Gunman Kills North Hollywood 7-Eleven Clerk

A 38-year-old clerk at a convenience store was fatally shot in Van Nuys late Wednesday night as he reached into a cash drawer to comply with a gunman’s demand for money, Los Angeles police said.

By not resisting the robbery attempt, 7-Eleven store employee Shankar Roy of North Hollywood was following the procedure he had been taught, a 7-Eleven official said Thursday. But the assailant, who entered the store at 11:40 p.m. waving a handgun, shot him in the chest anyway and then fled without taking any money, Officer Terri Reitz said.

Roy was pronounced dead on arrival at Valley Hospital Medical Center in Van Nuys, a hospital spokeswoman said.

A co-worker said Thursday that Roy had worked since February at the convenience store at 16056 Sherman Way. He sent part of his salary to New Delhi to support his wife and four children, said Kashmir Singh, 32.

Roy lived with two nephews who also work at convenience stores in the San Fernando Valley, Singh said.

“He was very intelligent,” Singh said. “He graduated from an Indian University and I think he had a master’s degree in art.”

The Southland Corp. of Dallas, Texas, which franchises 7-Eleven stores, announced Thursday that it is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and indictment in the shooting.

Company spokeswoman Renee Haan said that, as part of a program the chain has instituted to reduce crime in the 24-hour stores, employees are instructed not to resist robbery attempts. They also are told to keep a minimum amount of money in the store to discourage robberies and to keep the windows clear so that passers-by can notice and report suspicious activity.

Haan said the company does not disclose the number of robberies and shootings at its stores but that crime has decreased 44% since the safety program was instituted.

Singh said he learned of the shooting at 1 a.m. Thursday, when he received a phone call asking him to come to work to take Roy’s place.

Singh said he will continue to work at the convenience store despite the incident. “I am not afraid,” he said.