Shootout follows state line store robbery

By DEUCE NIVEN

    An early morning armed robbery at a state line convenience store resulted in a shootout involving the bandit and a legally armed customer, Lt. Raul Denis of the Horry County Police Department said Monday.
    There were no shots fired inside the Time Saver on U.S. 701, and no one inside or outside of the store reported hurt, the incident report by HCPD’s Officer Matthew Treitler said.
    It was not known if the robber, who may have had an accomplice waiting in a truck, was hit in the exchange of gunfire, the report said.
    Several customers were in the store when the man, described as a white male with a “camo hooded jacked on with the hood up,” entered the store at about 4:13 a.m. Saturday, the report said.
    A store clerk said the man “had a baseball style hat on and a bandanna covering his face.
    Victim and witnesses said the man had a black semi-automatic handgun, that he pushed two customers out of the way as he approached the counter and demanded. The clerk “ducked behind the counter, but the suspect leaned over and pointed a gun at him.”
    With the gun pointed at him, the clerk opened the register, and the robber emptied its bills, getting a little more than $200.
    Fleeing from the store, the robber turned as a store customer gave chase, handgun in hand, and shouted at him to stop. An exchange of gunfire followed, with no known injuries.
    HCPD is asking anyone with information to contact the Police Department at 843-248-1520 or the tip line at 843-915-8477 (TIPS). Tips may be left anonymously on the Tip Line.
    For more on this story see Wednesday’s Tabor-Loris Tribune in print and online.