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Philly Wawa shooting over coronavirus restrictions leaves security guard hospitalized, police say

Wawa currently limits the number of customers in stores due to capacity restrictions imposed to combat COVID-19.

The WAWA at 1300 E. Erie was the scene of a shooting on Friday morning August 28, 2020. The store has been turning away customers.
The WAWA at 1300 E. Erie was the scene of a shooting on Friday morning August 28, 2020. The store has been turning away customers.Read moreALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer

A 25-year-old off-duty security guard is in critical condition after being shot at a Wawa store overnight following what police say was a dispute over social distancing.

According to police, a customer got into an argument with a security guard at the Wawa on the 1300 block of East Erie Avenue in Philadelphia’s Juniata section about 4:15 a.m. The guard was trying to enforce social distancing and limit the number of people inside.

At some point, the customer got into a struggle with a second security guard, who works elsewhere and happened to be at the store, and ultimately shot him in the chest, according to police. The suspect fled the scene in an Acura.

“I don’t know if the suspect forced his way into the store. The suspect at one time was in the store. And when that suspect was struggling with the security guard, who does not work here, they had a physical altercation which spilled out into the vestibule area,” Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.

The victim was rushed to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and later transferred to Temple University Hospital, police said. The shooter fled and is at large.