Man who fatally wounded robber recounts tense shootout

The man who fatally wounded a would-be robber in a South Richmond store recounted yesterday a tense shootout and hand-to-hand struggle that ended when the man hit the robber on the head with a gun, knocking him out.

The robber, identified by police as James Grooms III, shot and wounded the owner of the Golden Food Market on July 11, but Grooms was shot by an armed friend of the owner as customers took cover.

At one point, the friend said, he could feel the heat of a muzzle flash as Grooms fired at him from a few feet away. He said he chose not to flee because he might have been shot in the back, and because it "wasn't over."

"I'd be a damn bold-faced liar if I said I wasn't terrified," the man said yesterday. "I had to get it done. He shot my friend. . . . What am I going to do, let him shoot everyone else?"

The man agreed to be interviewed but does not want his name to be printed and asked that he not be identified in any way. His account matches details in a surveillance video and statements made by authorities and witnesses.

Store owner Mustapha Kassou credits his friend with saving his life and the lives of his customers. Only Kassou and Grooms were hurt. Authorities say a preliminary investigation indicates that the shooting of Grooms was legally justified.

Kassou, who was released from the hospital last Sunday, reopened his store in the 2700 block of Jefferson Davis Highway on Thursday after receiving encouragement from the community, friends and City Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell. Stricken with fear -- a friend was also shot and wounded there a month earlier -- he had said Tuesday that he might return to his native Morocco.

"You feel that there is still love in this world," he said, referring to the community support. Kassou said he will not stay open as late as he used to, at least for a while. He also is having bulletproof glass installed on the counter of his store, which is three blocks south of where a shopkeeper was slain June 9.

Kassou yesterday agreed to show a reporter the surveillance video of the July 11 shootout. He emphasized he was not looking for more attention, but believed the footage must be viewed for the episode to be most accurately portrayed.

When the robber walked into the store about 1 p.m. that day, at least 10 people were inside the store, including the man who would fire back, two women, two men and at least three boys. At least one boy looked about 10 or younger.

The video shows Grooms walking into the store wearing sunglasses, a blue baseball cap and black clothes. He told everyone to get down, Kassou said, and then opened fire, striking Kassou twice as he stood behind the counter.

One young boy, standing between Grooms and Kassou, appears to duck just in time to avoid being shot in the head. He and another boy then ran outside.

Kassou dropped behind the counter, wounded. A boy lay behind the counter with what looks like a bag of potato chips, his foot shaking. Other customers also lay on the floor.

When Grooms walked into the store, Kassou's friend hit the floor and drew from his holster a six-shot, .45-caliber Western-style revolver. He said he told Grooms to drop his weapon.

But Grooms had run to the back of the store, where he took cover at the end of an aisle. Grooms walked toward Kassou's friend, apparently trying to get a good shot at him. He was crouched behind barrels containing cold drinks and ice.

The two men exchanged fire, with a bullet bursting cans of sardines. Kassou's friend said he fired several times but believes he didn't use all six of his rounds. Authorities say Grooms was shot once in the torso.

At one point, Kassou's friend said he broke the trigger on his gun when he dropped to the floor, but was able to fire by using the revolver's hammer.

He described Grooms as "hell-bent, dead-set, determined, and he weren't acting like he was scared."

Kassou's friend said that during the shootout, he was keeping count of how many shots Grooms fired, believing the robber's gun contained six rounds.

"He was trying to draw me out, telling me he was out of bullets," he said. "And I told him, 'Well, I'm not.'" Grooms apparently did run out of bullets, witnesses told police.

Kassou's friend said he could hear the click-click as Grooms tried to keep firing. People inside the store told him to finish off the robber, witnesses told police. He said yesterday that he did not do it because he believed he would not have been justified in shooting a man who had run out of bullets.

After Grooms ran out of bullets, he approached Kassou's friend. He said he grabbed Grooms' gun during a struggle, and the video shows him hitting Grooms twice over the head with a gun, knocking off Grooms' hat.

Grooms then lunges toward the door and collapses beside it, unconscious. Kassou's friend can be seen standing over Grooms as he called police on a cell phone at 1:01 p.m.

Police later charged Grooms with attempted robbery and two firearm offenses, but he died at VCU Medical Center on Wednesday, four days after he was shot. Members of his family have declined to comment.

In the video, Kassou's friend appears relatively composed during the shootout and afterward. He said he has had years of firearm training, but he declined to elaborate.

Yesterday, Kassou's friend summed up the harrowing ordeal in an understatement.

"I came by to say hello to a friend of mine," he said, "and everybody had a bad afternoon."

Contact Reed Williams at (804) 649-6332 or rwilliams@timesdispatch.com.