VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) — Virginia Beach police are trying to identify a "person of interest" after a shooting inside a 24-hour Harris Teeter grocery store.
Emergency dispatchers received a call about the shooting that came during an attempted robbery around 12:45 a.m. Wednesday. When police got to the grocery store at 5060 Ferrell Pkwy., they found a store worker who had been hurt. Officers expect him to survive.
A Harris Teeter employee told police that three men walked into the store and tried to rob it. The men, who wore dark clothing and face masks, ran away empty-handed. At least one of them had a gun.
Danna Robinson, Communication Manager for Harris Teeter, provided 13News Now with this statement:
"We regret this incident occurred inside our store, and we are extremely grateful that our valued associate's injuries do not appear to be life-threatening. This is an active investigation, and Harris Teeter will continue to assist Virginia Beach Police in their efforts."
As a result of the shooting, the company said the store no longer would be open 24 hours; instead, it will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Some grocery shoppers were shaken up by the crime. Eddie Sal, a regular shopper, said the grocery store is normally quiet.
"I'm shocked that it's so close to home," said Sal.
He normally gets gas at the nearby Wawa, then goes across the street to buy his groceries at Harris Teeter. On Wednesday afternoon, he was feeling lucky. He normally swings by the grocery story after work, just past midnight. That's around the time the attempted robbery occurred.
"It could've been me," said Sal.
Another woman who asked not to be named said the crime is making her rethink if she'll continue to shop at that Harris Teeter location.
"I know they're opening another Harris Teeter closer to our house, so we might start frequenting that one in the future. But for now, just not coming at night, coming in the morning is definitely gonna be more of a priority," she said.
Anyone with information regarding this crime is encouraged to call Virginia Beach Crime Solvers at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (1-888-562-5887) or by texting "VBTIP" and the information to CRIMES (274637).