MWC Clerk In Critical Condition After Being Shot During Robbery

Police in Midwest City are searching for the robber who shot a clerk. The clerk was left to die while the robber took off with lotto money.

Investigators think the shooter had help from an accomplice inside the convenience store.

Midwest City police call this shooting cold and calculated. That clerk is still in critical condition as of Wednesday night.

1/13/2016 Related Story: MWC Police Release Surveillance Footage Of Store Robbery, Shooting

A bit of a warning, some of the video may be graphic.

The target was cash from lottery sales tucked behind the counter, and surveillance video shows this shooter knew exactly where that money was kept.

“They took some money, some lousy dollars. A few dollars. Not a whole lot of money you know and tried to kill a guy,” said Mohammad Sadruddin, owner of Time Saver convenience store.

It was about 10 p.m. Tuesday when a man wearing a Chicago Bulls hat walked in to the Time Saver  convenience store.

He was on his cellphone and made a beeline to the coolers for a possible beer purchase, but he left without beer, just as the robber walked in.

The robber walked straight to the counter, pointed a gun at the clerk and demanded money.

“The clerk is cooperative does what the assailant asks him to do the suspect obviously a semiautomatic handgun and during the robbery shoots our clerk one time in the stomach,” Midwest City police Chief Brandon Clabes.

The shooter grabbed the money and appeared to have help when he made his escape.

“The person of interest at the time of the shooting is five feet away walks out the door and actually holds the door open and hesitates a few seconds and walks on,” Clabes said.

Five minutes went by before the clerk identified by the store owner as Chintala Ramulu was found by another customer.

Wednesday, hopeful lottery winners were met with extra staff behind to counter as they made their ticket purchases.

Many of them were regulars in the store and offered their condolences to Ramulu who is now fighting to live.

“We're just crossing our fingers, you know. Let's hope for good that he gets well soon. But he is in very very bad shape,” Sadruddin said.

Anyone with information about this robbery is asked to call Midwest City police at 732-2266.