Store clerk fatally shot during brazen robbery at 7-Eleven in Whittier

A clerk was shot and killed during a robbery at a 7-Eleven store in Whittier early Saturday despite complying with the gunman’s orders, police said.

A man with a semiautomatic handgun entered the store at in the 8400 block of Santa Fe Springs Road shortly before 5:45 a.m., said Officer Hugo Figueroa of the Whitter Police Department.

The clerk opened a cash register drawer and handed over money, but the suspect opened fire, according to investigators. The robbery was caught on a surveillance camera, authorities said. Video of the incident has not been released.

“There was no struggle,” Figueroa said. “The victim was complying and for whatever reason the shooter decided to shoot him and fled.”

The clerk, described as a man in his late 20s or early 30s, died at the scene, police said. His name was withheld pending notification of relatives.

The suspect was described as a man about 5 feet 6 to 5 feet 7 wearing a dark-colored hoodie with a light-colored hoodie underneath, black pants, gloves and a bandanna that partially covered his face.

Anyone with information was asked to contact Whittier Police Det. Jake Junge at (562) 567-9281.