Store Clerk Shot After Fleeing Robbery

A liquor store clerk was wounded by a shotgun blast after he fled to a nearby paint store during a holdup Monday afternoon.

Police said the shooting occurred about 3 p.m. when two men apparently tried to hold up the Liquor Barn at 7547 Topanga Canyon Blvd. The clerk, whom police declined to identify, ran from the liquor store into a Catalina Paint store next door.

Police said he was inside the paint store when one of the robbers fired a shotgun at him through the front window, shattering the glass and injuring the clerk.

Police said the victim was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where he underwent surgery for abdominal wounds. Sgt. Scott Mallory of the Los Angeles Police Department West Valley Division said the clerk suffered a “serious wound” but was expected to live.

“It’s beyond belief,” Mallory said. “They have the cash register, which is what they want, and then they literally chase him down and shot him.”

Mallory said no one else in the paint store was injured during the incident. He said police have not determined if the two robbers, who fled in a car, took any money from the liquor store. Police could not confirm if the clerk was the owner or an employee at the store.