Police: Anchorage store clerk charged for shooting at cigarette thief

A tobacco store clerk faces two criminal charges for firing a gun at a thief who ran out of the store with a carton of cigarettes Wednesday evening, according to Anchorage police.

Ebenie Rafael Andujar, 22, has been charged with reckless endangerment and "discharging a firearm," the Anchorage Police Department said.

Officers responded to Smoker's Choice — located at the south end of a small strip mall near Minnesota Drive and Spenard Road — shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday for the report of a theft with a shot fired.

A man entered the store and then ran out with the cigarettes without paying, police said.

"An employee fired one shot after the suspect," APD spokeswoman Renee Oistad said. "There is no indication that the suspect was armed and no indication that anyone was injured."

Online court records do not yet show the charges against Andujar.

While the store clerk faces a criminal penalty, the cigarette snatcher hasn't been caught.

Police describe the suspect as a skinny white man about 5 feet, 8-10 inches tall. He has dirty blond hair and "scruffy facial hair." He was last seen wearing a white zippered hoodie with black sleeves and a black tank top underneath, khaki cargo shorts and white tennis shoes.

Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call police at 907-786-8900.