http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2014/07/gas_station_clerk_in_norton_sh.html#incart_river_defaultNORTON SHORES, MI – A Norton Shores gas station clerk fired about 10 rounds from a personal handgun this morning, Monday, July 14, during a robbery by an armed, masked suspect, police said.
Authorities are investigating an armed robbery that occurred at the Shell gas station early this morning, July 14, where the gas station clerk fired a handgun at an armed suspect.
The suspect, believed to be male, never fired back and it is unknown at this time if the suspect was hit by gunfire before he fled the gas station, police said. It isn't clear whether the suspect left with any cash.
Police said the incident was reported at 6:15 a.m. on Monday. The gas station was in the process of being robbed by a masked suspect wearing dark clothing and carrying a dark revolver. The suspect, with a ski mask over his face, demanded an undisclosed amount of money from the cash register.
The male victim, a 24-year-old Muskegon Heights resident working there at the time, was then ordered into the back room of the gas station where cigarettes were loaded into a backpack, according to police. It isn't clear whether the clerk was forced to place the cigarettes into a backpack or whether the suspect did that himself.
Once the cigarettes were placed into backpack, the clerk then pulled out a handgun, police said, and fired at the suspect.
"The clerk fearing for his safety pulled out his own handgun and started firing at the suspect. The clerk fired approximately 10 rounds inside of the store," police said in a press release.
That's when the suspect fled from the gas station.
"The suspect jumped into the passenger's seat of a newer model black Chevrolet four door which was parked on the north end of the building. There was a second suspect driving the vehicle but no description was obtained. The vehicle left east bound on Sherman Boulevard," the press release stated.
Anyone with information about the alleged robbery is asked to call Silent Observer at 231-722-7463 or the Norton Shores Police Department at 231-733-2691.
and this update
http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2014/07/investigation_into_shell_gas_s.html#incart_river_defaultNORTON SHORES, MI --The investigation into a armed gas station robbery continued this morning, July 14, after a clerk there fired his own weapon at the masked suspect who fled the scene with money and cigarettes, police said.
The station wasn't yet opened for business around 9 a.m. Monday following the reported armed robbery that occurred at the Shell gas station located at 2628 Henry Street in Norton Shores.
A male employee, who declined to comment for this story and identified himself as an assistant manager at the gas station, stood outside while detectives and other law enforcement officials were inside the business.
The clerk, a 24-year-old Muskegon Heights man, wasn't available to comment for this story.
The assistant manager, hours after the alleged robbery, was sweeping up shattered glass at the entrance of the store – aftermath of the clerk firing 10 rounds from his own handgun at the time of the reported robbery, police said.
It wasn't clear yet this morning whether the masked suspect, who entered the store shortly before 6 a.m. with a revolver and demanded money, was struck by gunfire.
The suspect did make off with some cash before getting into a four-door 2012 or 2013 black Chevy Malibu driven by another unidentified person who fled the scene after the incident, said Norton Shores Police Detective Sgt. Michael Kasher.
The suspect had initially ordered the male clerk to hand over money from a cash drawer and then forced the clerk into a back room where the suspect loaded up a backpack with cigarettes from the business, Kasher said.
The investigation as of 10 a.m. was still in the preliminary stages, Kasher said.
Many questions remained.
"We are at the beginning," he said. "We have some information to go on and we will use (gas station surveillance) video to help us."
Kasher said it was fortunate no one else was injured or inside the gas station when the alleged robbery occurred.
"In another half an hour, it would have been busy," Kasher said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact authorities at Silent Observer at 72-CRIME or the Norton Shores Police Department at (231) 733-2691.
A better suspect description was not immediately known, Kasher said. More details will hopefully emerge as the investigation continues, he said.
