A man who was trying to rob a Verizon Wireless store in Inver Grove Heights on Thursday morning was shot by a clerk during an exchange of gunfire, police said.

The man, who is believed to be in his mid to late 20s, has several gunshot wounds and was taken by ambulance under police custody to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Lt. Joshua Otis said. His condition is unknown.

A male accomplice who fled the store after the shooting remains at large.

Police were called to the store — The Cellular Connection, at the northeast corner of Concord Boulevard and Cahill Avenue — about 11 a.m. for an armed robbery in progress. While officers were responding, dispatch relayed that shots were fired and at least one person had been hit. Related Articles St. Paul PD highlights surveillance photos of looting suspects, seeks tips

Maplewood police asking for help in fatal pedestrian hit-and-run Saturday night

Man pleads guilty to poaching black bear on northern Minnesota reservation

Oakdale man sentenced to 30 years for death of West St. Paul father shot as 2-year-old son slept beside him

Therapy dog-in training stolen in St. Paul found, reunited with owners

When they arrived at the scene, officers found the wounded suspect on the ground near the back of the store.

During a preliminary investigation, police learned multiple gunshots were fired inside the store, located in the Concord Crossroads strip mall.

According to police, the two suspects, one of them brandishing a gun, approached the male clerk in the employee area in the back of the store.

While being held at gunpoint, the clerk drew his own gun from his waistband and shot the suspect who had the gun. The second suspect ran out of the store and fled the area in a vehicle.

An employee of a dentist office next door told a police dispatch operator the suspect fled south on Concord Boulevard in a light-blue minivan that has a dent in the rear bumper, according to dispatch audio posted online by MN Police Clips.

South St. Paul police, St. Paul police K-9, the Minnesota State Patrol and the Dakota County sheriff’s office helped search the area for the suspect; he was not located.

The motive behind the robbery — whether they were after cash or cellphones — was unclear, Otis said.

“Whatever their intent was, it occurred behind the retail sales floor,” Otis said, adding that the suspect still at large did not make off with either cash or store goods.

The gun used in the robbery was recovered at the scene.

The store clerk has a permit to carry a firearm, Otis said.

No one else was in the store at the time of the attempted robbery and shooting, Otis said. The clerk had been waiting on a customer just before the attempted robbery, and “it appears the (suspects) hung around inside the store until she left,” Otis said.

Nancy Brown was sitting in a dentist’s chair at Metro Dental next door and heard the shooting.

“I was talking to the dentist and her assistant was there, too, and we heard three loud bangs just on the other side of the wall where we were sitting,” Brown, 63, said. “And the assistant said, ‘Those were gunshots!’ And the dentist said, ‘Oh no, no, no … it can’t be.’ So we finished our little talk and about a couple minutes later we went to the front door and we were locked in with about 20 squad cars out there. They said we were not allowed to go out there.”

Brown said the magnitude of the ordeal didn’t hit her until she was driving back to her Inver Grove Heights home.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God! What if a bullet went through the wall? It could’ve hit either the dentist or myself.’ Then I started shaking and got pretty shook up,” Brown said.