Suspected robber on life support after being shot

A suspected thief, who was shot in his chest when he tried to rob a businessman yesterday morning, was on life support up to late yesterday with the bullet reportedly still lodged in his upper body.
Shorn Charles, age 26, was having difficulty breathing, according to police sources, because the bullet damaged his lungs.
The businessman who was attacked, Gerald “Gerry” Khoury, sustained minor bruises to his neck and this reportedly occurred when two robbers, armed with knives, held him up in an alley near North Street, and ripped his gold chain from his neck.
Khoury, who owns Steel World on North Street, was said to be “very shaken” after the incident, which he later reported to police, his son Nicholas Khoury said.
Nicholas, who was not on the scene at the time of the incident, said he was happy that his father was not seriously hurt or killed.
The duo abandoned the robbery and ran away when the gun went off. They also reportedly dropped the businessman’s chain which broke when they were pulling it from the elder Khoury’s neck. The chain, according to his son, has since been recovered.
A resident in the area said the 63-year-old businessman was walking through the alley around 9:30 am yesterday when the robbers pounced on him.
While they were committing the crime, Khoury drew his weapon and there was a struggle, during which Charles was shot in the upper right chest, the witness said.
(More in today’s Daily Observer)