An North Texas man is recovering after being shot and injured during a terrifying encounter with thieves.
The shooting happened Thursday in Balch Springs, and it was caught on camera.
The suspected thieves opened fire on a man who drove after them when he says he saw them take the tailgate off the back of a truck.
"They were shooting at good people who go to work every day and make a living," Peggy Chavez, who runs the restaurant where the incident happened. "They don't care who they hurt."
Crime drove up to Peggy's Café along busy Lake June Road in Balch Springs Thursday around 4:30 a.m.
A regular at the café pulled up when he noticed a strange car parked between the restaurant and a car lot next door.
"[Our customer] thought we were getting broken into, so when the car left he was going to follow them to get a license plate," she said.
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That customer, a man in his mid-70s, didn't know there were two armed burglars swiping tailgates and tools next door.
One was in a dark-colored car and the other was on foot with his T-shirt wrapped around his face.
The customer gave chase down the road, but the crooks shot back.
"Shot at him five times," Chavez said. "One bullet hit him."
The man survived and was released from the hospital the same day.
He's on the mend, but was still too shaken by the experience to speak on camera.
The gunshots also woke a nearby resident who said he is also a licensed gun owner.
"I heard the 10 gunshots," said the man, who asked NBC 5 to conceal his identity.
The resident walked out to the median on Lake June Road and returned fire.
"Police have to step it up, neighbors have to step it up," he said. "You have to police yourselves before someone else can police you."
The neighbor said he went to check on the customer, who he knew to be a regular at the café.
"Someone could've lost their lives over stolen tailgates," he said.
Chavez said she hoped someone would recognize the burglars.
"If people would step out in this world and start to recognize some of these people we might get some of these people off the street," she said.
Balch Springs police are investigating the incident and asked witnesses to call them. Police said the robbers are armed and dangerous.
