7-11 employee shot in downtown Grover Beach, suspect arrested in SLO

Mackenzie Shuman, Kaytlyn Leslie
·3 min read

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>> Live updates: Grover Beach suspect arrested in San Luis Obispo after second shooting

Update, 4:45 p.m.: A man suspected of shooting a store clerk in Grover Beach was was reportedly arrested in San Luis Obispo after a second shooting on Thursday afternoon.

The second shooting took place at around 3:30 p.m. at the Panda Express fast food restaurant off Froom Ranch Way in San Luis Obispo, according to emergency scanner traffic.

Less than an hour later, a man matching the description of the suspect was escorted away from a home on Legacy Lane near San Luis Ranch Road around 4:20 p.m. Police officers in body armor were seen in the area, along with an armored vehicle.

A black Ford Mustang matching police’s description could also be seen parked on the street where the arrest occurred.

This man is suspected of shooting a clerk at a 7-11 convenience store in Grover Beach and another person at a Panda Express restaurant in San Luis Obispo on Aug. 17, 2023.
This man is suspected of shooting a clerk at a 7-11 convenience store in Grover Beach and another person at a Panda Express restaurant in San Luis Obispo on Aug. 17, 2023.

Original story:

One person was shot near downtown Grover Beach on Thursday afternoon and the suspect was on the loose after fleeing the scene, according to the Grover Beach Police Department.

The shooting happened at about 1 p.m. at the 7-11 convenience store near the intersection of Fourth Street and Grand Avenue, police said.

The person shot was being treated at a local hospital, Grover Beach Police Department Cmdr. Jim Munro told The Tribune on Thursday afternoon.

One person was shot at the 7-11 gas station at 4th Street and Grand Avenue in Grover Beach on Aug. 17, 2023.
One person was shot at the 7-11 gas station at 4th Street and Grand Avenue in Grover Beach on Aug. 17, 2023.

The shooting victim was “alert and talking to us” before being transported to the hospital, Munro added.

Munro also later confirmed the person shot was a 7-11 employee.

The suspect was last seen fleeing north on Fourth Street toward Highway 101 in a black Ford Mustang with “white stripes on the lower rocker panels of the doors,” police tweeted on Thursday afternoon. The license plate number was 6EZE426.

One person was shot at the 7-11 gas station at 4th Street and Grand Avenue in Grover Beach on Aug. 17, 2023. Police were looking for a suspect who fled the scene in a black Ford Mustang.
One person was shot at the 7-11 gas station at 4th Street and Grand Avenue in Grover Beach on Aug. 17, 2023. Police were looking for a suspect who fled the scene in a black Ford Mustang.

“The suspect is armed with a handgun,” the agency said via Twitter. “If you see this vehicle, call 911 and do not approach.”

The suspect was described as a white male wearing a silver necklace, a white T-shirt and camouflage-colored shorts, according to emergency radio traffic. He had a bandage on his arm.

He was last seen in Nipomo, police said.

Grover Beach police said in a separate tweet that there was no need to lock down schools in Grover Beach because the suspect had fled the city.

Witness describes Grover Beach shooting

Nancy Cameron was doing laundry in the laundromat next to 7-11 when she heard what sounded like a gunshot.

“I heard a first pop,” Cameron told The Tribune. “I went back to the store and I heard the second pop — saw (the victim) go down.”

Nancy Cameron, a witness to a shooting in Grover Beach on Aug. 17, 2023, describes how she held the victim’s neck to keep them from bleeding.
Nancy Cameron, a witness to a shooting in Grover Beach on Aug. 17, 2023, describes how she held the victim’s neck to keep them from bleeding.

Cameron rushed over and applied pressure to the bullet wound in the person’s neck, she said.

The person was coherent and talking as they waited for emergency personnel to get there, she added.

“It was scary,” Cameron said. “All of sudden it happened. I never saw the guy. I just heard the ‘pop-pops.’”

One person was shot near downtown Grover Beach on Thursday afternoon and the suspect was on the loose after fleeing the scene, according to the Grover Beach Police Department.
One person was shot near downtown Grover Beach on Thursday afternoon and the suspect was on the loose after fleeing the scene, according to the Grover Beach Police Department.

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