Air Force veteran working as grocery store clerk shoots and kills robber who pistol-whipped him
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: An Air Force veteran working as a cashier at a northern California supermarket shot and killed an armed suspect after the suspect clocked him in the head with his firearm. The unsettling incident unfolded at Kam's Market in Bay Point, California, located in the San Francisco Bay area, at around 11 pm on Sunday, December 22, according to KGO-TV.
Surveillance video from the store captured the moment two armed men stormed inside the establishment, with one of them approaching veteran Mark Kasbrowicz behind the register and hitting him in the head with his gun, knocking him down.
The other intruder had gone to the back and held another employee hostage as the first started grabbing any cash he could get his hands on. But he didn't expect Kasbrowicz to put up a fight, with the veteran not staying down even as the gunman tried to push him away.
"I don't know if it was fear and adrenaline kicked in together, but I tried to protect myself a little. He forced me onto the ground, he held me down," Kasbrowicz revealed.
It was here that the situation started to escalate, when the suspect noticed that Kasbrowicz had managed to get his hands on the store gun. He started hitting the veteran and one of the guns went off, causing him to flee the store.
As he was running, another shot rang out. This round hit one of the suspects, who collapsed and died at the scene. "I just looked around, and he was running, and just by instinct, I let go a shot," Kasprowicz said. "I managed to squeeze off one round, and apparently after the fact, I found out that I actually hit him."
Kasprowicz, who had two decades in private security after he served in the Air Force, had to get 17 staples to his head for his injuries, and while the second suspect escaped, he's thankful that he's still alive.
"Sure he is deceased now but then again I'm lucky to be alive, I am lucky my co-worker is alive," he said. "I was certainly in shock when I saw the video. I didn't know how serious it was until I actually saw it."
Police later revealed the identity of the dead suspect as 31-year-old Michael Andrew of Merced and are still searching for his partner.
Anyone with any information on this case is asked to contact the Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600. For any tips, email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call (866) 846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.