The quick thinking of a clerk who was shot during an armed robbery Monday night in Milford may have spared him serious injury.
A clerk was shot during an armed robbery at Quick Food Mart in Milford on Monday night, but his quick thinking may have spared him serious injury.
Police said the robber walked into the Quick Food Mart at 305 New Haven Avenue around 11 p.m. Monday and shot an employee in the leg after demanding money
That employee, Jehan Zeb, recounted the harrowing encounter Tuesday night. He's sporting crutches but expected to be fine.
"I see the pistol and at that time, he came here inside the register area and tell me, 'Hands up and give me money," Zeb said.
The robber then fired two rounds, one of which hit him in the leg, he explained.
"And the third time, they target my forehead," Zeb said. He opened the register, then lunged at the robber and tussled with him for the gun.
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Zeb said he wrenched the pistol from the suspect's grasp and the robber ran off. Only then did he realize blood was filling his shoes.
He said that at one point, he thought he might die. Zeb was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries and was released early Tuesday morning.
Police took the gun as evidence and are still looking for the robber, who ran from the store and went south on Buckingham Avenue. Zeb said the suspect was covering his face with a black hooded sweatshirt.
Zeb said the suspect didn't manage to grab any money.
Shop owner Ashfaq Alam, Zeb's brother, said he's experienced small burglaries at his other stores in New Jersey and Atlantic City, but nothing like this. Alam said he never expected it to happen in Milford, where he's been for seven months now.
"The gas station is pretty popular," he explained. "It's very easy to rob, you know, but in this town, I wasn't expecting anything like this."
But Alam said that, while shaken up, he and Zeb are not deterred.
"We are tough people," he said. "We come from Pakistan."
Police are still searching for the robber. He's described as a black man standing 5 feet 8 inches tall and wearing black pants with a light-colored shirt.
Anyone with information about the robbery is urged to call Milford police Det. Michael Moreno at 203-783-4729, send him an email or submit a tip online.
