BOSTON -- The owner of Big Bob’s Liquors will not be charged in the death of a man who was shot while attempting to rob the store at gunpoint in December, according to Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.

“A thorough review of the investigation and evidence has revealed that the storeowner acted in self-defense and in the defense of another,” Early said. “He and his brother were put in fear for their lives.”

Two men entered Big Bob’s store at 4 Richmond Ave. at about 10 p.m. on Dec. 10. At least one of the men pointed a handgun directly at a store clerk behind the counter. The storeowner, who was nearby, pulled out his own gun and shot one of the would-be robbers several times. The other man fled the store and remains at large.

Evan L. Rivera, 40, was pronounced dead later that night at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.