Gunman opens fire on store clerk refusing to sell woman tobacco, report states
ATLANTA - Atlanta police are searching for a man seen on surveillance camera shooting a convenience store clerk in southwest Atlanta.
It happened at the Food Mart on Venetian Drive i near Campbellton Road on October 31.
The video shows a man standing in the door before firing two shots.
A witness reported to police it started after a young woman tried to purchase tobacco products without proper identification. According to the police report, the young woman because upset.
“They have oatmeal pies on the rack and what she did was she tried to grab one leaving out the door. She grabbed all the pies and threw them up in the air and on the floor,” one witness said.
The video shows the store clerk shooing the woman away and moments later she returned with a man who fired his gun at the clerk.
“He told the guy ‘you want to kick at someone?’ POW! He shot him stood there for a second then told the lady they had to go,” one witness said.
Nimai Das has owned the store for over ten years and his brother was the one shot.
The victim is expected to be OK.
“The bullet was stuck here in the door. It’s bulletproof and didn’t go through but as he was going inside the suspect shot him in the leg,” Nimai Das described.
“I had to take my belt off and put it around his leg to cut off the circulation to keep it from bleeding to death until police and ambulance got there,” one witness said.
The witness also said there were several other people inside the store at the time of the shooting.
“Other people could have gotten hurt in that but they didn’t care,” one man said.
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Longtime customers said they are fed up with the violence.
“You are the ones killing people, not the guns. The person behind it is because you’re pulling the trigger,” one customer said.
Atlanta Crime Stoppers is offering a $2,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.
The store owner also said he will offer a reward in the case.
Police said tipsters can remain anonymous.