A 60-year-old man from suburban Illinois was killed during a store robbery in northwest Indiana early Wednesday morning.
The robbery happened just after 4:30 a.m. at the 7-Eleven at 6031 Hohman Avenue in Hammond.
A man entered the store and tried to rob it before firing shots, striking the 60-year-old store clerk from Blue Island twice, according to Hammond Police.
The clerk, identified as Roger Unton, was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The suspect fled the scene and is still at large, police said. A detailed description of the man was not immediately available.
Unton's wife said he had been working for the midnight shift for the last 10 years.
"It's a hard shift to work, but he does it," said Patti Unton. "He was doing it."
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Patti Unton said her husband wasn't "Intimidated" easily and wasn't afraid to defend himself.
"I'm sure that's what happened last night," she said. "But somebody got the better hand of him."
Unton was described as a passionate man who loved life. He was involved with the Sons of the American Legion and loved to garden, his family said.
"He's always been there for me," Patti Unton said. "He helps everybody."
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call (219)-852-2981.
