The robber fired two shots inside the small jewelry shop in West Rogers Park as he threatened Georgi Layous and terrorized Layous' wife and two young grandchildren, even snatching a butterfly necklace and a purse from the 4-year-old granddaughter.
Before leaving, the robber turned his back and began fiddling with a computer to get at surveillance video. The 66-year-old Layous -- paralyzed on his right side from a stroke years ago -- said he saw his chance.
Turning to his wife, he told her in Arabic, "Give me the gun." As his grandchildren cried on a couch behind him, Layous said he took the .380-caliber pistol in his left hand and shot the robber in the leg.
When police arrived, they found Musa Thomas, 19, lying on the ground next to a backpack filled with jewelry taken from the store, including the necklace and the purse, officials said. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston to be treated for a gunshot wound to the left hip.
“I am very, very sorry for him,’’ Layous said.
Layous said he has known Thomas for five years because the teen would sometimes come into the Starlight Jewelry store in the 2700 block of West Devon Avenue and try to sell some gold jewelry.
When Thomas announced a robbery Monday afternoon, Layous said he thought he was joking.
“He came in with luggage, a schoolbag, and said, 'Hi, how are you,' ’’ said Layous. “He opened his bag and took the gun out right away. He said, 'I’ll kill you.' And he told me to put the money in the bag right away.’’
But Layous said he told him, "You’re my friend, how could you do this to me?"
Thomas became angry when he found only $11 in the register, so he jumped onto the counter and pushed Layous to the ground, Layous said. “I told him I don’t have any money and he pushed me,’’ he said.
Layous said Thomas also pushed his wife to the ground, telling her he would kill her if she moved. After walking back and forth several times from one room to another, Layous said Thomas took jewelry from some cases and even robbed his little granddaughter Sophia, taking a purse and a jewel box and grabbing the necklace from around her neck.
“He took the jewelry from my granddaughter,’’ Layous said. “He snatched it from her neck.’’ When the robber turned away, the little girl grabbed up some of her toys and stuffed them into her pockets so "the jewelry bandit" wouldn't get them, he said.
Layous said he opened two safes for Thomas as the robber screamed and fired twice, missing him and his family.
While Thomas was at a computer, trying to remove surveillance video tapes, Layous said his wife handed him the gun he keeps in the store for protection. “I asked my wife to give me the gun and I shot him in the leg,’’ Layous said.
“If he didn’t get to the gun I don’t even know what would have happened,’’ said the children’s father, Joseph Layous.
He is trying to help his children understand the robbery and he hopes they will forget about it and not worry too much.
“Not all guns are bad,’’ Joseph Layous said he told his children.
Thomas, of the 1300 block of South Union Avenue, was charged with armed robbery. Georgi Layous said police took his gun but did not cite him with anything.
Georgi Layous said he has operated other jewelry shops on Devon Avenue for more than 20 years. His daughter Caroline Layous said her father has a kind heart. "He's always trying to help people.’’
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