French jeweller's killing of thief revives debate on vigilante justice "There is profound shock felt by the local population which is not used to this violence," said Philippe Bonnotte, the local mayor with the opposition Right-wing UMP party. The jeweller shot his assailant with a licenced 9 calibre automatic Glock pistol. The jeweller's wife said this was the fifth time her husband had been subjected to a hold-up. The robber, it turns out, was a repeat offender with two previous convictions for "theft with a weapon" and who had left prison in June 2010 on parole. Police said the robber entered the jewellery store at 4.30pm local time with his "face covered," wearing gloves and a hat and holding an unloaded gun hidden inside a plastic bag. After the "strange" customer asked to see some jewels, the suspicious owner discretely reached for his gun. The robber pointed his weapon at the jeweller's face and tried to grab the weapon he was holding, leading to a "hand to hand" fight and four gunshots. The robber tried to escape but fell in a pool of blood. "He told the fireman: 'There were three of us, we came from the 94 (the Val-de-Marne department) '," said Mr de Rocquigny. Police are looking for "one or two accomplices." The jeweller was said to be "in a state of shock, which is legitimate. He killed someone and acknowledges this," said the prosecutor. His wife said this was the fifth attack, the last hold-up taking place in August last year. Locals said the wife had been "traumatised" by the last attack and her husband had updated the entire shop security. A Facebook page called: "Support for the jeweller of Sézanne, The French Have Had Enough," on Friday night had 20,000 "likes." Comments included "Zero tolerance for robbers" and "Enough of this state laxism." Marine Le Pen, head of the far-Right Front National, said she the jeweller should not be imprisoned during the probe and should be accorded "the presumption of legitimate defence." The killing follows another in September in Nice, when Stephan Turk, a jeweller shot a 19-year old assailant in the back as he made his getaway on a scooter with an accomplice. He received 1.5 million "likes" on his Facebook support page. Mr Turk is currently under official investigation for "voluntary homicide" and is under house arrest with an electronic bracelet.