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BAY POINT — A convenience store clerk said Monday he didn’t realize how seriously he was in danger until he saw video of his fight with an armed robber, a struggle that culminated in the clerk shooting and fatally wounding the suspect late Sunday.
The exchange of gunfire was caught in a dramatic security-camera video at Kam’s Market in the 200 block of Port Chicago Highway.
The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the shooting but did not identify the suspect who was fatally shot or provide any details Monday, saying only that they are investigating. Coroner’s deputies confirmed that they were called to the area.
Video of the confrontation, obtained by this newspaper, shows two people with their faces covered entering the store around 11 p.m. Sunday as the cashier works behind the cash register. One suspect turns into the store aisles, while the other heads directly behind the counter.
The suspect can be seen holding a gun as he approaches the cashier, pistol-whipping him and pushing him to the ground before grabbing cash from the register. As the suspect is momentarily distracted, the clerk grabs for a gun in a drawer right next the register.
The suspect and the clerk struggle briefly, then a gunshot rings out, then a second. Both robbers flee the store within seconds, while another employee, who was being held at gunpoint by the second robber, comes to the clerk’s aid.
The suspect shot by the clerk collapsed about a block outside the store, which is near Lynbrook Street. Police have not given any description of the second suspect, nor announced any arrest.
The employee was treated at the emergency room and released and returned to the store later Monday. He told television station ABC7 that he was not afraid to return to work even though emergency room nurses said that they could see the imprint of a gun in his head.
We just talked to the clerk who was pistol whipped during a robbery last night. He says the ER nurses told him they could see the imprint of the gun in his head. He is ok. He shot and killed his attacker. pic.twitter.com/0yfIbSYGRi
— Amy Hollyfield (@amyhollyfield) December 23, 2019
Owner Kamal Sandhu identified the employee as Mark Kasprowicz and said he is a military veteran who has worked for years at the store.
“It’s pretty heroic,” he said. “The guy was on top of him and hurting his back, and I think that’s why he tried to get up and get the gun.”
Kasprowicz told reporters he didn’t realize how dangerous the incident was until he watched the video.
“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,” Kasprowicz told ABC7. “Sure he is deceased now but then again I’m lucky to be alive, I am lucky my co-worker is alive.”
Sandhu said Kasprowicz acted despite grave danger.
“It was kind of a last-chance thing, like a him-or-me thing,” Sandhu said. “I think the (suspect) got scared and he yelled to the other guy, ‘He’s got a gun.’ When they tried to run, (Kaprowicz) shot. He didn’t miss.”
The store was operating normally Monday morning, though Sandhu said he had received threats phoned to him after the incident.
