Long Beach residents Tuesday were furious that the gunman who shot a beloved store clerk during a robbery one night earlier was still at large.
With the help of community members, police are investigating the shooting that occurred about 7:50 p.m. at the Cerritos Mini Market in the 1100 block of east 7th Street.
Police said a lone gunman walked into the store, shot the clerk in the upper torso and fled with an unknown amount of cash.
"Right away when they said Cerritos, we knew it was Felix," said Long Beach resident Anisel Sanchez.. "He's a wonderful guy. It's a shame somebody had to do that."
The victim's son said his father was able to open his eyes and squeeze his hand during a hospital visit. The man was in critical condition.
"He's doing all right, he's coping through this," said the victim's son, Sergio Avelar.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
Many described the victim, who was also the owner of the store, as a man who kept to himself.
Police were able to obtain surveillance video from the scene. It was not made immediately clear if the video showed footage from inside or outside of the mini market.
Neighboring stores acknowledged the dangers in their community well before the botched robbery.
The owner of Pete’s Market across the street from the Cerritos Mini Market sat behind a bullet-proof glass for years as he rang up customers.
Residents of the community told NBC4 the victim was a fixture in the neighborhood, he was well-respected and was the kind of guy that would give customers a break if they were short on change.
"I'm shocked to hear what happened," neighbor Chris Cejnar said.
