MILWAUKEE - As bar owner Andy Kochanski remembers, his first instinct Friday morning was to shoot at the three men who barged into his bar waving guns and demanding money.
His second instinct was to try and save the life of the man he just shot.
"That's who I am, you know. I'm a firefighter, even though I don't have
my badge anymore. I always will be a firefighter," Kochanski said while seated at the bar of his south side watering hole.
At a spot three steps away from where he sat Tuesday evening, Kochanski performed CPR on 23-year-old Carmelo L. Matoz-Arzola and called 911 for help.
Matoz-Arzola later died of a single gunshot wound.
Police say he was one three men who covered their faces and walked into the Concertina Beer Hall early Friday morning, two of them waving guns.
The weapons recovered at the scene were BB guns, according to court documents.
A fact Kochanski said does not change anything about what happened.
"The looked like real weapons to me," he said. "Real enough."
Milwaukee County prosecutors agreed, ruling the shooting a justifiable act of self-defense. Kochanski will face no charges for what he believed was a life-or-death scenario.
One of the other two men, 21-year-old Jose Munoz, is in custody and charged with attempted robbery,
A third man is still on the run, according to police.
Follow Up By Yona Gavino
MILWAUKEE - Andy Kochanski is the bar owner who was cleared in the shooting death of a man who, police said, was trying to rob Milwaukee’s best known polka bar.
Sunday the owner of that south side bar hosted a concealed carry class. Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke was there.
Terry Fabian attended the class with a friend. She said she admires Andy Kochanski for defending his bar from three would-be robbers. He killed one man in self-defense and wounded a second. Still, Terry is a little nervous about guns.
"I’m scared silly,” admitted Fabian. “I've never held a gun. I don't know what I’d do if I’d been in Andy’s situation."
Sheriff Clarke has been outspoken on the topic. He praised the participants for choosing to arm themselves.
“You have a duty to protect yourself and your family,” proclaimed Clarke. “But you have to be prepared."
Kochanski told TODAY’S TMJ4 he's overwhelmed by community support.
“There are people out there who saw what I went through,” says Kochanski. “And they might be motivated to buy a gun now. I’d much rather have them have the education behind that and them not just get a gun."
Others, like Anton Sieger, disagree. He believes more guns don’t decrease crime.
“It doesn't seem like necessarily someone robbing is equal to a spontaneous death penalty on the spot," said Sieger.
But Terry Fabian believes it'll give her a sense of empowerment.
“I think it'll give me a sense of control and it'll make me feel safer in the long run," added Fabian.
Source: TodaysTMJ4
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