Suspect Armed With Knife, Gun Wanted In 7-Eleven Robbery Attempt

DEARBORN HEIGHTS (WWJ) - Authorities say one person is in custody but another remains at large following an overnight shooting and robbery at a 7-Eleven store in Dearborn Heights.

The incident happened early Thursday morning at the 7-Eleven on Cherry Hill near Inkster Road. Police say the suspect failed at his first attempt to rob the convenience store, so he got a firearm and came back for round two.

He first entered the store with a knife and announced a holdup, but the clerk chased him off with a baseball bat. A little while later the suspect returned, but his time he had a gun and he used it.

"Shots were fired inside. No one was hit, but there's some pretty shaken up people inside," Lt. Mark Meyers told WWJ's Mike Campbell.

One of those people is Benny Jet, who said the gunman completely caught him by surprise.

"I stop in for a coffee and a paper and all of a sudden, bing, bang, boom, excitement, danger, scary," said Jet. "We're there having a coffee, talking about sports and a crazy guy comes in and popped a machine gun off and we all ran out the door and got out as quick as we could. We called 911 and the cops were here instantly."

Surveillance video shows the suspect wasn't armed with a machine gun -- but he was carrying a handgun equipped with a long clip, which slightly resembled a machine gun.

After the shooting, the suspect grabbed some liquor bottles, ran out of the store and jumped into a waiting getaway car. Officers eventually caught up with that vehicle nearby in Inkster and after a brief chase, the driver was taken into custody.

The gunman remains at large.

An investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Dearborn Heights police at 313-277-6770.

Stay with WWJ Newsradio 950 and CBSDetroit.com for the latest.