Arrest made after Miami-Dade liquor store clerk was shot during robbery
MIAMI - A man has been charged in a shooting at Miami-Dade liquor store last December that critically injured an employee.
The shooting happened on December 7th at Jensen's Liquors, 7920 N. Miami Avenue.
According to police, Norman Wright Jr., 34, walked into the store and asked if he could return some merchandise. When he was told no, he reportedly grabbed a liquor bottle and attempted to leave the store.
That's when 71-year-old Emmanuel Taylor confronted him. Police say they struggled, which spilled out into the parking lot. At one point, Wright reportedly pulled a gun and shot Taylor in the abdomen.
In surveillance video, Wright is seen with a gun in hand and shooting Taylor. The two men then scuffled for a few more moments before Wright got on a blue bike and peddled away, but not before picking up the liquor bottle he had taken from the store.
Taylor is seen walking back into the store. Miami Fire Rescue arrived and took him to the Ryder Trauma Center where he was listed in critical condition.
Though he spent two months in the hospital, Taylor never gave up hope that the man who shot him would be caught.
"I am here. This is the reason I am there talking to you, trying to keep going with a good attitude about life," he told CBS News Miami's Peter D'Oench.
Taylor said he could have lost his life that day.
"There are so many guns out there. Someone could get shot anywhere, at any time. It doesn't matter where," he said.
It took almost three months, but Miami-Dade police were able to make an arrest.
"There were some articles left behind and we processed them and the lab team went to work and found out where the subject was," said Detective Ernest Bandiera. "I am glad we caught this subject. I feel Miami and Miami-Dade are a safer place because of the arrest."
It is what Taylor had been hoping for.
"How do I feel? Ecstatic about the arrest because it could have been somebody else who got hurt. I am glad we got him off the street," he said. "I knew he would be caught."
Taylor said these days he is looking ahead and hopes to return to work at Jensen's.
Wright has been charged with armed robbery and attempted murder.
