Clerk shoots armed robber at Fayetteville gas station

The shooting occurred shortly before 10 p.m. at the Five Star BP gas station, at 2101 Cedar Creek Road, police said.

A woman who was staying at a nearby motel was leaving the convenience store and saw two masked men heading inside, so she called 911, according to the store owner, who identified himself only as "C.J."

Meanwhile, Bassam Albareti, 29, also saw on the store's security camera the two suspected robbers coming in and pulled out a gun, the owner said. Albareti fired several shots through the glass that enclosed the counter, hitting one man, the owner said.

The would-be robbers dropped their gun and fled. The owner said the gun wasn't loaded.

"One of the suspects actually went to a residence somewhere in the county and called 911, saying he had been shot," said Sgt. Shawn Strepay, spokesman for the Fayetteville Police Department. "Throughout the course of our investigation and the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office investigating that [911 call], we were able to tie everything together and determine that, even though he was calling 911 saying he had been shot, claiming he was a victim, he was actually the suspect in our case."

The caller, identified as David Glenn Perry, 19, of Stedman Cedar Creek Road, was being treated at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. His mother, Sherry Sanders, said the bullet hit his liver, and he had to undergo surgery to repair the damage and may need a second operation.

The second suspect, identified as Noah Lee Rowsey, 19, of Bullock Court, was being held in the Cumberland County jail under a $50,000 bond.

Both men face charges of robbery with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon.

Perry's mother, Sherry Sanders, said she was the one who called 911 for her son after Perry and Rowsey showed up at her house.

"Noah came running through the house to tell me that my son was hurt and needed me. I ran outside, and my son was in the back seat with a gunshot wound," Sanders said.

She said her son was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person.

"He's more upset that his friend is going to jail because of a robbery he committed last month," she said. "It's been bothering David, and I feel like David was with him to commit a crime to go to jail [as well]. That's all I heard my son say, and it's not right."

The store owner said he allows his employees to carry weapons to protective themselves, adding that they have permits for the weapons.

Police said Albareti won't be charged in the case.