Missouri shopper shoots, kills armed robber holding knife to clerk's neck
The Missouri robbery suspect allegedly rushed the QuikTrip clerk with a knife
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An unassuming customer saved a gas station clerk's life Saturday morning in Missouri after a robbery suspect put a knife to the employee's neck.
Lance Bush, 26, allegedly held the female clerk of the gas station at knifepoint while the customer, who was concealed carrying, sat in his car in the parking lot.
After noticing the bizarre dynamic between the would-be robbery suspect and his hostage, the anonymous customer repeatedly asked if everything was "okay."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"He grabbed a backpack and ran inside, looking for I guess the clerk. I saw him grab her and drag her to the front to the counter, something wasn't right when I saw that, so me being concealed carry, I had my gun on me and I just waited," the customer added in a comment to local outlet CBS News 19.
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Gas prices above $3 per gallon are displayed at a QuikTrip (QT) gas station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S., on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011. Oil prices surged to the highest level in more than two years as intensifying violence in Libya fueled concern that supplies from the holder of Africa's largest crude oil reserves may be disrupted. Photographer: Shane Bevel/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The individual asked to remain anonymous.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I walked up to the door and I saw him with a knife to her throat. She was emptying out the cash register and I took a step in and peeked my head in to ask if everything was okay. I couldn't see his face, but he was saying yes, but I could see her face she was saying no, she was scared," he continued.
According to the gun owner's account of events, Bush then ran from around the counter to attack before the customer fired approximately four shots, dropping him to the ground.
"Taking somebody's life is not an everyday thing, neither is saving someone's life," the customer told local outlets.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Consumers pump gas at a QuikTrip gas station on May 11, 2021, in Smyrna, Georgia. - Fears the shutdown of a major fuel pipeline would cause a gasoline shortage led to some panic buying and prompted US regulators on May 11, 2021 to temporarily suspend clean fuel requirements in three eastern states and the nation's capital. A ransomware attack Friday on Colonial Pipeline forced the company to shut down its entire network, though industry experts say any shortages will be temporary. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage / AFP) (Photo by ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images)
The customer stayed at the scene until authorities arrived. Bush was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead. Police found that Bush's black SUV was a stolen vehicle from nearby Maryland Heights.
The QuikTrip customer is only the latest in a string of high-profile self-defense shootings across the country.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Charges were dropped Tuesday against a New York City bodega worker arrested for the murder of a man seen on surveillance video first coming behind the cashier's desk and attacking the employee.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office faced harsh criticism for bringing the charge against Jose Alba earlier this month despite footage suggesting the deadly stabbing was justified as self-defense.