A Tyler store clerk recalls the moment she pulled a stun gun on an attempted robber early Tuesday.
Rachel Smith was in the middle of a shift change at Pac-N-Save in the 400 block of SSE Loop 323 around 12:30 a.m. when she said a man wearing a hoodie entered the store.
“I asked him to take it off, then I realized he had it up pretty high and he was still coming,” Smith said.
Police: Knife-wielding suspect chased by Tyler store clerk with taser
She said the suspect, described in a Tyler Police report as a young Hispanic male, pulled out a knife and demanded money. Smith said he made it behind the counter, but that is when she pulled out a stun gun and began to chase the suspect.
“I hit the button on it and it scared him,” Smith said, “He started hollering, ‘No,’ and ran toward the door so I followed him all the way to the door hitting this button.”
Tuesday’s attempted robbery comes just 24 hours after a convenience store on Shiloh Road was robbed. Smith said she heard about Monday’s robbery and became concerned when she saw a man wearing a hoodie enter her store. Tyler police have not linked the two cases as of late Tuesday morning. So far in October, there have been five robbery cases in the city of Tyler.
Because these incidents have been happening so often, the store owners say they make sure all their employees know what to do if they do encounter a robber.
“What happened last night didn’t shock us. We have three or four different gas stations it has happened multiple times there as well,” Walaed Iqbal said.
“All our employees now they don’t get shocked when this happens because they come across this quite a lot of times now. And they all are mentally prepared if something like this happened they know what to do,” he added.
As for the stun gun, Smith said she has had one for about a year while working overnights.
“I’m not weak,” Smith said, “You know I’m not going to put up with anyone trying to rob me, you know if I can.”
She added that she is normally cautious about who she lets in the store late at night, and if she had not been distracted by the shift change, said the suspect may have never made it inside.
“I don’t allow backpacks or big bags, hoodies you know, I want to see your face and you know I’m not going to accept anything different,” Smith said.
Tyler police are still investigating the attempted robbery, and ask anyone with information to contact police as soon as possible.
Stay protected by purchasing yourself a Stun Gun or Taser self defense device.
