HOUSTON – A gas station clerk is recovering after a robbery turned into a shooting in southeast Houston.
Police said an armed man entered the convenience store at a Citgo on the South Loop East near Scott Street around midnight Wednesday.
The man confronted the clerk, who tried to defend his store, causing a physical altercation to break out, authorities said.
Police said the gunman opened fire, hitting the clerk in the abdomen. The clerk was transported to a hospital where he underwent surgery, authorities said. He is expected to survive.
According to HPD Investigator Ken Nealy, the shooter "took some money from the store then he fled on foot to an unknown location."
"We are looking for one African American male probably about 5 feet 10 inches, to 6 feet tall, in his late 20s to early 30s about 170 to 180 pounds," said Nealy.
Police believe the gunman used a small, semiautomatic handgun of unknown caliber and is believed to be wearing a golf bucket type hat and burgundy colored pants.
At least one other person was inside the store at the time.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.