NewsChannel 5.com - Nashville, Tennessee - Clerk Defends Self Against Would-Be Burglars

Clerk Defends Self Against Would-Be Burglars

SMYRNA, Tenn. - A convenience store employee shot into the parking lot to prevent two men from breaking into the business.

It happened around 4 a.m. Wednesday at the Almaville Market. It is off Interstate 24 in an unincorporated area of Rutherford County known as the Almaville community.

The incident was recorded by the store's surveillance system.

After the men smashed a large rock through a window, a cook picked up a gun and started shooting.

The men thought no one was inside the business.

"I was scared, but I think anger took over," said Donna Blanks.

Blanks is a cook and arrives early to prepare meals for customers.

She said she started to shout and shoot.

"I scared them like they scared me. No quite as much. They got gone," she said.

No one was hurt.

Sheriff's deputies told the woman she acted within her rights to shoot at the suspects as long as she was inside the store.

If anyone has any information about this crime, they should call Rutherford County Crime Stoppers at 893-STOP (7867).