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An Auckland gun shop director who shot a machete-wielding intruder has been told he will be charged - angering his family who say he deserves a medal, not a court case.
Greg Carvell allegedly shot Ricky James Beckham in the abdomen with a .45 calibre pistol in July.
The director of Penrose's Small International Gun Shop is expected to be charged in the next few days with a charge of unlawful possession of a weapon. "They are charging my son," a visibly shocked Ray Carvell, the shop's owner, told the Herald on Sunday. "Once again, the victim gets victimised.
"In my opinion Greg should get a bloody medal but this is justice New Zealand-style."
Beckham was allegedly demanding guns and threatening to kill Carvell and co-worker Bruce Motley with a 3-foot (just under 1 metre) machete when he was shot, at about 10am on July 27.
He has been charged with assault with intent to rob.
Carvell said his son had been told by police he would now be charged and, naturally, was devastated.
"His wife is very upset. We can't get it out of our daily lives. We keep on reliving it and reliving it. Luckily, Greg's two children are too young to understand what's going on.
"I'm angry and I'm entitled to be angry. I didn't think they'd be so bloody stupid."
He stressed the family was not "anti-police" and that he had welcomed an investigation into shop procedures immediately following the incident.
But he strongly believed everyone had the right to defend their own life.
"I can tell you right now we will be vigourously defending this because Greg did nothing wrong.
"They are opening a Pandora's Box and they will wish they didn't. I don't care how much money it costs. There will be a public outcry over this - and rightly so."
He said he'd already blown $10,000 defending his son.
"If it's a fight they want, it's a fight they'll get. I made a rule never to start fights - but I'll finish them if I have to."
The ramifications of a criminal charge were "horrendous" for the family, putting aside the possibility of a four-year jail sentence.
People with firearms convictions were prohibited from even entering the shop's premises, let alone running it, he said.
"I will have no one to take over the business and would have to sell after 40 years."
Detective Senior Sergeant Simon Scott said police would not comment on the case until they had spoken to Carvell in person.