A frightened New York store clerk fleeing armed robbers was accidentally shot and killed by a police officer he collided with early today, the NYPD says.

Reynaldo Cuevas, 20, was shot once in the left shoulder when he bolted from his uncle's Bronx bodega and plowed into the officer, who was rushing to the scene with his gun drawn about 2 a.m. ET. "Mr. Cuevas ... ran full-speed into the officer," Commissioner Ray Kelly said, according to the New York Daily News. "The two became entangled, at which point, we believe, the officer accidentally discharged his weapon."

"The events ... transpired in a matter of seconds and the collision between Mr. Cuevas and the officer in split seconds," Kelly said.

The New York Post explains how the robbery unfolded. A security camera captured the fatal collision.

The officer, a seven-year veteran, had never before fired his gun on-duty, Kelly said.

One of the three alleged robbers surrendered immediately to other officers and the other two were captured after a three-hour standoff. They have been charged with Cuevas' death.

Another officer responding to the robbery was seriously injured when his car collided with an SUV.

Cuevas had planned to enlist in the U.S. Army. He will be buried in his native Dominican Republic, where robbers killed his father during a chain-snatching two years ago.