Clerk Kills Robber
CLEVELAND - A clerk at a Cleveland-area Citgo station shot and killed a would-be robber this week after the man burst into his gas station waving a gun and demanding money. Although the clerk's account of the shooting has been corroborated by witnesses, police are still reviewing surveillance tapes from the store to determine exactly what happened.
C-store owners in northeast Ohio have been on alert as the rate of violent crime in the area has risen. "You can't blame any store owner for defending [himself] in light of the fact that so many of them have been killed in this city," Cleveland City Councilman Mike Polensek told Cleveland's News5 television program.
Still, crime statistics indicate that reducing the possibility of escalation is the most effective way to survive an armed robbery, and many larger chains have policies prohibiting employees from carrying weapons. Police, and many operators, agree that one of the most effective means of reducing late-night robberies is staffing stores with at least two clerks.
To others, defenselessness isn't an option. "When they had the barrel in my face, I just thought that's it for me," said robbery victim Samer Abdelaziz.
C-store owners in northeast Ohio have been on alert as the rate of violent crime in the area has risen. "You can't blame any store owner for defending [himself] in light of the fact that so many of them have been killed in this city," Cleveland City Councilman Mike Polensek told Cleveland's News5 television program.
Still, crime statistics indicate that reducing the possibility of escalation is the most effective way to survive an armed robbery, and many larger chains have policies prohibiting employees from carrying weapons. Police, and many operators, agree that one of the most effective means of reducing late-night robberies is staffing stores with at least two clerks.
To others, defenselessness isn't an option. "When they had the barrel in my face, I just thought that's it for me," said robbery victim Samer Abdelaziz.