DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. - A store clerk shot an armed robber at a Douglasville, Ga., Chevron gas station.
Located at 6590 E. Broad St./Bankhead Highway, the store clerk called 911 and told the dispatcher that the suspect pointed a handgun at him. The store clerk retrieved his own gun and shot the suspect inside the convenience store.
When officers arrived on the scene, they found the armed robbery suspect on the ground in front of the store, suffering from a single gunshot wound.
Regular customer, Darrell Haley, said he worried about the clerk he sees every day, with a smile, from behind the counter.
"The guy just come [sic] in like five minutes after I walked out; walked in with a gun--brandished a gun, said he was going to rob the place. [The clerk] pulled his and shot first. You know, self-defense," Haley said, who lives just down the road from the gas station.
"Next thing I know the whole parking lot is lit up with cop cars, detective's cars, everything--guy laying on the ground shot and it just worried me that it was my buddy."
Harry Charles, another loyal customer, who calls the clerk his good friend, made his way to the station to see what happened.
"I called him and he didn't pick up. I was worried about that. That is why I stopped here this morning. But I'm glad he is OK and he did what he had to do," Charles said.
The store clerk was not injured and Darrell attributes that to the clerk having gun nearby.
"He works in a dangerous situation," he said. "He works at a gas station. I mean all hours of the night, people go in; people go out. It is a high-crime area around here. So, I feel right that he has to have a gun to defend himself if it comes down to it."
The suspect was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Charges against the suspect have not been released.
