AKRON, Ohio — A dispute over incorrect change at an Akron convenience store resulted in the shooting of an uninvolved customer.
Akron police say it was around 9:15 p.m. Thursday when officers responded to the scene in the 800 block of Lovers Lane where the cashier told authorities the dispute escalated after the man made threats to kill her.
“During the encounter, the man began damaging the store, throwing items at the cashier and trying to grab her through the plexiglass divider,” Akron police said in a press release Friday.
The cashier pulled out a handgun during the altercation, which police say discharged and "struck an uninvolved customer inside the store in the upper body."
The victim, identified only as a 48-year-old man, was taken to an Akron hospital where he’s listed in critical condition.
The man accused in the dispute with the cashier – who has been identified as 34-year-old Andre Lee – allegedly fled the store after the shooting, but was later taken into custody after detectives traced him back to an address in the 800 block of Bertha Avenue.
Both Lee and the cashier were separately taken to the police station for questioning.
Police say Lee was charged with aggravated menacing in connection with the incident inside the store. Police say he also had two unrelated outstanding warrants for his arrest, including one for a felony offense.
The clerk’s handgun was recovered at the scene. Police have not released her name.
The incident remains under investigation.
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Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in an unrelated story on Sept. 2, 2022.