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ATLANTA -- Atlanta Fire Rescue is conducting an internal investigation into how emergency personnel responded to a deadly shooting at a southeast Atlanta liquor store December 4, 2009.
Surveillance video inside the Moreland Package store shows paramedics arriving approximately seven minutes after an armed robber shot 21-year-old clerk Martez McKibben.
But McKibben's victim's family and co-workers say the tape also shows emergency responders spending just 30 seconds inside. Store owner Shan Yu says the video shows the paramedics leaning over the counter to observce McKibben but never touching him or checking for a pulse.
"When police arrived Martez was still breathing. I was telling him to stay with me, stay strong. Then they had us leave the store. Three minutes later when the rescue team arrived they didn't even check him ," Yu said.
In a written statment he interim fire chief of The Atlanta Fire Department, Joel Baker, says he is now investigating the incident.
"Until we've had the opportunity to thoroughly rview the video and take statements from all members responding to this incident, it woud be premature to make any speculation on what did or did not take place," Baker said.
McKibben had worked at the store for a couple of months when two men walked in and tried to rob the store. While a co-worker was being held at gunpoint, McKibben stepped in to protect him and got shot in the stomach.
Yu was able to shoot one of the suspects as they fled the store. The suspect, 19-year old Terrone Anthony was shot in the arm and leg according to Atlanta police. He is charged with murder.
The second suspect, 19-year-old Aaron Jackson, was arrested Friday.
Yu said he had reservations about hiring McKibben because he knew him since he was a young boy. McKibben's mother Trina worked at the liquor store for twenty years. Yu said he was worried about the young man's safety.
"We had a long talk about that with his mom but the current economy was pretty bad he couldn't find a job," Yu said.
Trina McKibben thanked the crowd for paying respect to her son. "I wish I could have took that bullet for my son, but I can't change that," she told the crowd. She said she wants justice and she wants the violence to stop. She had a message for all the young people in the neighborhood. "Stay positive, keep your head up, make something out of your life, make me proud," she said.
Meanwhile, Shan Yu wrestles with his decision to hire McKibben. He says he regrets it, but was only trying to help him out in a tough economy. Had he not, McKibben wouldn't have been there to save his co-workers life.
Martez McKibbon was laid to rest Saturday afternoon.
