Employee Safety Top Concern For QuikTrip Management After St. Louis Riots

Angry rioters torched a St. Louis QuikTrip after a police officer shot an unarmed teen. Now the teen’s father is demanding justice for his son.

Management at QuikTrip’s Tulsa headquarters is hearing how employees survived. Company leaders say, while they never anticipated an angry mob rushing one of their stores but said they are handling it, and employee safety is top priority.

It was mayhem at the Ferguson, Missouri QuikTrip Sunday night.

"It's just something nobody ever in their wildest imagination thought would happen, and it did,” said QuikTrip Spokesperson, Mike Thornbrugh.

Tensions erupted after a candlelight vigil for 18-year-old Michael Brown, who police say was shot several times Saturday night after a scuffle with a Ferguson police officer.

Hundreds of officers couldn't stop the mob from looting and vandalizing a dozen businesses.

"We were the first store, unfortunately, that was hit. It just happened to be in the path of a group of individuals that were going to stop at nothing,” said Thornbrugh.

He said rioters robbed the store then set it on fire. He said company leaders are more concerned about their employees who huddled in the back room before running out.

One employee said, "If we wouldn't have stayed put we most likely would have died."

"Came up so fast, so quick, I mean, that they got out through one of the back doors and we just literally abandoned the store,” Thornbrugh said.

Loyal customers are already begging to get QuikTrip back, leaving letters stating, "I am sorry this act of robbery and violence has happened. Please return soon."

One photo shows the phrase “Snitches get Stitches,” spray-painted on the store.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports a robbery at a convenience store may have led up to the shooting. Thornbrugh said if so, it was not at QuikTrip.

"I'm not aware of that at all. I mean, it did not happen at QuikTrip, but I'm just not aware of it at all,” he said.

As for whether the convenience store chain will rebuild at the location, Thornbrugh said it hasn’t been discussed at this point.

QuikTrip is providing counseling to the employees and will likely reinstate them in other QuikTrip stores.

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