The New York Post reported last week that a 65-year-old man was arrested last week after he shot a man who was trying to rob him.
According to Fox News, the elderly victim had previously warned the paper in 2020 that crime was being ignored in Democrat-run New York.
"This isn’t our nice little neighborhood anymore," Charles Foehner was quoted as telling the Post. "People come down the block and key a car as they pass it. Drug deals are going on in the lobby. This is not how I want my neighborhood."
The Post revealed last Thursday that security footage shows Foehner being confronted by 32-year-old Cody Gonzalez, who has at least 15 prior arrests.
65 yr old Queens man shoots mugger. This happened 3-4 days ago. The old mans name is Charles Foehner, the mugger Cody Gonzalez & the DA is Melinda Katz. pic.twitter.com/ShR2sBBztN
— Vicious Videos (@ViciousVideos) June 4, 2023
While not yet being charged in connection with Gonzalez's death, ABC 11 has reported that Foehner is being held on $50,000 bail due to multiple weapons charges. A subsequent search of Foehner's home uncovered his collection of firearms.
"The court is quite concerned with what we see: bulletproof vests, AK-47s, a large arsenal of 26 weapons," Judge Jerry Iannece declared on Friday.
"The defendant was on the street with a loaded, unlicensed gun. There are too many shootings in this city," he complained.
Meanwhile, ABC 11 noted that Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz called the case "complicated," saying, "My office is charging Charles Foehner with multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon. These are the charges factually supported by the evidence."
Katz's decision to prosecute Foehner was slammed by some Twitter users who argued that her office is punishing a victim for defending himself.
@QueensDAKatz had Charles Foehner not been in "criminal possession of a weapon" he might very well be dead. Your office prefers that to supporting someone's right to defend themself against a deranged repeat offending lunatic? Shameful.
— Justin Short (@wongwashington) June 2, 2023
Others suggested that left-wing police have "have eroded safety" and thus forced victims to take matters into their own hands.
Progressives have eroded safety and fueled tragic cases of self-defense
Charles Foehner, the senior citizen Kew Gardens resident who shot and killed his would-be mugger early Wednesday morning, will face weapons charges and nothing more serious.https://t.co/55TLBK9vaf— Broken Record 💿 (@BrokenRecord247) June 2, 2023
Meanwhile, the pro-gun organization Firearms Policy Coalition announced that it was attempting to contact Foehner and offer the use of its legal team.
