Store owner fatally shoots robbery suspect

HOUSTON Investigators say a man walked into a cell phone store on Veterans Memorial near Antoine and tied up the owner and forced him into a back room. The suspect then began robbing the store. But the owner was able to get free and grab his gun. That's when the shootout took place.

"It appears at least 10 gunshots were fired," said Sgt. Ben Beall with the Harris County Sheriff's Department. "The suspect matches the description of the suspect in several cell phone robberies that we've had in the area."

A woman in the drive-thru of a nearby restaurant heard the gunfire and took cover inside her van. She said some bullets struck the back of her van. She notified workers in the restaurant. Two sheriff's deputies happened to be customers in the eatery. They were quickly able to begin investigating.

The suspect died at the scene. No one else was injured in the gunfire.

The store owner is not expected to face any chages. The investigation is ongoing.

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