Gas station clerk shoots suspect who tried robbing store, Avondale police say

AVONDALE, Ariz. (3TV/CBS 5) — A suspect is hospitalized after police say he was shot by a gas station employee during an armed robbery in Avondale early Wednesday morning.

Around 5:15 a.m., police say a man walked into the Chevron gas station at the corner of 107th Avenue and Indian School Road and pulled out a gun. While the suspect was distracted by a customer in the store, a clerk behind the counter pulled out his own gun and reportedly shot the suspect.

He was taken to a hospital where he’s listed in critical condition. No one else was hurt. Investigators said the gas station clerk won’t be charged. However, bringing a gun to work may not be the best idea, according Joshua Black, an employment attorney who represents clients who feel unsafe in their work environment. “My advice would be to someone working at a gas station would be, do not carry a gun. Do not bring a gun. There is nothing at that job that is worth risking your life,” he said.

Arizona’s Family wanted to know what responsibility companies have to protect their workers in these dangerous encounters. “If an employee is working and someone robs them and they’re harmed in that process, the workplace has something called workplace compensation which has them covered for certain type of injuries,” Black said. He said liability is limited if these dangers are “unforeseeable.” “Just because that job, you’re more likely to be at a job where you get injured or held up or rob you, that in of itself does not make the employer liable. There has got to be something that’s extra bad about the situation,” Black said. “That’s going to be the difference. Is there something more liable that is foreseen, and if it was, did they take steps to prevent it?”

Copyright 2023 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.