Two veteran journalists were caught up in an attempted robbery while catching dinner on Wednesday night in Albuquerque, New Mexico — ending in the death of the would-be robber.
Former CNN anchor Lynne Russell told NBC News a story straight out of film noir, filled with coded messages, robbery at gunpoint, and an eventual shootout at a dark and shadowy Motel 6.
Russell said that at about 11:35 p.m. local time, an armed man approached her in the parking lot of her motel and pushed her into her room with her husband, former CNN reporter Chuck de Caro.
The pair were better prepared than their assailant thought, according to NBC:
Russell and de Caro — both described as expert shots — were legally carrying concealed handguns, she said. She said she offered to search her purse for something of value to hand over to the gunman — and slipped her gun into the purse, which she then handed to her husband.
“‘Is there anything in here we can give him?'” Russell said she asked. “Chuck said, ‘Oh, yes, there is.'”
The assailant reportedly backed up and began firing at de Caro, who flashed his concealed gun and returned in kind.
“Chuck fired back, and it was a shootout,” Russell, herself a former private investigator and sheriff’s deputy with a black belt in martial arts, told NBC.
“The guy went down, and he was history,” she added.
De Caro was reportedly shot three times, but avoided any damage to vital organs and he was expected to survive.
