Police in Palm Bay, Fla., are conducting a manhunt Sunday for at least three armed robbers who burst into a food store and killed a clerk, police said.
Police said the men were after beer and cash when they gunned down store owner Ken Patel, 49. The husband and father was working at the Beverage Store on Port Malabar Boulevard Sunday afternoon.
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As the robbers tried to escape, a customer was entering the store. They reportedly told him not to move. Police said once they left, however, he called for help.
Police are searching for three men a blue Pontiac, according to an alert issued moments after the shooting.
The men are considered armed and dangerous.
Detectives are also trying to determine if the deadly robbery was connected to a second crime earlier Sunday. Masked men allegedly entered the Malabar Discount Beverage on Babcock Street and tried to shoot the clerk, but the gun wouldn?t fire. A relative of Patel?s is believed to own the store.
The Beverage Store where Patel was killed is across the street from a police substation, but police said it is not staffed at all times.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 407-952-3456.