Hatchet-Wielding Attacker Shot Dead By 7-Eleven Customer, Deputies Say

A customer may have saved lives by fatally shooting a hatchet-wielding attacker in a Washington state 7-Eleven this weekend, local authorities said.

7-Eleven clerk Kuldeep Singh was working at the Seattle-area convenience store early Sunday when authorities say a masked man with a hatchet entered the store and, without a word, started swinging.

When the armed man went behind the register and slashed Singh across the stomach with his weapon, a nearby customer reportedly pulled out a handgun and shot the attacker. He was pronounced dead at the scene, the King County Sheriff's Office said in a release.

Sgt. Cindi West praised the customer, identified by authorities as a 60-year-old concealed firearms permit-holder from Seattle, for quickly coming to Singh's rescue.

"Had this guy 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 told local CBS affiliate KIRO-TV. "He probably saved lives in this case."

Singh showed off the cut across his stomach and expressed his gratitude and relief after sustaining only minor injuries, telling the station he was "happy, happy." He also described the customer as a regular and a "very nice" guy.

The identity of the attacker has yet to be publicly released, pending the results of an autopsy report, the coroner’s office said Monday morning.

Though charges are not expected, the case is being sent to the district attorney’s office for review, the sheriff's office said.