Store clerk shot during E. Germantown robbery

An employee of an East Germantown corner store is clinging to life after a robber brutally shot him, police said.

The incident took place about 8:39 p.m. inside Prieza Grocery, located on Stafford Street near Price, according to police.

A gunman wearing a black ski mask burst into the store with a silver handgun drawn, Chief Inspector Scott Small said. He demanded money from the store's owner, who was standing behind the register with her two-year-old son.

Even though the bandit received the cash he so desperately wanted, he started firing his weapon inside the cramped store, Small said.

Three of those bullets struck a 53-year-old man as he was standing behind the deli counter at the back of the store. He was struck once near his right eye and twice in his left thigh and was taken by police to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where he remains tonight in critical condition.

His attacker fled after the shooting with an undisclosed amount of money, police said.

No one else in the store at the time of the incident, including two customers, were injured, Small said. They were taken to Northwest Detectives for questioning.

The store is brand new, Small said, and its surveillance cameras haven't yet been installed.

Word from the owner is that, ironically, they're due to be installed tomorrow.