Port Royal police ask for help to identify suspected shooter in gas station robbery
The Port Royal Police Department is offering a cash reward after an armed robbery at a Parker’s gas station Wednesday afternoon led to a convenience store clerk being shot multiple times and rushed to the hospital.
The reward was initially posted for $6,000, but went up to $11,000 as of Thursday, according to a post on the Port Royal Police Department’s Facebook page. The reward will go to the person who gives information leading to the arrest of the suspected shooter, the post said alongside a photo of the masked suspect.
Around 5 p.m. Wednesday, officers from the Port Royal Police Department, the Beaufort Police Department and deputies from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the Parker’s gas station on Ribaut Road in Port Royal, according to a statement from the Port Royal Police Department. When they arrived, they found a clerk from the gas station’s convenience store had been shot multiple times in the robbery. The shooter took off in the direction of the City of Beaufort before police arrived. The clerk was transported to Beaufort Memorial Hospital.
As of Sunday, no arrests have been made in the case. The suspected shooter has been described as a Black man who was wearing dark pants, a black “stocking cap” and a blue hoodie at the time of the incident. The man was armed with a handgun and was wearing a COVID-19 mask, according to police.
Thursday morning, the convenience store was closed to the public as clean-up crews and police worked the scene. Multiple customers were turned away. In a statement, a representative from the company said that they were devastated by the shooting.
“Parker’s is also providing support to the injured team member and his family,” the company said in the statement. “The safety and wellbeing of our associates remains our highest priority. We encourage everyone to keep our team member in your thoughts and prayers during this time.”
Wednesday’s incident was the second armed robbery in the area this past week. On Monday, two store clerks were held at gunpoint by a robber carrying a black Glock handgun at a Dollar General on Ribaut Road. The suspected robber in that incident has been described to police as about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighing between 165 and 180 pounds. No arrests have been made in that incident as of Sunday.
Anyone with information regarding the shooting may call non-emergency dispatch at 843-524-2777 or Cpl. Norman McCown at 843-986-2247.
