Clerk tries to stop convenience store robbery

BELMONT, Mass. (WHDH) -- Police are investigating an armed attack in Belmont. The suspect fired a shot when a clerk tried to stop him from robbing a convenience store on Sunday.

Officers dusted for fingerprints hoping the robber left behind a clue that will break this case wide open.

Belmont police say a man with a gun, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a scarf covering his face, barged into the Star K convenience store on Pleasant Street around 6 p.m.

Irina Karaivanova was alone behind the counter. Police say she tried to stop the robber from getting to the register, but he fired a single shot.

“You do it instinctively to protect,” she said.

No one was hit. The robber still wanted money, but he needed to get past 62-year-old Karaivanova.

“I was fighting him not to reach the register,” she said. “I was pulling his hands, pulling his hat, his glasses -- pulling him back.”

Karaivanova pulled off the robber’s hat and the scarf he was using to cover his face. He grabbed some money, but struggled to leave the store.

By the time officers arrived, the suspect was gone. Karaivanova was taken to the hospital to be checked out.

She said it was the first time she’s been robbed and she refused to be a victim.

“You don’t think in that moment,” she said. “You believe you can win; you believe you’re stronger.”

There are several surveillance cameras at the convenience store and police are checking those tapes.