Garland Store Clerk Killed During Robbery

Police are trying to find two men they say tried to rob a Garland convenience store and killed the clerk.

Shortly before midnight Saturday night, Garland officers were flagged down by a customer who walked in after the attempted robbery and saw the victim on the floor inside the Exxon gas station on the corner of Broadway Boulevard and East Oates Road.

Officers found the male clerk inside shot and killed.

Police identified the victim as 35-year-old Manish Panday of Mesquite. Friends and family say Panday leaves behind a wife. She is five months pregnant with the couple's first child.

Family members said Panday worked at the gas station for several years. A relative owns it.

It was closed on Sunday, but customers continued to come to the store to leave flowers and notes for the victim's family.

Detectives reviewed security video from the store showing two black males entering and trying to rob the clerk. They said the clerk was shot during a struggle with the men.

The men are described as black males, one being approximately 6 feet tall, the other about 5 feet, 9 inches tall. Both men were wearing hoodies and have slim builds.

Police point out that one of the men on video has a distinctive hair cut. The top half of the hair on his head is in a bun. The bottom half is shaved.

Anyone with information about the robbery and shooting are urged to contact Garland Crime Stoppers at 972-272-8477 (TIPS).

"That might give some justice for us," said Munesh Kandel, a friend of the victim. "That's all we are looking for now."

NBC 5's Diana Zoga contributed to this report.

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