SAN ANTONIO – The owner of a Northeast Side convenience store said a clerk who was shot during an apparent robbery Wednesday night may not have understood the gunman’s demands.
Vikas Gohil, the owner of El Sendero Food Mart, said the 33-year-old clerk speaks very little English.
He believes the language barrier may have played a role in the shooting, which happened inside the store on El Sendero Street near Thousand Oaks, shortly before 10:30 p.m.
The clerk was shot one time in his upper body.
“The doctor said the bullet went through, (to the) outside. That’s why he’s safe now,” Gohil said.
The business owner said the worker is expected to recover.
Gohil shared surveillance video of the incident with KSAT 12 News in the hope that it might lead to the capture of the gunman.
The video shows a tall, thin man, wearing a face mask and hoodie. The man enters the business, and then walks toward the back of the store.
A few seconds later, the man rushes toward the counter where he pulled a gun from his pocket and quickly fired.
Based on the counter on the video, about four seconds elapsed between the time the suspect pulled the gun and pulled the trigger.
“And he said, ‘Give me money,’” Gohil said, referring to words the gunman allegedly uttered before the shooting.
The video shows, after being wounded, the clerk ducked down momentarily, but then grabbed a cell phone and calmly made a call for help.
San Antonio police and paramedics arrived later and took the worker to a hospital.
“I’m still worried about my employee,” Gohil said, wiping away tears. “He’s like a family member.”
While the clerk survived the shooting, Gohil said everyone who knows him is devastated.
Gohil described the clerk as being kind and helpful, someone who has made a positive impact on customers.
He said nothing like this has happened at his business during the decade that he has owned it.
Police are still looking for the shooter.
More coverage of this story on KSAT: