Police identify 20-year-old man killed during robbery try in Wilmington
By IRA PORTER • The News Journal • November 18, 2009
One of two or three men trying to rob a Wilmington liquor store Tuesday night was shot and killed by a store clerk who exchanged fire with the bandits in the store, police said.
Late this afternoon police said they had identified the dead man as 20-year-old Kendel Miller of the 500 block of W. 39th Street in Wilmington.
Master Sgt. Steven Barnes said Miller, killed in the 9:30 p.m. gunfire at Favor's Liquor Store, 1020 N. Walnut St., was able to exit the store and stagger 40 feet along a sidewalk before collapsing. Paramedics treated him, and he was rushed to Christiana Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:15 p.m.
A second holdup man fled on foot and police used a dog to try and track him in the area near the store along 10th and 11th streets. Barnes said there may have been a third robber.
Police said they found a .22-caliber handgun in the store dropped by one of the men attempting the robbery.
The 55-year-old clerk, who police did not identify, was interviewed at police headquarters.
Two women were in the back of the store at the time of the robbery, but Barnes said they were not directly involved. They also were interviewed at police headquarters.
Police said the men wearing masks entered the store brandishing handguns and ordered the clerk to hand over money from the register. They then rounded the counter in an attempt to get at the register and grab the cash themselves.
But the clerk also had a gun and opened fire, striking one of the masked men and forcing both to flee. Police do not know if the other gunman was hit during the exchange and were checking to see if any other gunshot victims show up at local hospitals.
Passers-by asked police about what happened as traffic was blocked off between 10th and 11th on Walnut.
A woman, who did not want to give her name, said she frequents the store, and the clerk is a "nice man."
"He usually has good deals on his cigarettes and beer," she said. "If someone tried to rob his store what was he supposed to do? He had to protect himself."
