SYLMAR (CNS) – A father of five is in serious but stable condition in the hospital after being shot from a thief who tried to rob a store in Sylmar on Tuesday, Sept. 9, police said.
A liquor store clerk was shot twice during an attempted robbery in Sylmar Tuesday around 8:30 p.m. and was hospitalized in critical but stable condition, police said.
The 35-year-old victim was shot in the stomach and left bicep, Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Francisca Wheeling said.
No property was taken in the robbery attempt, which occurred at at the Rancho Liquor Store in the 13500 block of Glenoaks Boulevard, near Roxford Street, Wheeling said.
An LAPD Mission Division detective at the scene said the suspect, who was disguised with two red bandanas over his face, was distracted by a customer as he threatened the clerk at gunpoint.
The detective said the clerk took advantage of the distraction to draw his weapon. Both the suspect and victim fired almost simultaneously, the detective said in a series of tweets on the Mission Division’s Twitter account.
The detective said the suspect, who was still at large at press time, was also believed responsible for a series of recent holdups in the area, including one in Sylmar and others in Pacoima.