Woodbridge clerk becomes robbers' worst nightmare

It was a gas station employee’s worst nightmare, being grabbed by two men after closing up shop for the night.

But it turned out the clerk at the Gordon Boulevard Shell station near Occoquan Saturday night was the nightmare for a pair of would-be muggers.

After locking the doors for the night around 11 p.m., the clerk -- who requested his name not be used since his attackers haven't been captured -- turned his car on to warm it up. While he sat in the driver’s seat, he made a phone call.

That’s when two men opened the door and grabbed him, simultaneously zapping him on his left forearm with a stun gun.

“I was wearing a thick coat,” the 29-year-old clerk said Tuesday afternoon, “so I didn’t get the full effect of the stun gun. It was just moments and I had to react and I realized ‘I better defend myself.’”

A concealed weapons permit holder, the clerk quickly turned the tables on the men, pulling out his handgun and firing twice at the muggers.

“I’ve been carrying it for at least four years,” he said of his gun. “I fired two shots while saying ‘Get out of here. Get out of here.’ I took two shots and they took off.

“It’s not been confirmed, but I’m sure I hit one with at least one shot.”

The clerk said he was likely less than a foot away from the men when he discharged his weapon.

Station owner Leon Tynes, who has worked at the location for more than 20 years, said this is the first time an employee has ever been attacked there.

“Other than break-ins or burglaries,” Tynes said, “it was the first of that.”

Tynes said the clerk, after firing at the robbers, quickly re-entered the station, set the security system and called the police.

Following the call to the police, the clerk called Tynes at home to let him know what happened.

“It’s unfortunate that this is the world, December is always a bad month, I don’t know why. Maybe it’s Christmas, the New Year, there’s always an issue, at least here [at this location]. I’ve been here 22 years so I know which is the bad month,” Tynes said.

When the police arrived at the 12522 Gordon Blvd. station Saturday night, the muggers were long gone.

The clerk told police the men were both black, of unknown ages and were wearing black hooded sweatshirts. Both are described as 6 feet tall and weighing between 190 and 200 pounds.

Prince William County police spokesman Jonathan Perok said the clerk would not face any charges “as his actions were in self-defense.”

Tynes is proud of how his employee reacted to such a dangerous situation.

“I think he handled it the right way,” the owner said. “It’s your life or somebody else’s. In my eyes, he did the right thing.

“If you go to try to carjack somebody or try to rob them and it turns around and happens to you,” Tynes added, “well, I look at it as good. [The clerk] wants to go home to his family. Maybe that person that night didn’t want you to. You never know.”

The clerk said the events of Saturday night didn’t quite sink in right away.

“The reality of it set in once the officers arrived and secured the area and secured my weapon,” he said. “About a half hour afterwards, yeah, the reality set in of really what happened.

“There was a lot of thinking about what I did and making sure I was comfortable with the decision I made. Which I am.” he said. “That’s the reason I got my concealed-carry permit, the reason I carry my pistol: For protection. I never thought I’d have to use it.”

As for how he’d handle himself in a similar situation in the future, there isn’t a doubt in his mind.

“I’m sure I’d react the same,” he said without hesitation.

Staff writer Joe Conroy can be reached at 703-530-3912.