The robbery happened around 8:30 Tuesday night at the Traver Market on Merritt Drive near Highway 99. Tulare County Sheriff's deputies say a man wearing a mask and armed with a gun took an undisclosed amount of cash while two other men waited outside. Deputies say the clerk and the suspects started shooting at each other as the suspect tried to get away.
"There was an exchange of gunfire between the store owner and the suspects and one of the store owners received a minor scratch to his chest -- probably from a bullet fragment or from a piece of asphalt," said Sgt. Don Winslow with the Tulare County Sheriff's Department.
Authorities say the clerk didn't require any medical attention. Investigators say the three suspects got away in a Ford Bronco and its unknown if any were injured during the exchange of gunfire.
