Store clerk shot and killed at L&C store during armed robbery

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) -A man was shot was and killed Monday night while working at L&C Convenience Store in Macon.

According to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, deputies got a call after 10:00 PM from two customers who walked into the store, and found 42-year-old Brijesh Patel behind the counter bleeding. The cash register was open and empty. Patel was shot multiple times and was taken to Navicent Health where he was later pronounced dead.

“The things that are going on in our neighborhoods now, it’s unbelievable,” said Winfred Felts, a periodic customer of the store. “There has to be something deeply rooted that’s wrong with a person that could do something like this.”

The person or people who shot Patel several times, haven’t been caught. Similar to what happened about a year ago.

“Same store was robbed, same victim was actually shot. That’s still an active case. No information has come forward on that,” said Captain Shermaine Jones, investigator for the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.

On July 28,2016, Patel was shot in the leg while two suspects took money and left. Now, investigators are trying to determine if the two robberies are related.

“We want to make sure that this isn’t a spill over from the last case,” said Capt. Jones. “Small things like that that we want to make sure that we follow every aspect and every lead.

For now, investigators will comb through surveillance video, question witnesses and dig a little deeper to get answers for Patel’s family and community.

“Something has to change and there’s no doubt about it. The killing, the pain, the hurt,” said Felts. “We’ve got to get to the bottom of what’s going on with people that can do stuff like this.”

The incident is still under investigation. Anyone with any information can contact the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office at 478-751-7500 or call Macon Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-877-68CRIME.