HOUSTON -- The owner of a northwest Houston smoke shop said one of his employees shot and killed a man during an armed robbery attempt late Monday night.
Harris County Sheriff's Office detectives were on the scene for hours overnight at the Happy Daze Smoke Shop on Antoine near Frick Road.
The owner said his employee who pulled the trigger is a veteran who served in Afghanistan. He has certainly dealt with stress before, but he said what happened last night was still a shock because it was so unexpected.
The employee and a customer were inside the store just before closing around 10 when four young men in their older teens or early 20s pulled up in an SUV. He said the driver stayed behind the wheel while the other three ran in with their faces covered -- two with duffel bags and the third with a gun.
Before that man could get off a shot, the owner said his employee pulled out a 9 mm pistol and shot him twice, once in the chest and once in the stomach.
The owner, who did not want to be identified for safety reasons, told us surveillance video shows the armed man drop then stumble out of the store while the other two men ran toward the getaway vehicle.
"He fell at the end of the car, and then they took off," said the owner. "They probably don't even know what happened to their buddy 'cause they just took off, like 'See ya later' type stuff."
The employee and a customer were hurt during the robbery attempt. The suspects did not get away with any cash or property.
