Witnesses say Fred Meyer shooter acted in self defense - KPTV - FOX 12
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There are conflicting witness reports about the fight between two men at a Clackamas Fred Meyer Tuesday that ended in a shooting.
Billy Young was shot in the knee during the struggle and is recovering at his Milwaukie home, according to his wife, Dorothy Young.
The fight took place in aisle 13 at the checkout counter after Dorothy Young said the alleged shooter, Jerry Harryman, was looking at her PIN number.
That's when she said Bill Young told him to "back off."
"He shoved a cart at Bill," Dorothy Young said. "Bill just moved out of the way and then he threw a punch at Bill and they just started wrestling."
But witness Lori Amato said that's not what she saw from the electronics department nearby.
Amato said Bill Young threw the first punch, even running though the adjacent aisle, which was empty, to get to Harryman at the back of aisle 13's checkout.
"The first punch was thrown by the gentleman who got shot," Amato said. "He was very aggressive in his verbal abuse to the man and how he came around and went after the man."
She believes Harryman may have been acting in self defense when he shot Young.
"The man (Harryman) yelled ‘I have a gun' but the man kept hitting him. Then (Harryman) shot him."
"I thought he was in survival mode, trying to protect himself at the time," Amato said.
Another witness, Paul McDonald, who didn't see the fight said he helped get the gun from Harryman.
"The guy who got shot and basically handed the situation by himself, man he's got nothing but respect (from me)," McDonald said. "That guys a hero as far as I'm concerned."
Dorothy young agrees. When asked about accounts that her husband may have started it, Young said "I wonder what they would do if someone was looking at their pin number?"
All the witnesses agreed it was customers who wrestled the gun away from both of the men.
Harryman declined to comment on the story until he has talked to an attorney.
The sheriff's office said Harryman did have a valid concealed handgun license, which has now been revoked pending his charges.
Copyright 2012 KPTV (Meredith Corporation). Allrights reserved.
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