Clerk shot in robbery talks to WAVY.com

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - It was a night like any other at the Luk Oil gas station and convenience store off Independence Boulevard last Friday. Bob Russell, a clerk there for the last 14 years, was stocking the cigarette shelves when a masked man came in the front door.

"He aggressively came toward me and asked for the money in the safe and I said I couldn't get into the safe," said Russell. "And the next thing I know, I'm shot. It felt like a burning sensation and I really didn't realize I was shot until I looked at my hand and it was bloody."

Russell fell to the ground, curled up into a ball and started moaning in pain. But the robber was not done with him. He made Russell hand over his wallet and then threatened him. "'I'm going to kill you,' he said to me. "Then the robber fired off a round, inexplicably, into the counter, not at Russell.

The bleeding clerk crawled, pulling himself across the floor to a nearby phone to call 911. "I was able to use my good leg and get to the phone," he said.

Virginia Beach Police say Raymond Perry is the robber and he's still on the loose. Police have arrested two other men they say are Perry's partners in crime. Wade Watford, 36, and a 17 year-old young man were arrested earlier. They are suspected of robbing at least four stores in Virginia Beach and possibly several in Gates County, North Carolina.

Russel had to have surgery to check for internal damage, so he is left with a huge scar across his abdomen and the bullet which doctors are not able to remove. "It came in here," said Russell pointing to his left hip. "And it moved around and lodged in the back of my leg."

Believe it or not, Russell, who can't walk right now because of his injury, said after he recovers he wants to go back to work at the very gas station where he was shot.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Perry is asked to call the Virginia Beach Crime Solvers Office at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (1-888-562-5887). Callers remain anonymous and could be eligible for up to a $1,000 reward if their information leads to an arrest.