L&M Grocery Owner Fires At Robber

At about 8:35 p.m. Tuesday, reports of shots being fired alerted Sebring police to an armed robbery at the L&M Food Store, located at 1411 Roseland Ave., in the Highlands Homes subdivision.

The store owner told police he was behind the counter helping a customer when a man walked into the store with a handgun and pointed it at him, demanding money.

The gunman, described as black, about 6-feet tall, wearing a dark blue colored long sleeve shirt with a hood, dark colored jeans and a dark mask over the lower half of his face, left with an undisclosed amount of cash as he ran out into the parking lot.

A witness told police the suspect spoke with a deep voice, according to the report.

The store owner reportedly followed the robber from the store and began shooting at him with his .40 caliber Glock handgun.

He followed the suspect to the edge of the store's parking lot as the suspect ran behind another building. The owner believed he shot at the suspect nine times.

Witnesses reported hearing four or five shots.

Sebring Police Cmdr. Steve Carr said a dog track was conducted by a Highlands County Sheriff's Office K-9 team, but the scent was lost behind where he was last seen.

A witness stated that the suspect began running with a limp.

"We have no indication he was hit other than the limp," said Carr.

As of 3 p.m. Wednesday no suspect was in custody.

Police ask anyone with information about the robbery to contact police Sgt. Curtis Hart at 863-471-5108.