Jewelry store owner shoots, kills robber in Torrance

TORRANCE, Calif. -- The owner of a jewelry store in Torrance apparently shot and killed an armed robbery suspect on Tuesday, according to Torrance police.

The incident happened around noon at Leilani Jeweler's, at 18099 Prairie Ave.

Police say the store owner called the department about a person shot as a result of a robbery attempt. Officers found an individual deceased at the scene.

"The store owner stated that there was a subject down inside his store, that had been shot during an attempted robbery of his store," said Torrance Sgt. Paul Kranke. "The subject was armed."

Customers and friends of the store owner described him as a friendly, well-liked person.

"Push comes to shove, he'll push back," said Garfield Estes, a friend of the store owner. "For someone to take advantage of that, I guess they didn't know him. They picked the wrong person to mess with."

Detectives are canvassing the neighborhood to see if any nearby businesses have surveillance footage that can help with the investigation.