http://www.shreveporttimes.com/html/4AE61761-D77C-44FF-9C1B-AB2D9F3D90C9.shtml
Store co-owner shoots alleged armed robber
”I”m just happy to be alive and to be with my family.”
by Loresha Wilson
Posted on January 15, 2004
Robert Ruiz / The Times

Shreveport police Sgt. T.C. Jowers secures crime scene tape outside the
Citgo at Line Avenue at East 70th Street after a robbery suspect was
shot by a co-owner of the store.

Four hours after shooting the man who allegedly was robbing his
family-owned gas station at gunpoint, Elvir Cehajic praised God for the
one thing he was most thankful for Wednesday evening – his life.

“I’m just happy to be alive and to be with my family.”

The 36-year-old reportedly fired two shots as a man took money from a
cash register at Citgo at Line Avenue at East 70th Street in Shreveport
about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“He came in and pointed a gun at my head,” Cehajic said. “It seemed like
eternity, but it was just for a minute.”

The robber fled with someone who was waiting behind the store in a brown
Chevrolet Malibu, Shreveport police Detective Lane Smith said.

Minutes later, police responded to a call at a residence in the 7300
block of Altus Loop regarding a man who had been shot.

They reportedly found Brandon Young, 19, of Shreveport with a single
gunshot wound to his chest.

Young has been charged with armed robbery.
He remained in LSU Hospital in Shreveport, where he was listed in fair
condition Wednesday evening, Smith said.

“I’m glad that (he) is alive and not in life-threatening condition,”
Cehajic said.
“Hopefully, he will learn something out of this.”
Cehajic has not been charged.

“Right now, it looks like it is going to be a justifiable shooting,”
police spokeswoman Kacee Hargrave said.

The robber “never fired any shots. Only one person was shooting, and
that was the owner.”

Police have recovered the money taken during the robbery. But they had
not located the robber’s weapon.

They did find the Malibu at Grimmett Drive Apartment complex in the 2100
block of Grimmett Drive, Smith said.

The robbery is the second in less than a month at the Citgo at Line
Avenue at East 70th Street. About two weeks ago, a man robbed another
clerk at the store.

In each instance, the robber grabbed yellow FANTA sodas out of the
cooler, walked to the counter to check out and pulled a handgun on the
clerk before fleeing with cash, Cehajic said.

The robber was seen on tape, Smith said. “It does appear that this is
the same MO as the earlier robbery of that store, but it hasn’t been
determined.”

Shreveporter A. Williams, who was standing outside One Hour Martinizing
next door to Citgo, was in the area during the robbery but never heard
the gunshots.

“We didn’t know anything was going on over there until we saw the police
and the yellow tape,” Williams said.

“That store was recently robbed. It’s not a hang-out store, just a
corner store. (The owner) put a camera up in the store after the first
robbery, and you can’t help but to see it when you walk in the door.”

Elvira Cehajic, Elvir’s sister and co-owner of the gas station, worked
by faith and prayers to keep the store open Wednesday evening.

“I’m hoping that the third (robbery) is not the deadly one and that I’m
not here,” the 38-year-old said. She was not at the store during the
shooting Wednesday.

“I’m not afraid, just still shocked. I’m afraid more for my brother and
the guy who was shot.
“It’s sad that we have to live like this.”