A gas station employee in Arizona stopped an armed robbery early Wednesday by shooting the bad guy waving a gun and demanding money.
Reports have only identified the clerk at a Chevron store in Avondale as “Brian.” He said that as he was working his graveyard shift, a man wearing a mask came inside and pointed a gun at him.
Brian said the robber mumbled instructions at him, and he only made out the words “rob” and “money.” However, Brian said the words the man said were not necessary to understand his intentions.
“The moment he pointed the gun at me, it was pretty obvious what he was there for,” he told reporters.
Soon after entering the store, the robber turned his gun away from Brian toward a customer who was inside when the holdup began. As the robber turned his attention – and his weapon – away from Brian, the alert clerk drew his own gun to defend the customer and himself.
An armed gas station employee in Arizona shot a would-be robber early Wednesday morning in an incident he says he’s trained for. https://t.co/vLZ4ea8ZpJ
— The Pug (@thepugnews) January 19, 2023
Brian said the robber “picked a bad time to rob the store,” as there was less than $100 in his cash drawer.
The official police report states: “The suspect became distracted by another person in the store and the store employee took the opportunity to pull out and use his own firearm, shooting and injuring the suspect.”
After Brian disabled the robber with a single shot, he called 911 and first responders quickly arrived to treat the suspect. The would-be robber was transported to a local hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.
Brian took the situation in stride, telling reporters that since he regularly works on the graveyard shift, he trains himself to respond as he did on Wednesday morning. In addition, he said he practices situational awareness every day and regularly trains in the proper and effective use of his weapon.
Brian added, “I’m not really happy about having to shoot him, but I’m not stressing about it.”
Local police are reportedly reviewing the store’s surveillance footage as part of their investigation of the attempted armed robbery. Brian said he would be glad to assist police in their investigation, adding he is very confident that when they see the video of the incident it will be apparent he acted properly to defend himself and the customer.
