'Good guy' with gun hailed as hero after killing hatchet-wielding attacker

The King County Sheriff’s Office responded to the gas station at about 5:45 a.m.

Kuldeep Singh, a clerk at the store, received a gash to his stomach but is OK.

Asked if the suspect hit him, Singh said, “Yes, yes, two three times in here," pointing to his stomach.

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King County sheriff's deputies say a man wearing a mask and armed with a hatchet walked into the store and, without a word, started swinging the hatchet, hitting the clerk.

"This could have been disastrous," said Sgt. Cindi West.

The man also attacked a customer who was drinking coffee near the register.

The 60-year-old is a regular customer and a licensed concealed gun carrier, according to the sheriff’s office.

He took out his pistol and shot the suspect, West said.

Medics weren't able to revive the suspect.

"Had this [customer] not shot, who knows what would've happened. We might have a dead clerk right now and instead we have a dead bad guy," West said.

Singh said he thought the suspect was going to kill him. He said he is happy. Singh’s friend, who also works at a nearby convenience store, called the customer who shot the suspect "a good guy."

"We do not see any wrongdoing on the part of the customer. In fact, he probably saved lives in this case,” West said.

Boulevard Park-area deputies are calling the customer who killed the attacker a hero.

A motive may never be known, but West says the suspect did not ask for money before attacking the people inside the convenience store.

The man deputies call a good Samaritan was too shaken to speak.

Although charges are not expected, the case will be forwarded to the King County Prosecutor's Office for review.

The suspect is believed to be in his 40s.

The Medical Examiner's Office has not identified him or an official cause of death.

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