N.C. Store Clerk Shoots and Kills Two Alleged Robbers After Vicious Beating

Two men are dead after they allegedly assaulted and tried to rob a store clerk in Gates County, North Carolina Tuesday night.

According to the clerk, the two men held him up at gunpoint and demanded money, before striking him to the floor and proceeding to kick him repeatedly.

Authorities said he was so badly beaten that he actually had the imprint of a boot on his chest at the end of the night.

The men were seemingly unaware that the clerk had a gun of his own in the store, and according to News Channel 3, he managed to grab it and shoot one of the suspects in a behind-the-back shot.  After that men fled, he shot the other as well.

Watch the full story, below:

Police found one of the bodies near the store, and the other roughly a quarter mile down the road.

At this point, authorities speculate there may have been a "getaway man" involved, who simply drove away when he saw all that had happened.

The store clerk was hospitalized for significant bruising on his head, chest, and back, but has already been released and was able to give a statement to police that enabled them to fully begin the investigation.

Authorities say they are looking in to whether the suspects are related to a string of other robberies in the area, though reports have not yet detailed the suspects' descriptions.

UPDATE:

Via WAVY:

The Gates County Sheriff's Office has confirmed the identities of two suspects involved in a store shooting.

Officials say brothers Quinten Felton and Eddie Felton were shot and killed after an attempted robbery at Joppa Road Store located at the intersection of Acorn Hill Road and Hinton Road in North Carolina around 6 p.m. Tuesday.

[...]

Eddie graduated Perquimans County High School in 2010, and Quinten was supposed to graduate this year. The school confirms that Eddie was a varsity football player and was ranked third in the state for basketball .

"He was an all around good student," said principal Chante Lassiter, who remembers Eddie. "Very liked by his peers and teachers here in the community."

Quinten was a senior honor-roll student at Perquimans County High School.

[...]

Funeral home obituaries list Quinten as 17 years old and Eddie as 20 years old.

The suspects' cousin, Sandra Felton, concluded: "I know it was a terrible thing on the other part," in reference to the attack on the clerk, "But still, we cannot forget that we have lost two lives, no matter what."

(H/T: Fark)