Clerk killed in possible botched robbery

HOUSTON The EZ Loan store along the North Freeway near Rittenhouse opened at 9am Saturday. A few minutes after that, the clerk was shot and killed. Her name was Irena Ashford and her family gathered in the parking lot, waiting for answers or a motive or the killer to be caught.

For now, there are no answers, but a clue about the suspect's truck.

"A red pickup truck that's a step side with the chrome bars on the bedrails," said John Parker with the Houston Police Department. "We'd like them to call homicide or Crime Stoppers if they know about the incident."

The strip center is no stranger to robbery. A shoe store several stores down is minus a neighboring tenant.

"We had a clothing store right next to the pawn shop and actually the clothing store got robbed five times," said Tanyel Montgomery, who works near the crime scene. "So they actually packed their stuff and left."

A lot of people remain on edge. If you have any information about this robbery and murder, you're asked to call Houston police or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS. There are security cameras inside, so a description may be forthcoming.

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