FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - South Florida woman said she and a store clerk felt compelled to fight back after a man took her cash and tried to snatch her purse at a gas station in Sunrise.
Surveillance video shows Dorothy Fletcher standing at the counter of the Valero station at 6000 West Oakland Park Blvd., Sunday morning.
Standing next to the victim was a man police identified as 29-year-old Terrance Dagrin.
Fletcher said the suspect initially asked her for money.
“He came and asked for some change to get the bus to Miami,” she said.
Fletcher said she gave him some coins, but that did not appear to be good enough for him.
“I hand the cashier $100, and she gave me back my change, and as soon as she passed it through, he grabbed it,” she said, “so I grabbed him to get back my money because that was $75.”
The footage shows Fletcher fighting with the suspect as he got behind the glass to the cash register.
“I pushed him back, and I got my money, of course,” said Fletcher. “He pushed his hand in his crotch and said, ‘I have a gun, I have a gun.'”
“The guy attacked her. I ran out to protect her, and we got into this brawl,” said the clerk, who asked not to be identified.
The clerk is seen attempting to fend off the robber with a folding chair.
“He insists, ‘I have a gun, I have a gun,’ so I pull away the chair, and I hit him in the head with it, and he’s startled a little,” said Fletcher.
Dagrin then fled from the scene on foot. Shortly after, police issued a “be on the lookout” advisory for him.
A surveillance camera at an alleyway of the Inverness Plaza in Lauderhill, located a block away from the gas station, shows Dagrin as a Lauderhill Police cruiser drove by him. The suspect kept looking back at the vehicle.
The officer circled back around. Moments later, he is seen walking toward Dagrin with his gun drawn.
The officer is then seen flinching, then standing back and walking toward Dagrin. He is then seen discharging his firearm several times.
Police said Dagrin was struck.
Moments later, the officer is seen kicking something on the ground, apparently upset as he spoke with a colleague.
Shortly after, paramedics are seen wheeling Dagrin away.
“That victim was sent to Broward General, and he is currently in stable condition,” said Lauderhill Police Lt. Michael Santiago.
Fletcher said she’s just happy she’s OK and that she didn’t give up her money.
“No one got hurt, and I understand they shot him, and he is in the hospital, so the case is closed,” she said.
Dagrin remains in the hospital. It remains unclear how many times he was shot.
After he is released, he will be taken to the Broward County Jail and appear in court.
The police officer who shot Dagrin has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
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