DULUTH, Ga. — Surveillance video shows the split second reaction of an overnight convenience store clerk who realized in a flash he was under attack.
A masked man rushed at the clerk flashing at butcher knife. It happened at 3:35 a.m., Tuesday at the the Shell gas station at Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth.
The clerk's fellow employee, S.M. Hasan, showed 11Alive the surveillance video.
“This is, like, a very dangerous situation to deal with," Hasan said.
The clerk appears calm, as he picks up his gun, and grips it with both hands, takes a stance and locks his elbows. He fires one round.
The assailant falls, wounded in the upper leg; he takes off his mask, holds out a hand as if to say don't shoot again, and looks as though he is pleading with the clerk.
The clerk keeps his gun trained on the assailant, while picking up his cell phone with his other hand, and calling 911. Store employees say it is the second time in two months this overnight clerk has been robbed.
"He is a good employee," Hasan said. "and caring and friendly."
Hasan said clerk is a student and has worked at this convenience store for a couple of years. Hasan said he's concerned for his friend, because he may or may not return to the store after this.
"After the incident, he says he's going to take a couple of days off, and then he will let us know what he's going to do in future."
Duluth Police arrested 21 year old Christian Saint Amour. Once Amour gets out of the hospital, police say he will be booked on charges of attempted armed robbery, aggravated assault, possession of a knife during the commission of a felony, and wearing a mask to conceal the identity of wearer.
"We don't forsee any charges to this employee," said Duluth Police Officer Ted Sadowski, "because he was fearing for his life and he was acting in self-defense."
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