Tulsa Police: Robbery Suspect Shot Dead At Convenience Store Was Only 14

NewsOn6.com & Dan Bewley, The News On 6

TULSA, OKLAHOMA -- Tulsa Police have identified the robbery suspect shot and killed at a convenience store late Thursday night as 14-year-old Qualynn Dabney.

Police initially reported that Dabney was 24, but then corrected themselves and said he was born in 1996.

Officers responded to a report of a robbery at the Zeba Food Mart in the 500 block of East 56^th Street North at about 10:45 p.m. 

Police say the clerk, identified as Zahid Khan, told them two males wearing masks and armed with rifles entered the store and one of the men fired shots into the air. Khan, who was behind the counter, grabbed a handgun and also opened fire, hitting Dabney in the torso. 

"One, we're told, fired shots as soon as they came inside. The clerk was armed as well and he returned fire," said Captain Dave Roberts, Tulsa Police.

Dabney was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say they found a .22 caliber rifle next to his body.

The other robber ran out of the store and got away.

Police say it's too early to tell Khan will face any charges, but he is not in custody.

Kahn had only been working at the store for a week.  The employees say it's a popular place in the neighborhood, as a matter of fact, Dabney himself used to hang out here.

"I seen him yesterday when he was alive and walking," said Laquna Harlin, an employee.

Harlin said Dabney seemed like an ordinary 14-year-old.

"He's just a baby to me, it's just wrong," she said.

Dabney attended Phoenix Rising Alternative School. But Harlin and other employees here say Dabney shouldn't be blamed for trying to rob the store.  They feel he was forced into it by someone older, someone, they say, who should be held responsible for his death.

"I don't know, I don't understand what's going on anymore. Why is any of this happening? But whoever put the baby up to it shouldn't have never sent, shouldn't have never been in here, shouldn't have never been in here," Harlin said.

Police say they have been pursuing a number of leads, but so far they have not made any additional arrests.

If you have any information that can help Tulsa Police find the second suspect, call Crime Stoppers at 596-COPS.