A man who was armed with a BB pistol and attempted to rob a Domino's Pizza in Blytheville on Sunday evening was fatally shot by a store employee, Blytheville Police Chief Ross Thompson said.
Police found Thomas Eldon "Tony" Price of Little Rock lying in the doorway of the pizza store at 400 N. Sixth St. after they were called about a reported robbery and shooting. The store is at the corner of North Sixth Street and Lumerate Street, across from Blytheville Middle School.
Thompson said an employee told officers Price was carrying a Powerline 5501 Daisy BB gun when he entered the store at 10:30 p.m. Sunday. He was wearing a jacket with the hood pulled over his head, the police report said.
The chief said Price "cycled" the weapon, meaning he slid a bolt back on top of the gun, mimicking the action of a semi-automatic handgun.
Thompson said although Price lived in Little Rock, he had an "extensive" criminal history in Blytheville and had been convicted on felony drug charges in the past.
The store clerk fired several times, Thompson said, striking Price "multiple times."
Mississippi County Coroner Mike Godsey pronounced Price dead at the store.
Authorities did not identify the store employee who shot Price.
"We must say that we're horrified by the chain of events last night, and we are grateful that the employee in the store was not hurt," Domino's Pizza spokesman Tim McIntyre said in a statement issued from the company's headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich.
"It was an extremely traumatic event," McIntyre said in the release.
McIntyre said Domino's and the independent franchise owner of the store have no-weapon policies for employees.
The Blytheville store owner has given his employee paid time off and access to a counselor.
"The primary concern at this point is the well-being of the employee, who was faced with a life-threatening situation when all he was doing was trying to earn a living making pizza," McIntyre said in the release.
It's the second time an employee has fired at a would-be robber at the North Sixth Street store, Thompson said.
In late 2014, a female employee fired shots at three people who attempted to rob the store. There were no injuries, and police later arrested and convicted the three for robberies in the neighboring town of Gosnell, Thompson said.
The chief said officers continue to investigate Sunday's shooting. He did not say if the employee faced any criminal charges.
"We've received a lot of comments about this," Thompson said "It touches on the emotions of society and their frustration with the justice system on both sides of the issue."
Information for this article was contributed by Kally Patz of Arkansas Online.
State Desk on 08/08/2017