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Miami Man In Van Guns Down AK-47 Wielding Robber Because He Didn't Want 'To Go Out Like A Punk'

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A 60-Year-old Miami man said he was forced to shoot and kill a gunman who had broken in to his van early Monday morning in an attempt to rob him of his jewelry.

"The guy I killed last night, he put an AK-47 to my damn face," said Donovan Stewart.

Stewart told CBS4'S Peter D'Oench that he had to act quickly because he was worried about the safety of his 11-year-old son and girlfriend who were in the van with him.

"I am from Kingstontown in Jamaica," he said, "and I am not going to go out like a punk. So I emptied my Glock in his chest. This man tried to get in my van while I was sleeping and he was surprised to see what I did."

He demonstrated what he did for CBS4.

"Well, he opened the door like this and pointed his AK-47 and I reached around like this and got my gun. That is how I did this to him," he said.

"So I thought you are you going to kill me so now I have to act quickly because I am trained," he said. "You know I have a security license, I have a G license and I have a state firearms license and a concealed weapons permit and I have a gun and I am a member of the NRA."

"I am going to defend my life and those I love," he said. "My family is innocent and just don't put an AK-47 in my face. I will not allow that to happen. This guy also hijacked a woman in a van and was found with her car key. He robbed another woman at gunpoint."

"You want to come looking for trouble," he said. "Come to me. Come to me. I wouldn't do anything like this to anybody and they picked the wrong person in this case.

Miami Police Officer Mike Vega said while this appears to be a case of self-defense the investigation is still open.

"Everyone is cooperating," he said, "but we still need to receive more information. We need to put this all together and determine what happened."

Van Robber Scene
A Miami police officer collecting evidence at the shooting scene. (CBS4)

"If anybody knows anything they should call Miami Police," Vega added.

Meanwhile, while D'Oench was at his location at the crime scene, he was approached by Delilah Gaitor and her boyfriend, Evans Chery. Gaitor said the dead gunman was the same man who terrorized her around 6 a.m. on Saturday and robbed her at gunpoint of $600 in cash, her iPhone and her 2018 Volkswagen.

"He had a gun and forced me to open my door," she said. "He told me to open, so I gave him my cash right away. I feel very relieved now. This was a terrible thing to do to me. I was devastated and I was emotional. This is crazy to rob this man. He has a family and to do something like that while he was living in a van is not right."

Chery said, "Karma is something else. I mean this woman works hard for her money."

Vega said Miami Police were trying to determine if the unidentified gunman who was killed had robbed other people.

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