TAMPA, Fla.- Taquanda Baker began to cry after learning the teenage suspect she shot during an alleged armed robbery had died.
Tampa Police say 16-year-old Quintavius Moore entered Baker's store on North Armenia Avenue around 10:45 Monday morning and asked for change. Detectives say he left only to return a half hour later, armed with a gun and demanding money.
But the store's owner, Taquanda Baker, says she was also armed with a gun, a weapon she purchased to protect herself and her 1-year-old son, who she often watches while at work.
"I feel bad, but I have to protect myself," said a tearful Baker shortly after learning the suspect who tried robbing her had died at the hospital.
"I was just so scared, especially to see his face and to know he was doing it. I couldn't believe it."
Baker says the teen was a regular in the store, often coming in on a daily basis. "He comes in three or four times a day. Even brings children in to buy things all day, every day," she said.
Taquanda says she plans to take time off from work and have surveillance cameras installed in her store.
She fears what happened Monday has likely changed her life forever.
"To have something like this happen, it breaks my heart."