South Lake Tahoe police release more details on gas station murder

South Lake Tahoe police continue to investigate a shooting Tuesday night that left a 27-year-old gas station attendant dead and a gunman who remains at large.

The suspect is described as a thin male suspect approximately 5’8” to to 5’-10” who entered the USA Gas Station at 2470 Lake Tahoe Boulevard before 11 p.m. shooting the clerk with a handgun and fleeing. A gas station customer found the adult male clerk on the floor in a pool of blood and called 911 for help.

Here is a news release by Lt. Brian Williams of the South Lake Tahoe Police Department:

Homicide at USA Gas Station

South Lake Tahoe, CA (August 7, 2013) - At about 10:50pm last night (Tuesday August 6th, 2013) a patron walked into the USA gas station, located at 2470 Lake Tahoe Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe. The patron discovered the adult male clerk lying on the floor with blood around him. The patron immediately called 911 to report what he had discovered, and explained that the clerk needed immediate help. Officers arrived within approximately 1 minute of the call, and found the victim without a pulse. Officers immediately began CPR until fire and medic personnel arrived to assist. The victim was unresponsive to CPR and was declared deceased at the scene. The victim’s identity is not being released, pending next of kin by the El Dorado County Sheriff/Coroner’s office.

It appeared to the investigating officers that the victim had been shot. A review of the video surveillance recording confirmed this. The video revealed a lone, thin male suspect approximately 5’8”- to 5’-10” tall had entered the front door of the store. He was wearing dark clothing; including a black hoodie and a dark mask over his face. During a very brief encounter with the clerk, the suspect raised a handgun and shot the clerk. The clerk fell to the floor immediately as the suspect fled from the store. No vehicle description is available. The suspect is described generally as an unknown race male. The skin tone visible to the surveillance cameras indicates a fairly light skin tone. No solid age description is available beyond a range of 20s to 40s. A still photograph is provided below.

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department is processing evidence, questioning witnesses and reaching out to allied law enforcement agencies to help solve this homicide. The SLTPD is working with investigators from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department, the El Dorado County District Attorney’s office, and the local FBI office in a joint effort to identify and capture this suspect. Anyone with information regarding this event to call the SLTPD at 530-542-6100 or Secret Witness at 530-541-6800.