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Orange = clerk, Red = sheriff | Map by WeHoNews, click here to see full size
The L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy who shot at a just-robbed store clerk eight times and missed Sunday morning was in training. Not only that, the deputy's training officer had responded to an armed robbery call at the same store just three weeks earlier, according to the LA Times. When responding deputies arrived early Sunday morning, the store clerk ran outside with keys in hand, pointing in the direction where the suspects fled. “He’s pointing, saying ‘Hey they’re getting away’ and the deputies are thinking he’s going to shoot,” the Sheriff's Department watchdog, Michael Gennaco, told the Times. “Eight rounds later there are still a lot of questions.”
The bullets all hit a store across Santa Monica Boulevard, shattering a window. As WeHoNews noted, it was "less than an hour before bar-closing," meaning increased chances that pedestrians or vehicles could have been out and about.
Deputies had a very vague description of the suspects -- a black male and a black female. The clerk was also black.
“We don’t want to be critical of somebody when they’ve gone through this traumatic experience, but it’s really best if and when you call 911 and ... you’re going to come outside that you keep your hands in plain sight,” Captain Mike Parker said. “We don’t know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. That’s what we’re coming to find out."
