Store owner kills two black robbery suspects

Two men are dead after they allegedly assaulted and tried to rob a store clerk in Gates County, North Carolina Tuesday night.

According to the clerk, the two men held him up at gunpoint and demanded money, before striking him to the floor and proceeding to kick him repeatedly.

Authorities said he was so badly beaten that he actually had the imprint of a boot on his chest at the end of the night.

The men were seemingly unaware that the clerk had a gun of his own in the store, and according to News Channel 3,
he managed to grab it and shoot one of the suspects in a
behind-the-back shot. After that men fled, he shot the other as well.

Watch the full story, below:

Police found one of the bodies near the store, and the other roughly a quarter mile down the road.

At this point, authorities speculate there may have been a “getaway
man” involved, who simply drove away when he saw all that had happened.

The store clerk was hospitalized for significant bruising on his
head, chest, and back, but has already been released and was able to
give a statement to police that enabled them to fully begin the
investigation.

Authorities say they are looking in to whether the suspects are
related to a string of other robberies in the area, though reports have
not yet detailed the suspects’ descriptions.

UPDATE:

Via WAVY:

The Gates County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed the identities of two suspects involved in a store shooting.

Officials say brothers Quinten Felton and Eddie Felton were shot and
killed after an attempted robbery at Joppa Road Store located at the
intersection of Acorn Hill Road and Hinton Road in North Carolina around
6 p.m. Tuesday.

[...]

Eddie graduated Perquimans County High School in 2010, and Quinten
was supposed to graduate this year. The school confirms that Eddie was a
varsity football player and was ranked third in the state for basketball .

“He was an all around good student,” said principal Chante Lassiter,
who remembers Eddie. “Very liked by his peers and teachers here in the
community.”

Quinten was a senior honor-roll student at Perquimans County High School.

[...]

Funeral home obituaries list Quinten as 17 years old and Eddie as 20 years old.

The suspects’ cousin, Sandra Felton, concluded: “I know it was a
terrible thing on the other part,” in reference to the attack on the
clerk, “But still, we cannot forget that we have lost two lives, no
matter what.”

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Updated: Wednesday, 23 May 2012, 11:37 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 22 May 2012, 7:51 PM EDT

• Rachel West

GATES
COUNTY, N.C. (WAVY) - Two suspects have been shot and killed after an
attempted robbery at a store in Gates County, according to officials.

Sheriff
Edward Webb with the Gates County Sheriff’s Office told WAVY.com the
attempted robbery happened at the Joppa Road Store located at the
intersection of Acorn Hill Road and Hinton Road in North Carolina around
6 p.m.

Webb said two men wearing bandanas on their faces and armed with guns tried to rob the store’s owner, who is in his 60s.

"The
store clerk was knocked to the ground. He was kicked in the back of the
head, stomped on and kicked in the back of the ribs," Webb said.

When
the owner fell to the ground, he was able to grab a gun and shoot
blindly over his shoulder, hitting one suspect, Webb said. When the
owner got up, he shot the second suspect.

Webb told WAVY.com the suspects shot back at the owner, but he was not struck.

The
suspects fled out of the store. One collapsed just outside the door
while the other fled into a wooded area, where he also collapsed.

Both died at the scene.

"Unfortunately
they're just two young men that did something very uncalled for," said
Webb. "And, of course, they have paid the ultimate price."

According to Webb, the store’s owner was taken to Albemarle Hospital where he was treated and released.

Deputies
are searching for a third person they believe was a getaway driver for
the suspects. There is no description of that person at this time.

The
North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is assisting the Gates
County Sheriff’s Office with the investigation. Stay with WAVY.com for
the latest on this developing story.

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/crime/suspects-dead-in-attempted...

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/north_carolina/suspects-killed-b...