Store Clerk Fights Off, Shoots Robber in Kentucky

— -- A clerk at a Lexington, Kentucky, tobacco store fended off an attempted robbery -- a tense altercation that was captured on the store’s surveillance camera.

Zara Adil, 21, was working Friday at Tobacco Zone when two men entered the store wearing masks. One of the men can be seen approaching the register and demanding cash, brandishing a handgun. Adil obliged, opening the register and then stepping away.

That’s when the would-be robber made his mistake -- setting down his gun to gather the money.

“So I picked up the gun and pointed it at the second guy, and said, ‘You run or I will shoot you,’” she told ABC affiliate WTVQ in an interview.

Despite the warning, the man approached.

Adil fired the gun, and the man was shot in the shoulder. A fight ensued -- and the man eventually ran away, without the money. Adil suffered a few minor injuries, but considered her actions justified in defending the store that her parents own and operate.

"If more people stand up, they won't have that much courage to go around and do what they're doing," she told WTVQ.

Lexington Police later issued a warrant for Darnell Thomas, Jr., 30, in connection with the armed robbery attempt.