NEAR FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) – A clerk was caught on surveillance video firing a gun towards a vehicle after a shoplifter stole drinks, and it is not the first time shots were fired at the gas station near Fort Lauderdale.
The shooting happened at a Valero gas station along Sunrise Boulevard near Northwest 24th Avenue overnight on Saturday. The clerk told detectives that someone in the car pointed a gun at him first.
“Somebody could have gotten hurt,” a customer said. “I feel bad.”
Surveillance video captured a man exiting a dark-colored Nissan SUV and entering the store. He then takes two drinks, worth about $4, from the refrigerator and hesitates in line before he walks outside without paying and sprints to the car.
Moments later, the store’s clerk follows the man out of the store, pulls out a gun and fires at them.
The clerk then could be seen dodging bullets and trying to get into cover as the vehicle drives away.
“Oh, my God, all that for a soda,” another customer said. “That’s a lot. Somebody almost got killed and harmed. That’s a lot going on.”
One bystander was hit but not seriously hurt from the exchange of gunfire. Paramedics transported the bystander to the hospital. They are expected to be OK.
Although the clerk chased a suspected shoplifter out of the store, another clerk in July 2019 found himself pushed to the ground by a gun-wielding thief while an accomplice snatched money.
Moments after, that clerk would shoot one of the crooks, and the thief died on the way to the hospital.
Another incident at the gas station in September left another would-be robber dead.
“Actually, I’m from Europe, OK? I’m from Romania, but being here and seeing all the people with the guns, some people have illegal guns, this is crazy,” a third customer said. “I mean, I cannot understand.”
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, investigators believe more than one subject was inside of the dark-colored Nissan SUV.
“What are they going to get? A petty theft? But, it’s still somebody’s life and dangerous, so I feel like the clerk should get in trouble about the situation, too,” a fourth customer said.
If you have any information on this shooting, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.
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