Supermarket Owner Slain in Apparent Robbery Attempt

The owner of a Rosemead supermarket was killed Tuesday when he tried to shoot it out with an apparent bandit, a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy said.

“It was a possible robbery, but that has not been confirmed yet,” said Deputy Benita Nichol.

The owner of Del Mar Foods on Garvey Avenue was leaving about 2:20 p.m. when a gunman approached, Nichol said.

“The suspect and victim produced handguns and exchanged gunfire,” said Deputy Matthew Rodriguez. The suspect then got into an older model white van.

“At that time, another person emerged from within the store and fired on the van,” Rodriguez said.

It was unknown if the suspect or the van was hit, Rodriguez said, adding that the killer fled eastbound on Garvey Avenue.

The store owner, whose identity was withheld pending notification of relatives, was shot several times, Rodriguez said. He was taken by helicopter to Long Beach Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead at 3:10 p.m.