Robbers shoot Hollywood gas station clerk with BB gun over case of beer

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (FOX 11 / CNS) - A man was hospitalized Thursday after being shot four times -- including once in the head -- by a man with a BB gun during a robbery attempt at a gas station in Hollywood.

Officers were summoned just after 5 p.m. Wednesday to the intersection of Melrose and Western avenues, where they found a man in his 30s conscious and breathing, according to Los Angeles Police Department Officer Tony Im.

Security video of the incident showed a woman walking out of the store with beer she had not paid for and the clerk chase after her, returning moments later with the beer. The woman re-entered the store and an altercation took place between the woman and the clerk. At that time a man with a BB gun walked up and fired at the clerk as he fought on the ground with the woman.

"He (the alleged shooter) told him not to fight a woman,'' a witness who asked to remain anonymous told news outlets. "He pulled out the BB gun and shot him.''

"The male shoots the clerk four times, one in the head,'' LAPD Capt. David Kowalski told news outlets.

After the shooting, the woman allegedly was seen on security video kicking the clerk as he lay on the ground, then grabbing beer out of a cooler and walking out.

Both suspects remained at large.