OXFORD – A jewelry store owner fired a gunshot at an alleged robber in his store this afternoon before police arrested the assailant, an investigator said.

Oxford police charged Dimitri Narrio Lawler, 19, of Anniston, with attempted robbery of Stinson and Howard Fine Jewelry on the corner of Main and Choccolocco streets in downtown Oxford. Police arrested Lawler a few blocks away from the shop near Martin Luther King Drive just before 1 p.m.

Oxford police Lt. L.G. Owens said Lawler was armed when he entered the store around 12:30 p.m. The store’s owner fired a single shot, and Lawler fled. No one else was in the store at the time and Lawler was not hit, Owens said.

Owens said several residents called police to report they’d seen the suspect flee the jewelry shop, while calls from construction workers renovating the old City Hall nearby alerted police to the sound of gunfire in the area.

A bullet hole was visible in a window of the store facing Main Street after the incident.

Owens did not release the store owner’s name, but said the shop is locally owned by three brothers.

Attempts to reach the store’s owners today were unsuccessful.

Staff writer Brian Anderson: 256-235-3546. On Twitter @BAnderson_Star.