Masked robbers beat up, shoot at Olympia clerk

THURSTON COUNTY, Wash. — The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office said a group of masked men robbed a convenience store, beat up the clerk and tried to shoot him.

“The suspect with the handgun fired one round at him. It did not hit him, luckily,” said Lt. Ray Brady, Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

Brady said the robbery happened just after 4 a.m. at the ampm Store on Martin Way in the Nisqually Valley.

Investigators are searching for four suspects. One of the suspects stayed in the car, one suspect stood by the front door and the two other suspects went inside the convenience store.

“The clerk, who had been outside the store, went inside and confronted them,” said Brady.

With so many people wearing face masks, the clerk thought the men might be customers. One of the suspects wore, what looks like, a white bandanna or medical mask.

“Certainly we’ve seen all different kinds of masks and face coverings that are commonly being worn at this point,” said Brady.

The suspects cornered the clerk behind the counter and demanded money.

Video shows the suspect in a Seahawks jersey and black ski mask point his gun right in the clerk’s face. Moments later, he starts charging at the clerk and smacks him repeatedly in the head with his gun.

A different camera angle shows the same suspect fall to the floor, which is when the clerk escapes.

The suspect in the jersey shoots at the clerk, but misses him and instead, hits a shelf, a case of Budweiser and the wall.

The clerk wasn’t seriously hurt. He ran outside, jumped in a car and sped away.

Shortly after, video shows one suspect run outside and then the other. Investigators said the men hopped into a light colored late model Chevy getaway car and headed toward I-5.

Workers at the ampm Store said the suspects stole some Juul products.

The store will be closed daily from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Anyone with information about the armed robbery is asked to call the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

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