Police said 71-year-old John Lovell II used a licensed gun to shoot the alleged robbers at the Subway on North Pine Island Road and Sunrise Boulevard.

One customer, who stopped by the restaurant as the incident was taking place, had this to say to NBC 6's Tisha Lewis:
"If I came by five or 10 minutes earlier, they could have caused a situation where they could have shot me. A lot of things went through my mind," Sebastian Shakespeare said.

According to investigators, two armed men entered the restaurant, pointing guns and demanding money. Lovell turned around and saw a gun pointed at his face. Plantation police said that's when he took action.

"As the customer was being forced into the restroom at gunpoint, the customer, who was in fear for his life and legally armed, shot the robbery suspects," said Plantation Police Department spokesman Robert Rittig.

Police said one of the suspects was fatally shot in the head. He was identified as 22-year-old Donicio Ricardo Arrindell. The other suspect, 21-year-old Fredrick Gerard Gadson, was shot in the chest and was able to run nearly 300 yards into a nearby Bank Atlantic parking lot while trying to escape, police said. Gadson was charged with armed robbery and murder. Police said Gadson got charged with murder because, even though he did not shoot Arrindell, someone was killed while Gadson was allegedly committing a felony.

"It's a scary situation," customer Elliott Clement said. "I had a friend who worked here late at night all the time. It's not a good situation. It's very scary, but luckily everything turned out OK."

Lovell's neighbor Wendi Hill said she spoke with Lovell several times Thursday morning. "He said everything happened in less than four seconds," Hill said. She said it didn't surprise her at all that Lovell took action against the robbers. "He's a very smart guy," she said. "I mean, retired pilot, retired ex-Marine."

Police said Lovell will not be charged with a crime. There is surveillance video of the incident, but police had not yet released it as of Thursday evening.

Lovell had not spoken on-camera after the incident.