KING-TV, Seattle

BURIEN, Wash. — A customer at a 7-Eleven shot and killed a hatchet-wielding man Sunday morning.

King County Sheriff Sgt. Cindi West said a man came into the store with a hatchet, attacking customers and a clerk before another customer shot and killed him.



The customer, a 60-year-old Seattle man, was not injured. West said ultimately the case will be forwarded to the prosecutor's office for evaluation, but the initial investigation showed no wrongdoing.

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“(The) customer, the shooter, is shaken up, but from everything that we see right now from the scene — there’s no wrongdoing on his part," West said. "In fact, he probably saved a life in this case.”



West said he has a valid concealed pistol license and is a regular at the store.



“There’s a chair that sits really close to the clerk’s counter. He was sitting back there having his morning coffee," West said. "The guy came in with a mask just swinging the hatchet at both of them.”



The clerk, a 58-year-old Seattle man, received a minor injury to his stomach from the hatchet attack.

“Fortunately, because of this customer with his weapon, this could have been a lot worse,” said West. "The clerk could be the one laying there dead on the floor right now and fortunately he's not, thanks to the customer."

The suspect, believed to be in his 40s, has not been identified. West said the man did not say anything when he came into the store and started swinging the hatchet. Medics tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.