HOUSTON – An employee at a fireworks stand turned the tables on a couple of crooks, after they try to rob his shop.



It happened Tuesday night at the Black Cat Fireworks stand near Highland Knolls Drive and South Mason Road.



According to investigators, at around 10pm two men pulled up to the fireworks stand in a green Ford Mustang. One of the guys got out of the vehicle, approached the clerk, then pointed a gun at him and demanded cash.



"They told him we want the money and he tried to talk him out of it, so he said 'I have to go to this little room and get the money'," said Richard Treichel, who owns the fireworks stand.

At that point the employee grabbed his own gun and started firing at the crook. He was shot in the face, wrist and back, then rushed to the hospital via Life Flight in critical condition,

The employee was not injured. "I'm just very glad he didn't get hurt," Treichel said. "He's a nice guy and he didn't deserve this."



Treichel has been in the business for about 25 years and says this has never happened to him. But investigators say there have been several robberies at fireworks stands in the area over the past several days. They believe the two men involved in this latest incident are linked to those robberies.



The second man involved drove off after the shooting. If you have any information about his whereabouts, call the Harris County Sheriff's Office.