LOCAL : Fullerton Police Shoot Alleged Robber After High-Speed Chase

A man who allegedly robbed a gasoline station’s mini-market was in critical condition today after a shoot-out with police officers, a Fullerton spokeswoman said.

None of the officers were injured during the gun battle, which started about 2:30 a.m. outside the AM-PM Mini Market at the intersection of Raymond and Orangethorpe avenues in Fullerton, city spokeswoman Sylvia Palmer said.

The man, who has not yet been identified by police, is suspected of being the robber who entered the market and held a clerk and two customers at gunpoint as he took money from the register, Palmer said.

Several minutes later, an officer, using the clerk’s description of the car and robber, spotted the empty vehicle at a parking lot of another convenience store several miles away, she said. The man left the store and was beginning to get into the car when the officer flashed his red lights, the spokeswoman said.

The man moved away from the car and fired two shots at the officer, she said. The officer ducked and returned fire with two shotgun blasts, neither of which struck the gunman.

The man got into the car and drove off, with the officer pursuing at speeds reaching 80 m.p.h., Palmer said. Another officer joined the chase, which ended when the man turned down Rolling Hills Drive--a dead-end street--and hit an embankment, she said. The man got out of the car and appeared to be reaching for a gun when the officers shot him several times, Palmer said.