Suspect in Chattanooga car dealership robbery dies, no charges for shooter

Shooting at Miller Auto Sales
Shooting at Miller Auto Sales

The suspect in an attempted robbery at a Chattanooga car dealership has died from his injuries, Chattanooga police say.

The man was shot twice in the chest Thursday at Miller Auto Sales when he allegedly burst into the store wearing a mask and brandishing a gun.

The shooting happened at 4314 Rossville Blvd. around 1:50 p.m. Two other people were inside the car dealership with the worker when the man came inside, said Chattanooga police Sgt. Scott Bales.

The suspect was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and later died. His identification is pending family notification, police said.

The worker who fired the shots has been identified as 27-year-old Alan Miller.

The incident has been ruled as a justifiable homicide and no charges will be filed, police said in a news release.

Larry Essex, a customer at Miller Auto Sales, said the shop's owner always keeps a gun handy. He said robberies happen often near Rossville Boulevard and that he doesn't blame the worker for shooting the would-be robber.

"I'd have shot him, too," he said.

Essex was not in the dealership at the time of the shooting.

The shooting was one of two that happened 15 minutes apart Thursday.

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