Rite Aid worker killed after confronting shoplifters at Glassell Park store, police say

A Rite Aid employee was fatally shot Thursday night when he confronted two people suspected of shoplifting at the Glassell Park store, according to police.

The shooting occurred about 8:50 p.m. when two men tried to leave the store on the 4000 block of Eagle Rock Boulevard with unpaid merchandise and were stopped by the employee, Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson Mike Lopez said.

During the confrontation, one the men shot the employee with a handgun, said Lopez. Both suspects then ran.

The employee, whose name has not been released by authorities, was pronounced dead at the scene. Lopez said the suspects are not in custody.

Kathy Finn, the secretary-treasurer for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770, said the employee had worked at the store for more than a year.

In a statement, the union said Rite Aid had refused to provide adequate security for its employees and that “the Company placed profit over safety and refused security for its employees.”

Rite Aid spokesperson Chris Savarese did not respond to a request for comment on the union’s claims. He said that the company was “shocked and saddened by the killing of a valued associate at our store in Glassell Park.”

“Rite Aid will offer support to the associate’s family through our associate relief fund and is offering other associates at that location support and counseling,” he said in a statement. “We are fully cooperating with law enforcement authorities in their investigation.”