A dispute over a declined credit card at a Millcreek convenience store almost turned deadly — but the man who reportedly fired six shots at the shop clerk missed.
According to police, two men tried to buy several items at the 7-Eleven at 4051 S. State St. shortly before 6:30 a.m. on Friday. The credit card was declined all three times the clerk ran it.
One of the men “began showing the cashier his middle finger,” the Unified Police Department wrote in a probable cause statement, and the other man “produced a handgun and fired six rounds at the cashier,” narrowly missing him.
The cashier told police the suspect “pointed the gun directly at his head and fired,” and then “tracked him with the gun as he was trying to find cover and fired again.” The suspect fired several more times as he exited the store. According to police, surveillance video shows the suspect shooting at the cashier.
Police were able to identify the car one of the suspects was driving, located him at his home and arrested him. The 20-year-old man “admitted to being the driver” of the car and that he was “present during the entire incident,” but he refused to name the other man.
The second suspect, who is also 20, was identified from the surveillance video, according to police. He was arrested outside his home. Police said the second suspect discarded a backpack just before he was arrested, and that it contained a handgun “identical to the one seen on the video at the 7-Eleven.”
According to a probable cause statement, the second suspect admitted he was present during the shooting and said he was high on “molly” and didn’t know what he was thinking. Although he would not admit to being the shooter, he “kept asking if the victim was still alive an uninjured.” He also admitted he stole the handgun from a friend, police wrote.
Pending formal charges, the first suspect was booked into the Salt Lake County jail for investigation of attempted murder, multiple counts of felony discharge of a weapon and obstruction of justice. He is being held without bail.
The second suspect is also jailed for investigation of attempted murder and felony discharge of a weapon, as well as parole violation and possession of a gun by a restricted person. He is being held on $500,000 bail.
