Store owner kills robbery suspects

GATES COUNTY, N.C. (WAVY) - Two suspects have been shot and killed after an attempted robbery at a store in Gates County, according to officials.

Sheriff Edward Webb with the Gates County Sheriff’s Office told WAVY.com the attempted robbery happened at the Joppa Road Store located at the intersection of Acorn Hill Road and Hinton Road in North Carolina around 6 p.m.

Webb said two men wearing bandanas on their faces and armed with guns tried to rob the store’s owner, who is in his 60s.

"The store clerk was knocked to the ground. He was kicked in the back of the head, stomped on and kicked in the back of the ribs," Webb said.

When the owner fell to the ground, he was able to grab a gun and shoot blindly over his shoulder, hitting one suspect, Webb said. When the owner got up, he shot the second suspect.

Webb told WAVY.com the suspects shot back at the owner, but he was not struck.

The suspects fled out of the store. One collapsed just outside the door while the other fled into a wooded area, where he also collapsed.

Both died at the scene.

"Unfortunately they're just two young men that did something very uncalled for," said Webb.  "And, of course, they have paid the ultimate price."

According to Webb, the store’s owner was taken to Albemarle Hospital where he was treated and released.

Deputies are searching for a third person they believe was a getaway driver for the suspects. There is no description of that person at this time.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is assisting the Gates County Sheriff’s Office with the investigation. Stay with WAVY.com for the latest on this developing story.