A 71-year-old man fatally shot a would-be robber who knocked down his wife and tried to steal her necklace in a Dallas grocery store parking lot Tuesday night, police say.

“My first thing was screaming, “who shot him, who shot him?””, said Yadira Juarez, a witness, “That’s when the older guy was like I did.”

Police said Ronnie Lummus and his wife were in front of Aldi Food Market in the 3100 block of Forest Lane in North Dallas Tuesday Night.

Officers said a man suddenly grabbed a gold necklace from the woman's neck and knocked her to ground in an attempt to rob her.

“Her neck was all red, I guess from him, I guess he was choking her and pulled her down because she had scrapes and she had one bruise, but it all just happened so fast,” Juarez said.

Lummus had a concealed handgun and fired multiple times at the man as he tried to get away, according to police.

The man, who has not been identified, was 36-years-old, according to police. He was able to flee to a nearby vehicle, but witnesses say he crashed shortly after in the same parking lot.

Juarez said a 911 operator told her and another woman who rushed to help to check the man who was shot for a pulse.

“We called the cops and they said 'well check if he’s breathing or if he’s ok,' but that’s when he was just laying like this, and he had a hole here and he was like his mouth was full of blood and he wasn’t moving so I was like I’m guessing he’s dead,” Juarez said.

Dallas Police Department officials said Lummus has a valid concealed handgun license.

He, his wife and witnesses told police that the shooting was in self-defense.

Lummus was released on his own recognizance, and police said the shooting will be referred to the grand jury.

NBC 5's Jocelyn Lockwood contributed to this story.