A store clerk was shot in the hand Sunday during an attempted armed robbery in Otay Mesa, police said.
"You just hear the gunshot and you hear the bat fall," a witness who wished to remain anonymous told NBC 7. He said the victim hit the suspect with the bat a number of times before he was shot.
The shooting happened around 4:30 p.m. when a man in his mid-30s walked into Beyer Liquor Store, 880 Beyer Way, demanding cash, according to the San Diego Police Department.
A fight broke out between the clerk and suspect and the clerk was shot on the hand, police said.
"It looked like his plan wasn't executed well, so he just had a panic attack and he ran off," the witness added. "It makes me kind of nervous because he is still out here, and I'm sure it is not the only time he going to do something."
The victim is a father of three and well-liked in the community.
"That's pretty bad because Chris never does anything wrong to anybody," neighbor Byron Peck said.
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The witness described the suspect as a light-skinned man nearly 6 feet tall. He was wearing a blue baseball cap, white long-sleeve shirt and blue jean shorts with a red bandana partially covering his face. He said the suspect was carrying a semi-automatic handgun.
Ivan Mira, who was baking pizza in the next shop over, came to the victim's aid and bandaged his hand.
"He was all yellow, his face all yellow. He was hurting, was scared," Mira told NBC 7.
The clerk was taken to the hospital with a non-life-threatening injury, police said.
Police said no money was taken and the suspect fled the scene.
Anyone with information about the incident can contact police or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
