Circle K clerk Jennifer Wertz who shot an armed robber Monday afternoon told KOAT-TV that management has suspended her for two weeks following the incident.
She said robberies happen all the time and yet workers are told they can’t defend themselves.
Wertz said she had her gun with her Monday because she was supposed to work until 10 p.m. at the store at Eubank and Candelaria NE, KOAT reported. She said she feels uncomfortable walking to her car at night.
Wertz put her gun in her pocket after she heard that another nearby convenience store was just robbed. She said she was not behind the counter when a man barged in with a gun.
“We are not to chase or provoke. We are just supposed to stand there and give them what they want and they leave,” she said.
She told KOAT that she chose to confront the robber because, “I’m sick and tired of being a sitting duck. He pointed the gun at my face, I grabbed my gun from my pocket, I cocked it and I shot.”
KOAT reached out to Circle K management about the incident, but they declined to comment.
The clerk who shot Mendez is not facing any charges, police said.
Earlier Tuesday, police have identified the man they say was shot and injured as he tried to rob the convenience store as 23-year-old Ferron Mendez.
“He will be booked (into jail) upon his release from the hospital,” Tixier said.
Mendez has no criminal history in New Mexico, according to online court records. Tixier said that the suspect has a Pennsylvania driver’s license, but that he didn’t know whether he has a criminal history there.
Journal Staff Writer Elise Kaplan contributed to this report
