Robbers Shoot Decatur Store Clerk(AL)

whnt.com ^ | 16 March, 2012 | Venton Blandin

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Shots are fired. A store clerk is hit. Two robbers take off running. Decatur Police say it all happened at a Shell gas station on Austinville Road.

Bullets hit the store clerk, but did not keep the clerk from working. rk.

The store clerk was back at work smiling as he greeted customers, but says he was too shaken to talk on camera.

One of his regular customers did not mind talking about the armed robbery.

Robbers ran into the Decatur gas station with guns late Thursday night. The store’s security cameras captured most of their moves.

One of the store’s regular customers wasn’t too far away at the time.

’I heard pow, pow, pow, pow. It was four shots,” said the witness.

Investigators confirm at least two of those shots.

”The clerk was struck in the arm both times. The two men then left the store with the money,” said Decatur Police Sergeant John Crouch.

The police department’s spokesman shared surveillance video showing the two men, with their identities covered, breaking the law.

Police say one of them jumped the counter and got into a scuffle with the store clerk.

Many customers offered kind words to the clerk when they saw him back at the register. One of them expressed concern about her family’s safety.

’It was kind of nerve-racking to hear shots. We just recently moved into this neighborhood,” said the witness.

Police say the clerk was able to get a gun, chase the robbers and shoot at them.

’It`s unreal. You don`t expect it especially here in Decatur. Every time you turn around, it gets worse and worse,” added the witness.

The clerk told WHNT NEWS 19 he missed both of the robbers. He says it all happened in 2-3 minutes.

Investigators want to hear from you if you know anything about the armed robbery. The number to call is (256) 341-4647.

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The story indicates that the clerk was a woman.

[marktwain]

No, a man. I misread.