Caught on camera: Livonia clerk assaulted by armed thief

LIVONIA, Mich. (WXYZ) — Livonia police are working to track down two guys who robbed the 7-11 at 7 Mile and Inkster Road on Feb. 13 at 1 a.m.

Surveillance video shows them entering the store. You can see one of them locks the door. The other is armed with a shotgun and jumps over the counter. The clerk complies with their demands and opens both registers.

"Immediate shock," said the clerk, who asked for his name to be withheld. "I'm literally thinking, OK... give these guys what they want."

The armed thief then demands more money. You can see him assault the clerk with his shotgun.

"He's asking him where the money's at, where the safe's at," said Capt. Ron Taig with Livonia police. "He's striking him with the long gun while he's doing that."

Police say the clerk is then forced into a back room at gunpoint, but he doesn't know the combination. The clerk is left there and the thieves take off.

The clerk calls 911 and says, "I'm bleeding right now. I got busted on the side of the head."

He was left with cuts to his ear and bruises to his chest and ribs.

"They already knew what they were going for when they had a gun in my face," the clerk said. "I didn't need to be hit. They didn't need to do anything else. I was at the strict mercy of a gun."

Livonia police say they've reached out to other metro Detroit police departments to see if they've had any similar armed robberies that could be connected.

"They have masks on but look at the clothing," Taig said. "Look at the hoodie, that hat our one subject is wearing as he's striking the clerk."

The clerk said it was a frightening experience that he's still recovering from.

"Dude threatens your life, what do you do," the clerk asked. "You give them what you want to make sure that you're still standing."

If you have information that can help investigators, please give Livonia police a call.