Police in Los Angeles shared footage of a shootout between a gang of attempted armed robbers and a shop worker, during which one of the would-be robbers was fatally shot.
Horrific CCTV footage from 3 April this year shows four armed men enter the Smoke Shop on South Wilmington Avenue in Compton and open fire on the worker behind the counter.
The employee then falls to the ground, but quickly pulls out his own gun and starts to fire back.
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In the clip, the four men can be seen scrambling backwards, tripping over each other in the process, to hide behind a shelving unit at the front of the shop floor.
From behind the shelving unit, the men continue to aim shots towards the shop worker, who also carries on shooting back despite being seriously outnumbered.
Following the shootout, the would-be thieves then fled the store, but one of the men turned up at Martin Luther King Hospital half an hour later with a gunshot wound to abdomen. He died from his injuries later that night.
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The employee was also taken to hospital with gunshot wounds to his face and neck, but was treated for his injuries and later released.
A statement from Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reads: “The four individuals attempted to commit an armed robbery of the store and pointed their handguns at an employee.
“The employee, and armed security guard for the business, withdrew his handgun, and a gun battle between the armed men ensued. The suspects left the Smoke Shop and fled the scene. The employee sustained gunshot wounds to his face and neck and was later released from the hospital.
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“About 30 minutes after the botched robbery, deputies responded to Martin Luther King Hospital regarding a gunshot victim.
“Investigators discovered the gunshot victim was one of the Smoke Shop robbers whom the store employee had shot.”
One of the other suspects was apprehended the next day (4 April), but the two other suspects remain at large.
LA police are now on the hunt for Kahlel Malik Lundy, 23, and Keith Terrion Rachel, 21yrs old, who are both wanted for murder in relation to the incident.
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Police are urging anyone with information about the incident to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.
Claire Reid