A Texas convenience store clerk was shot and killed after he chased down a pair of shoplifters who stole a bag of chips Friday, according to police.
One of the alleged crooks opened fire on the store manager at around 11:30 a.m. after he followed the pair in his car to try to stop them from stealing the crisps from the Sunoco gas station shop in Humble, Texas, cops said.
The 42-year-old worker, who has not yet been identified, was struck by a bullet and died from his wounds.
“No one ever anticipates just going to work that day and not coming home,” Humble Assistant Police Chief Dan Zientek told reporters at the scene.
Surveillance footage at the store obtained by KPRC shows the two men in dark clothing enter the shop as the store manager follows behind them with a bucket and begins mopping the floor.
The men pace around before stopping in an aisle in front of the chips, where one man appears to put a bag inside of his pants, video shows. They spend another minute or so inside of the store before leaving without paying.
The store clerk follows them outside and confronts them verbally before they walk away from the store, according to the footage.
The employee then got in his car and followed the pair, police said.
“They started shooting at him, in which he tried to reverse his car and ended up on the median over there,” Zientek said, according to KPRC.
He was struck by one of the bullets in the barrage and died while still sitting in the driver’s seat, cops said.
The car was riddled with bullets at the scene, the local station reported.
The suspects fled the scene on foot and remain at large. Police have asked the public for help in identifying the two.
“You’ve lost a great citizen who’s just trying to work and do their job, and instead we have two people that also have ruined their lives because they will be going to jail,” Zientek said.
Police said the victim had only been on the job for three to four months, according to KTRK.
