Thursday, December 11, 2008

Massachusetts: Clerk shoots, kills masked man during Worcester holdup

Worcester, Massachusetts

From the Boston Globe of December 11, 2008
Clerk shoots, kills masked man during Worcester holdup

A liquor store clerk shot and killed an alleged armed robber in Worcester last night, firing at a masked man several times when he pulled a handgun during a holdup, police said.

The alleged robber -- Evan Louis Rivera, 40 -- was pronounced dead at a hospital 45 minutes after the shooting. When the clerk opened fire, Rivera's accomplice ran and remains at large, police said. The clerk who shot the robber was interviewed by police and has not been charged.

The two masked men entered Big Bob's Liquors on Richmond Avenue at 9:59 p.m., police said in a statement describing the shooting. One of the men pulled a handgun and pointed it "directly at one of the two store clerks then on duty," the statement says.

One of the store clerks pulled his own gun and shot the alleged robber several times, police said. The clerk's name was not released because he has not been charged with a crime. Police said he was cooperative and is properly licensed to possess and carry firearms.

After the shooting, police launched a "large-scale area search" for the second robbery suspect that included State Police dogs. Detectives believe that the two masked men may have been responsible for a string of similar robberies in the region, according to Sergeant Kerry F. Hazelhurst.

From the Boston Channel of February 6, 2009
Storeowner Who Killed Robber Not Charged

The owner of Big Bob’s Liquors will not be charged in the death of a man who was shot while attempting to rob the store at gunpoint in December, according to Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.

“A thorough review of the investigation and evidence has revealed that the storeowner acted in self-defense and in the defense of another,” Early said. “He and his brother were put in fear for their lives.”

Two men entered Big Bob’s store at 4 Richmond Ave. at about 10 p.m. on Dec. 10. At least one of the men pointed a handgun directly at a store clerk behind the counter. The storeowner, who was nearby, pulled out his own gun and shot one of the would-be robbers several times. The other man fled the store and remains at large.

Evan L. Rivera, 40, was pronounced dead later that night at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

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