DETROIT – A Detoit gas station clerk is in police custody after firing shots at a thief inside his store.
It happened at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday at a Shell gas station on West Warren Avenue just off the Southfield Freeway on Detroit's west side.
The video appears to show one of the men stealing a bag of chips while the other holds the door open so the clerk can't lock them in. The problems between these men reportedly began days earlier.
- Surveillance video from Sunday night appears to show men arguing with clerk and stealing from the gas station.
- Surveillance video from Tuesday night appears to show those same men arguing with the clerk and trying to steal items before the shooting occurred.
- Victim is in temporary serious condition at a hospital.
- No arrests have been made.
The preliminary report by Detroit police indicated someone was stealing chips, the clerk fired a shot and a man not involved in the theft was shot. But the surveillance video tells a different story.
Two men inside the gas station appear to argue with the clerk just before one of them walks out without paying for several bags of chips. The clerk then fires and strikes the man holding the door.
The story began 48 hours earlier. Surveillance video from Sunday shows people who appear to be the same two men, but with three more people. The man who was shot Tuesday is seen shouting at the clerk in Sunday's video as he holds the door and several men walk out without paying for items.
Sunday's encounter led to Tuesday night's incident where, according to employees, the men threatened to shoot when he came outside. All of the men appear to be angry in the video and shouted at each other nose-to-nose through the protective glass. As the men tried to leave, the clerk fired a shot and shatters the glass and the victim goes down, hit in the chest. The other men fled the scene.
Detroit police said the clerk is in custody and they would be interviewing the victim, who is in serious condition in the hospital.