Gunman sought after Ocala store clerk killed during robbery

OCALA, Fla. — An armed robbery turned into a fatal shooting Friday, investigators said.

Surveillance video from inside Jiffy Foods on U.S. 27 in Ocala shows the final moments before gunfire erupted in the store.

It was a single, deadly shot fired at Ujjcal Patel, 33.

Patel’s friend, Monika Turner, knew him as Rocky.

“I instantly knew it was Rocky. He was always behind the counter,” Turner said.

At about 10 a.m., she watched as police raced to the scene, but by then, the shooter was already on the run.

The gunman is show in surveillance video coming into the store and jumping onto the counter while witnesses were shopping.%

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Ocala police said the shooter was attempting to rob the store, but have not said if he got away with any money.

“Everybody in this neighborhood knows everybody. We’re all family. For this person to come in and take this life, it’s disgusting,” said Turner.

Turner said Rocky worked at the store, every day, for 15 years.

“The world had just lost an amazing young man,” Turner said.

She and the rest of the neighborhood are waiting for an arrest and justice for the victim.

“Turn yourself in. Do the right thing. Give his family peace,” Turner said in a plea for the shooter to surrender.

Cox Media Group