Teens in Muslim burkas try to rob Delco gun shop
Two boys, 15 and 17, allegedly donned Muslim burkas and tried to rob the Suburban Armory in Collingdale. It did not go so well.
Most teenagers do dumb things. But not trying-to-rob-Joe-Galiano dumb.
Who is Joe Galiano? He's the owner of Suburban Armory, the gun shop on MacDade Boulevard in Collingdale Borough, Delaware County. He is surrounded by guns, including the one on his hip. Like his .45-caliber pistol. Can't miss it.
Despite this fact, police say two teenagers dressed in burkas walked into his store this afternoon, pulled a gun on Galiano and tried to stick him up. Galiano, less than thrilled about having a man in female Muslim garb pointing a silver handgun at him inside his own store, decided not to comply, but instead to make use of his own gun.
"It doesn't make any sense," Chief Robert Adams said of the attempted robbery. "He carries a gun and it's right out there in the open."
Cops say Galiano fired one shot at the teens, ages 15 and 17. Neither was struck, but they apparently saw the error of their ways and fled the store. One hopped onto a SEPTA bus and tried unsuccessfully to hide in the back, the other was apprehended behind a trolley stop. Muslim clothing and other evidence was found between the scene and the trolley stop, police said.
The teens' parents are at the police station right now, Adams said. He is not releasing their identities at this point because they are juveniles. Charges pending include robbery, possession of an instrument of crime and drug possession.
This actually isn't the first time juveniles have targeted the Suburban Armory. In 2008, five people, including an 11-year-old boy, broke in overnight and stole 14 semiautomatic weapons and 250 rounds of ammunition. Adams said the 11-year-old's mom thought he was home asleep in their Philadelphia home at the time.