JSO says man trying to rob Metro PCS store was shot

Police are investigating after a man tried to rob a cellphone store and got shot in the process.

It happened early Wednesday evening at a Metro PCS store near Sunbeam Road and Hood Road.

Just a few doors down from the store, there is a barbershop where a Metro PCS employee ran for help after the would-be robber was shot.

Brian Alverenga works at the barbershop. He said it was a Metro PCS employee who pulled the trigger.

“One of the gentlemen that works at Metro PCS came and got our attention through the glass. We came outside and noticed he had his gun drawn and said he had just shot somebody,” Alverenga said.

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Alverenga and his colleagues quickly called police.

Officers confirmed the man who tried to rob the store was shot, but they wouldn’t say  who pulled the trigger. Alverenga said this isn’t the first time something like this has happened at that store.

"It happened a couple of months back, the same kind of incident like that in the morning. It was a Saturday morning, and he got robbed, but he didn’t get hurt or nothing,” Alverenga said.

Ashlin Quintana works at another store nearby, and she saw the aftermath of the incident.

“I saw a lot of cops. I thought they were chasing somebody, but then I saw a lot of people just running around, going crazy,” Quintana said.

She works at the Boost mobile store right across the street from the Metro PCS.

Police said early Wednesday evening, a man went inside trying to rob the place but instead he was shot. The incident left Quintana worried for her safety.

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“Yeah, I was really scared,” Quintana said.

Police have not confirmed the condition of the man who was shot. Alvarenga was not surprised by it happening. He’s just hoping it doesn’t happen again. Quntana said it’s incidents like this that make her scared to leave work when it's dark.

“Yeah, make me worry, definitely, because it can happen here, also,” Quintana said.

Action News Jax will continue to update this story with the latest information as it becomes available.

Cox Media Group