gun under my left arm. When he threatened me I shot him again and then I hit him.“.
He remembered that one of them also shot and the mark is still on the wall. “When they carried out the investigations, the Police He told me that they missed me by an inch because the bullet passed by my head.“, held.
Twelve years of threats after killing two thieves in his business
As a result of having killed two assailants aged 18 and 25, It suffered threats for many years, although it declined over time. Now every now and then someone yells at him “jet-killer“.
“I had many threats, but I never hid because if not, they pass you over“said Hugo Correa, and said: “15 days ago was the last threat I had. It caught my attention because it had been years since I had had threats or anything, other than a car passing by and yelling ‘killer’ at me.”
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For a long time Hugo Correa had a police slogan due to the threats he suffered from the family of the dead thieves.
It happened when he was closing his business: “I was putting away the things that I put outside the business, A person passes by me and says: ‘Old matachorro’, and he continued walking, he did not stop at any time. I have a habit of looking at whoever passes by me, unfortunately I live attentive 24 hours a daybut it’s already part of my life.”
When the man had already passed about 10 meters, Correa asked him: “‘As you told me?’. He turned around and made a cut-throat sign followed by another sign that said ‘later’, as if telling me: ‘I’ll be back later.’“.
Despite this, the hardware store owner maintained: “I was never afraid, I did take care of myself. It happened to me that people come into the business that look suspicious, but I never turn my back on them, I try to see if they put their hand in a bag or somewhere. “It’s a daily routine of mine.”
The only thing he said he is afraid of is something happening to a family member. and that is why to this day, 12 years after that violent event, he asks his wife to always stay several meters away from him when the hardware store closes.
He assured that the rhythm of his life did not change
One of the assailants died inside his hardware store, but his accomplice fled wounded and died that same day at the Carrillo hospital. Meanwhile, Hugo Correa was taken to a police station where he was identified, his firearm was seized, and he was subjected to the police circuit to determine if he had a record or pending measures. The next day he was released and returned home, because the case was considered legitimate defense.
“I suggested to my wife that we could sell everything and leave the country. because she was very afraid, but she told me no because of our children who were going to stay here. I worked for 25 years at Banco Mendoza and then I was left on the street. It took me 20 years to build this hardware store and I wasn’t going to just leave it like that. So A week after what happened I opened the business again“he said.
►YOU MAY BE INTERESTED: Justice ruled that the man who killed a thief in his house acted in legitimate defense
He added: “Life changes because you don’t have the same peace of mind as before, but I didn’t change my pace of life. I get up every day at 7 in the morning to go to work and I don’t bother anyone.” And he recalled: “I had an argument with a police officer because I started watering at 11 at night and he asked me if I wanted him to They will be shot in the head. “I told him that I had done nothing wrong and that I was not going to change my life for two criminals.”
Without hesitation, Correa expressed that He does not regret at all “having saved my wife’s life. My reaction was because of that. I did it for my wife, not for the money. I was giving him $10,000, which was a lot of money 12 years ago. If the life of someone in my family or a client is at risk, of course I will do it again. “I would do it again because I don’t want anyone in my family or anyone to be killed.”
His recommendation to any merchant is that they do not have a weapon if they do not know how to use it and are not going to use it, and that in case of being assaulted, hand over all the money, “how much can they take? It’s not justified or worth the risk.”
