House painters thwarted a trigger-happy gunman by pounding him with paint pails, but not before the armed robber shot and critically wounded one of the workers, according to D.C. police.
Police were able to track down the suspect because he was covered in white paint and bleeding profusely from his head, according to law enforcement officials.
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Around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Leon Sockwell approached two men on ladders who were painting the side of a building on the 4000 block of Dix Street NE, according to a D.C. police report.
Sockwell pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and demanded money, according to police, but the men didn’t understand Sockwell because they didn’t speak English.
Sockwell, 24, fired several shots into the ground, and one of the painters dropped his wallet down to Sockwell, police said.
A painter inside the house heard the gunshots and ran outside. Sockwell fired at the man, Carlos Martinez, striking him several times, but Martinez nevertheless was able to fight with Sockwell, police said.
In the struggle, Martinez was shot several more times. Another man appeared with a knife and tried to help Sockwell, and the two painters jumped from the ladders into the fray armed with paint cans.
One of the painters managed to pummel Sockwell numerous times about the head with his paint can and grab the gun, while the other painter kept the knifeman at bay with his can, police said.
Sockwell, covered head to toe in white paint, fled with the other man to a gold-colored Toyota Corolla a half-block away.
A patrol officer responding to the gunfire pulled up behind the getaway car and blocked it from driving away, police said.
Police arrested Sockwell, but the other man escaped.
At first Sockwell denied remembering what happened, but when police found a bullet in his pocket and showed him the stolen wallet recovered from the Corolla, Sockwell broke down and apologized, police said.
Sockwell was charged with assault with intent to kill while armed.
Martinez was taken to the hospital in critical condition. He had been shot in the chest, ankle and hand, and twice in the groin. Police said Tuesday evening that Martinez was still alive, but didn’t immediately have any further information about his condition.
