Drizzt
Member
Clerk shoots, kills robber on North Side
One thief escaped, leaving a trail of money and lottery
tickets .
Tuesday, March 4, 2003
Jodi Nirode
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
He wasn't going to let it happen again.
As two robbers ran from a North Side convenience store, the clerk grabbed a gun stored under the counter and opened fire.
One robber dropped dead, face down, just outside the store's front door.
But the clerk didn't stop there.
Maneuvering around the fatally wounded thief, the clerk -- while still firing -- chased the second man around the side of the building.
Columbus police were still searching for the other robber early this morning.
The robbery occurred about 8:30 p.m. at the Food Liner, 1950 E. 5th Ave. It was the second time the store had been robbed in two weeks.
The owner of the store, who wouldn't give his name, said he was told the two robbers had three guns between them, all with laser sights.
The thief who got away left a trail of money and lottery tickets that led to a parked car alongside the Food Liner, but it's unknown whether the man was shot, said Sgt. Eric Pilya.
The dead man had not been identified last night.
Columbus police took the clerk, whose name wasn't disclosed, along with two other store employees and several customers to headquarters Downtown for questioning.
Police also were searching the car near the building to see whether it had been left there as a getaway car.
The robbery marks the second time that the Food Liner has been robbed in two weeks, the owner said.
In both robberies, the thieves stole the store's security-camera tape, leaving friends of the owner to question whether the two holdups were connected.
The owner wouldn't give his name or the names of his employees, saying he feared for their safety with the second gunman still at large.
The three employees are brothers, and his cousins, he said.
He said he left a gun at the counter and gave clerks the discretion whether to use it.
It was too early to say whether charges could be filed against the clerk, Pilya said.
In similar robbery-related shootings, grand juries have been reluctant to indict the employee.
One thief escaped, leaving a trail of money and lottery
tickets .
Tuesday, March 4, 2003
Jodi Nirode
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
He wasn't going to let it happen again.
As two robbers ran from a North Side convenience store, the clerk grabbed a gun stored under the counter and opened fire.
One robber dropped dead, face down, just outside the store's front door.
But the clerk didn't stop there.
Maneuvering around the fatally wounded thief, the clerk -- while still firing -- chased the second man around the side of the building.
Columbus police were still searching for the other robber early this morning.
The robbery occurred about 8:30 p.m. at the Food Liner, 1950 E. 5th Ave. It was the second time the store had been robbed in two weeks.
The owner of the store, who wouldn't give his name, said he was told the two robbers had three guns between them, all with laser sights.
The thief who got away left a trail of money and lottery tickets that led to a parked car alongside the Food Liner, but it's unknown whether the man was shot, said Sgt. Eric Pilya.
The dead man had not been identified last night.
Columbus police took the clerk, whose name wasn't disclosed, along with two other store employees and several customers to headquarters Downtown for questioning.
Police also were searching the car near the building to see whether it had been left there as a getaway car.
The robbery marks the second time that the Food Liner has been robbed in two weeks, the owner said.
In both robberies, the thieves stole the store's security-camera tape, leaving friends of the owner to question whether the two holdups were connected.
The owner wouldn't give his name or the names of his employees, saying he feared for their safety with the second gunman still at large.
The three employees are brothers, and his cousins, he said.
He said he left a gun at the counter and gave clerks the discretion whether to use it.
It was too early to say whether charges could be filed against the clerk, Pilya said.
In similar robbery-related shootings, grand juries have been reluctant to indict the employee.
