Police say that after the victim collapsed, the three suspects forcibly removed the cash register and fled the store.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A store clerk was shot and killed inside a gas station in the Tacony section of Philadelphia.
It happened just after 4 a.m. Tuesday at the Exxon in the 7100 block of Torresdale Avenue.
The entire incident was caught on a surveillance camera.
Police say three masked men entered the gas station convenience store and forced their way into the employee counter side.
They attacked the store clerk and shot him once in the back.
“You can see them physically wrestle with him and that’s when they shoot him,” Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
Police say that after the victim collapsed, the three suspects forcibly removed the cash register and fled the store.
Officers arrived and found the employee lying on the ground unconscious.
Officers were removing the victim from the store to take him to the hospital when medics arrived.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police say the former gas station attendant was 67 years old and familiar with officers patrolling the area.
Action News spoke to customers who knew the employee. One said that he changed his habits because of past crimes at the gas station, including carjackings.
“He doesn’t even smoke here. For many years, he would take a smoke break here and he quit completely because he was too afraid something like this would happen. We had this conversation last week. And today, I’m standing here and now it’s gone. It’s really heartbreaking,” said a customer who did not want to be named.
Investigators are reviewing surveillance video from the store and seeing if outside cameras recorded a getaway vehicle.
There were no injuries to any other employees or customers.
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