Gas station worker suspended after shooting robbery suspect

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A clerk at a gas station in New Mexico was suspended for two weeks for shooting a man who pointed a gun at her during an attempted robbery, according to KOAT.

Jennifer Wertz was working at the Circle K store on Monday when a man ran into the store and pointed a gun at her.

Albuquerque police said she shot 23-year-old Ferron Mendez in the chest. He's expected to survive and will face charges after he's released from the hospital.

Wertz said she brings a gun to work to feel safe after a recent increase in crime.

"Robberies have been going on like this for the past few weeks," she told KOAT. "They have done nothing to protect me. And I felt the need to protect myself. I'm sick and tired of being a sitting duck."

Wertz said she plans to quit her job following her suspension.

"We are not to chase. We are not to provoke. We are not to do anything we just stand there and give them what they want and they leave," she said.

Wertz said she chose not to follow company protocol because she's tired of feeling like a "sitting duck."

"He pointed the gun at my face, I grabbed my gun from my pocket, I cocked it and I shot," she said.

Management at the Circle K declined to comment to KOAT.