LAUDERHILL, FLA. (WSVN) - A Lauderhill Police officer opened fire on a man suspected in a purse snatching at a Sunrise gas station, sending him to the the hospital.
According to the store clerk, the subject attempted to rob a woman’s purse at the Valero gas station located at 6000 West Oakland Park Blvd., Sunday morning.
Surveillance video captured the man, seen wearing a light green T-shirt, yanking the victim’s purse by the handles.
The employee, who asked not to be identified or show her face on camera, said she felt compelled to come to the customer’s defense.
“I thought she more in harm’s way than I was, so I just did the right thing,” she said.
The footage shows the two women trying to grab the purse away from the subject.
“The guy attacked her. I ran out to protect her, and we got into this brawl,” said the clerk.
The subject then fled the scene on foot.
Shortly after, Sunrise Police issued a “be on the lookout” advisory for the perpetrator. Lauderhill Police officers assisted by searching around the Inverness Plaza, located at 5500 West Oakland Park Blvd., a block away from the Valero station.
It was in an alleyway of the shopping plaza where, officials said, a Lauderhill officer encountered the subject at around 10 a.m. Shots were fired, striking the subject.
“One of our officers encountered a male who matched the description of that particular suspect in the Sunrise robbery and essentially ended up a shooting,” said Lauderhill Police Lt. Michael Santiago.
Paramedics transported the suspected robber to Broward Health Medical Center in stable condition. The officer was not injured.
“Now the officer is going to be placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation,” said Santiago.
As authorities piece together what led to the shooting, the clerk wanted to make clear that she doesn’t consider herself a hero.
“I don’t want to be praised for anything. It’s just, that’s somebody’s mother, somebody’s grandmother,” she said, “so I just hope that if my mom or grandmother is in that situation, somebody would do the right thing.”
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.
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