Man shot in leg at Exxon station in New Stanton; suspect being questioned

By Paul Peirce
Staff Reporter
Tribune-Review

Published: Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013, 3:54 p.m.

A man was shot in the thigh Tuesday afternoon at the Exxon station in New Stanton and a suspect is being questioned, state police said.

A Hunker man said he stopped to get fuel and cigarettes around 3 p.m. at the Exxon convenience store at Byers and Center avenues on his way to work at a nearby beer distributor.

After he stepped outside the store, Bobby Wilson, 41, saw two men arguing near one of the gas pumps.

“One of the men, a Hispanic male, had a .45-caliber gun and was pointing it at a white male,” Wilson said. “The white male disarmed him, took the gun and twice told the Hispanic male to back up.”

Wilson said that within seconds the white man shot the Hispanic man in the thigh. Wilson confronted the shooter and demanded that he surrender the gun.

“He said, ‘I don't know who you are,'” Wilson said. “I told him, ‘All you gotta know is I have a 4-year-old daughter and I'm not going to get hit by a stray bullet walking back to my car.'”

State police Lt. James P. Shaw said investigators are conducting interviews to determine what happened. One person was taken to the state police station for questioning, police said.

“We know there was some kind of altercation here,” Shaw said.

The victim's injuries are not life-threatening, police said. The man was flown by medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital.

Wilson said he wasn't thinking about anything but disarming the shooter. He returned to the convenience store with the surrendered firearm, unloaded it and called police.

“I told them when they come, I have the gun and I don't wanna be shot,” Wilson said.

The convenience store reopened at 4:05 p.m.