Assailants Pushed Him ‘Too Far’ : Fountain Valley Clerk Shoots, Kills Robber

Friday afternoon--14 1/2 hours after the shooting--lean, 62-year-old John Park arrived for work as usual at the Bushard Market in Fountain Valley.

Dressed in a cowboy hat, a plaid cowboy shirt, cowboy boots and old jeans with a belt that had a small pistol for a buckle, he got out of the car, kissed his wife goodby and walked up to the store owner, Mohamed Arhara.

Arhara embraced him. “How are you?” he asked.

“I’m here, “ Park said.

That was more than could be said for the two men who had walked up to Park the previous night.

According to Arhara, Park, alone in the store just before the midnight closing time, was getting ready to close up. When he turned toward the men, he saw that one had a large knife and the other a baseball bat.

According to police, the two threatened Park and demanded money from the till. Arhara said Park, who keeps a gun at the store, backed away from the till to hide the weapon from the pair.

“He told me they were pushing at him and pushed him up against something and that they finally pushed him too far,” Arhara said.

Police said Park whipped out a .38-caliber pistol and opened fire. He struck one robber in the upper body. The man fled just outside the store and fell; he died about a half hour later in a hospital emergency room, police said.

Park was uncertain whether he had struck the other robber, who ran to a small white pickup truck and fled, police said.

Police said they had not yet been able to identify the man who died.

The market was still closed Friday afternoon, its parking lot and front cordoned off by police.

Arhara, standing on the sidewalk, said he expected to reopen “in an hour or so.”

As he looked at his watch, Park rode up. “What did I tell you? Right on time,” Arhara said.

Park just smiled. “No comment.