Veteran Mark Kasprowicz is lucky to be alive.

Kasprowicz was the clerk on duty at Kam’s Market, a convenience store in the Bay Area community of Bay Point, California. On Sunday, two armed robbers entered and tried to get away with a whole lot of cash.

They would leave without the money — and one would be fatally wounded, but not before badly pistol-whipping the Air Force veteran.

According to KNTV-TV, the two men entered the store at approximately 11 p.m. Sunday night. One went to the back, where he held another employee at gunpoint. The other went behind the counter and began attacking Kasprowicz.

“At first I thought it was a joke,” Kasprowicz said. “Two seconds later, I realized it was real. He pushed me to the ground, to my knees and everything.”

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Video shows the robber approaching Kasprowicz with the gun. When he reached for it a bit half-heartedly — as if he thought it was a joke — the robber grabbed by the throat and smacked him across the face with the pistol.

He was then shoved to the ground and hit several times with the gun.

As the robber was emptying out the cash register, Kasprowicz decided to even the score and reach for the store’s firearm in a drawer next to the register. The robber, realizing what was going on, began to attack the clerk with renewed fervor.

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The two struggled, leading to the robber’s gun going off. That freaked out the robber, who ran out from behind the counter. That gave the Air Force vet, who has two decades in private security, a chance to act.

“I just looked around, and he was running, and just by instinct, I let go a shot,” Kasprowicz said. “I managed to squeeze off one round, and apparently after the fact I found out that I actually hit him.”

Here’s the video, which we must warn you contains some highly graphic footage. Viewer discretion is advised:

Exclusive video at this hour on @nbcbayarea: A retired Air Force veteran shoots and kills an East Bay robbery suspect – and another gunman in the holdup is on the run. Live reports on Today In The Bay every half hour starting at 5 – streaming at https://t.co/3w0gJl7DlU pic.twitter.com/86q0o6uqVR — Thom Jensen (@ThomJInTheBay) December 23, 2019

The armed robber who was shot would later collapse while running from the scene and die. The second armed robber, who would also flee the scene, was still being sought by police.

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“I was certainly in shock when I saw the video. I didn’t know how serious it was until I actually saw it,” Kasprowicz told KABC-TV. He said that E.R. nurses could see the imprint of the pistol on his head.

We just talked to the clerk who was pistol whipped during a robbery last night. He says the ER nurses told him they could see the imprint of the gun in his head. He is ok. He shot and killed his attacker. pic.twitter.com/0yfIbSYGRi — Amy Hollyfield (@amyhollyfield) December 23, 2019

After receiving 12 staples for the wounds to his head, you would imagine he’s not feeling too sorry for the man who died.

You’d be right.

“Sure, he is deceased now but then again I’m lucky to be alive, I am lucky my co-worker is alive,” Kasprowicz said.

And you can’t say they didn’t have warning. This is the sign that sits over the counter at Kam’s Market, purchased from a Blockbuster that was going out of business:

This sign says it all. A clerk at Kam’s market in Bay Point shot and killed an intruder who pistol whipped him and was grabbing money from the register. The clerk was taken to the hospital to get stitches – he is ok. pic.twitter.com/MDwe2lt260 — Amy Hollyfield (@amyhollyfield) December 23, 2019

Then again, this is California. We don’t know if and when the legislature is going to make it a lot harder — if not nigh impossible — for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves in the way that Kasprowicz did.

Keep in mind, robbers like these don’t care about gun laws. It’s men like this Air Force vet who are going to follow them.

Would anything different have happened without the proverbial good guy with a gun there? It’s difficult to say. I would prefer not to find out.

I suspect Kasprowicz wouldn’t, either.

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