SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — Shaker Heights police are searching for the suspect who opened fire and shot a clerk at the BP / 7-Eleven in the 20400 block of Chagrin Boulevard early Tuesday morning.
Police say it was around 6:33 a.m. when officers responded to the scene where an employee had been shot inside the store.
“Officers learned the employee, a 34-year-old Shaker Heights man, had been involved in a verbal altercation with an unknown male customer that escalated into a physical altercation where the customer produced a handgun and shot the employee multiple times, then left the area in a light-colored truck,” according to a press release from the Shaker Heights Police Department.
The worker actually called 911 and told dispatchers he had been shot and was assisted by another customer inside the store. He was taken to the hospital and is still being treated in an unknown condition.
Around 8 p.m., authorities identified the suspect as 31-year-old Shaker Heights resident William McClendon. A search of his Chagrin Boulevard home turned up nothing, but officials say he eventually surrendered "without incident" within the hour.
Prosecutors say McClendon shot 16 times, striking the victim eight times.
McClendon was arraigned in Shaker Heights Municipal Court on Wednesday morning where his bond was set at $500,000. His next court date is set for March 1 at 10:30 a.m.
7-Eleven, Inc. provided the following statement to 3News in response to the shooting: “The safety of customers, Franchisees and store associates is of the utmost importance. We are gathering information and working closely with local law enforcement.”
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