Edgewood Convenience Store Owner Shot During Robbery
EDGEWOOD, Pa. (KDKA) - A convenience store owner was shot during a robbery in Edgewood on Tuesday afternoon, police said.
According to county police, the robbery happened around 1:30 p.m. inside the Edgewood Avenue Express Market.
The store's owner, Emmanuel Ugobueze, said the suspect -- who was disguised in a dark-colored jacket and wearing a mask -- walked up to the counter, pulled out a gun and demanded cash.
"He said, "Give me the money or I'll shoot you.' I said, 'Look, police are always here. This is the wrong place to be,'" Ugobueze said.
The store owner said he told the man to leave. And the next thing he knew, the robber fired his gun.
"I felt hot, that's all. Then I held it and I didn't see anything, so I thought it was a pellet gun," he said.
The owner ended up getting grazed by the bullet and was treated by medics after chasing the suspect out of the store and calling the cops. The robber fled the scene with no money.
Customers said they are saddened that somebody would target this beloved business owner who cares deeply about the community.
"Emmanuel, he's the nicest dude. You always go in there, he knows everybody by name. He welcomes you," Andrew Nagy said.
"I don't know what I could have said if something was really wrong with him, if he had really got hurt or somebody had killed him over something so senseless," Sheri Harris said.
According to Ugobueze, nobody else was inside the store when the robbery happened. He said he's feeling "very, very thankful."
"Even as I spoke with my wife, she said she was praying at that time," he said. "So I thank God for everything."