Houston police say the call for a robbery in progress came in at about 6:20am from the Phillips 66 gas station near Highway 59 north and Beltway 8. The suspect, armed with a gun, reportedly came in the store and demanded money.
According to the store's owner Anand Patel, two clerks in the store at the time were armed, and when the suspect began shooting, they returned fire in a wild shootout. The suspect threw gallons of motor oil, grease and windshield wiper fluid during the bizarre scene which went on for close to an hour.
Patel says when the suspect was finally hit and went down bleeding, he somehow started a fire in the store. When officers arrived, they couldn't initially enter the store due to the smoke.
The wounded man was almost unconscious by the time officers reached him. He asked for water andtold the clerks he was dying, and that he has two children. The suspect was taken to Ben Taub Hospital. His condition is not known at this time. His identity has not been released. Neither clerk was injured.
Patel says the store has been hit recently in another robbery. In that case, they weren't able to reach the gun fast enough to stop the robbers from getting away with about $2,000. This incident caused about $100,000 worth of damage, including the store's computer system. Patel hopes to have the store back up and running within a day. And he wants any would-be robbers to know the store remains armed.
The hold up and shooting were all caught on surveillance video. Police seized the computer containing the video as part of their ongoing investigation.
Take ABC13 with you!
Download our free apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices
