Store clerk fatally shot in 'tragic' altercation over stolen chips; two people arrested

A convenience store clerk in Texas was fatally shot following an altercation with two people who stole a bag of chips.

Humble Police Department Assistant Chief Dan Zientek said police were called at around 11:30 a.m. on Friday about a shooting in Humble, a town roughly 20 miles north of Houston.

When police arrived they found a man fatally shot inside a car in the median, Zientek said during a press conference on Friday.

“No one ever anticipates just going to work that day and not coming home,” he said.

Officials said the 42-year-old man was an employee at a Sunoco, who followed two suspects in his car after he caught them shoplifting.

Surveillance footage released by police shows two men in black hoodies entering the convenience store, with the employee right behind them. The two men wander around the store as the employee begins to mop the store.

The two suspects could be seen stopping in the chips aisle and one appears to put a bag of chips in his pants. They are then confronted by the clerk but leave the store and flee on foot. The clerk then follows them in his car.

“They started shooting at him, at which he tried to reverse his car and ended up on the median,” Zientek said.

The suspects then fled in two separate directions, police said.

Police said the clerk had only worked at the convenience store for a few months.

“You’ve lost a great citizen who’s just trying to work and do their job, and instead we have two people that also have ruined their lives because they will be going to jail,” Zientek said.

On Sunday night, police announced that both suspects were found and brought into custody.

The Humble Police Department alongside the Harris County Sheriff's Office and the Houston Police Department searched for the suspects using a helicopter, drones, and dogs.

Zientek said the suspects could face capital murder charges.

"It's tragic in many aspects," Zientek said. "It's tragic all the way around."