CMPD: Robber, store employee exchange gunfire at mini mart

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are looking for three men they said shot at employees of a northwest Charlotte convenience store after robbing it Monday night.

Officers said the men entered Jerry's Mini Mart on Mount Holly Road around 9:20 p.m. and robbed the business at gunpoint.
 
Police said the men, who had their faces covered, were armed with handguns. They stormed the store demanding money.

Police said one of the men fired a shot at the store's 73-year-old security guard as they ran from the store.  The security guard shot back and no one was hit.
 
"Gunshots were exchanged," said neighbor Eric Foxx. "We heard it in the neighborhood."

Police said the suspects, described as black males in their early 20s with their faces covered, ran off. One of the thieves had long dreads and was wearing purple gloves. Surveillance photos showed one of the men was wearing a ball cap and grabbed cash from the register.
 
"Lot of police officers out here. They canvassed the neighborhood. We couldn't come out of the neighborhood for some time," Foxx said.
 
Jim Poulos wasn't surprised at all to hear about this latest robbery. He says he shops at Jerry's Mini Mart at least four times a week
 
"I think it's an easy area to do crime in," Poulos said. "They know better than to come when customers are around.
 
Anyone with information concerning this case or the suspects is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

WSOC