Police witness 7-Eleven robbery in progress and shoot, kill suspect

Two police officers who pulled into a 7-Eleven parking lot stumbled across an active armed robbery and confronted the suspect as he left the store, shooting and killing the man after the gunman refused to follow police commands, Santa Clara police said.

“They drove into the parking lot and had a clear view of the robbery in progress,” said Santa Clara Lt. Kurt Clarke. The officers saw the suspect point a gun at the store clerk at about 2 a.m. Sunday. The gunman fired one shot that did not hit the employee, Clarke said.

When the suspect left the 7-Eleven on the corner of Scott Boulevard and Monroe Street, the officers confronted him. After ignoring the officers’ commands, the suspect was shot and fatally wounded, police said.

The officers found the gunman’s loaded weapon and the money taken from the convenience store, according to police.

Neither the clerk nor the officers were physically harmed.

The 7-Eleven is less than two miles from Mineta San Jose International Airport, in the heart of Silicon Valley.

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