Chief: Auto Parts Store Employee Opened Fire On Armed Robbers
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Police say an auto parts store employee in White Bear Lake fired shots Wednesday night at two armed men who robbed his store.
White Bear Lake Police Chief Julie Swanson says the employee, who has a valid permit to carry, opened fired on the suspects as they were leaving the O'Reilly Auto Parts store on County Road E East.
Police arrived shortly after 10 p.m., when the robbery occurred, and tried to track the suspects using a K9 unit. Officers did not find them, but did recover some of the stolen cash less than a block from the store.
Swanson says none of the store's employees were injured in the robbery, adding that the gunfire likely missed the suspects, as no one checked into area hospitals with gunshot wounds.
On Thursday, police plan to canvass the area and obtain surveillance video. The suspects are described as young men wearing ski masks.
Swanson says this is the first robbery to happen in White Bear Lake in 6 months.