Clerk killed, 2 wounded in Fla. robbery

A holdup at a check-cashing store in South Florida ended badly Tuesday with a clerk shot to death and two other people, wounded, authorities said. WTVJ-TV, Miami, reported the shootings occurred after Broward County sheriff's deputies responded to a robbery report about 9:30 a.m. Officials said the deputies were shot at when they approached the store and returned fire, wounding a suspect in the parking lot, the TV station said. The sheriff's office said paramedics also were fired upon as they approached the suspect, and when they retreated, another person across the street was hit by gunfire. WTVJ said the wounded suspect was hospitalized in critical condition. The condition of the second person wounded, believed to have been an innocent bystander, wasn't known. SWAT officers disarmed the suspect in the parking lot and found the fatally wounded clerk inside the store. Police said no other suspects were found. Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti said the slain clerk alerted authorities to the robbery. "Actually we got two calls, one from inside the store, from the clerk, who said they were being robbed, and the clerk apparently called another check-cashing store to tell them that they were being robbed," Lamberti said. "Deputies responded, and when they got here, shots were fired." The names of the shooting victims had not been released.