Robber fired shot, struck clerk with gun at Zion Auto Zone

A man fired a shot and battered an Auto Zone clerk with the gun during a robbery Sunday afternoon in north suburban Zion.

About 4 p.m., the man entered the store at 3025 Sheridan Rd. and pointed a semi-automatic handgun at the store clerk and customers, according to a statement from Zion police.

The suspect told the clerk to open the cash register, then fired the handgun next to the clerk’s head when the clerk hesitated, police said. He then struck the clerk in the head with the handgun.

The clerk opened the cash register and the suspect took out cash, then left the store, first walking south, then east, police said.

The suspect was described as a black man between 20 and 30 years old wearing black or gray clothing with a black bandanna covering his face, police said.

An officer who responded to the robbery found a man matching the description cutting between houses in the 3000 block of Elim Avenue and ordered him to stop, but the man turned and ran westbound, police said.

Police set up a perimeter and tried to find the suspect, but he was not found.

The clerk was treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call Zion police at (847) 872-8000.