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Police: Corner Store Employee Shot, Killed In South Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Police say a corner store employee was shot and killed Tuesday night in South Philadelphia. The shooting happened just after 5:30 p.m. at the JD Hoyu Grocery store on 9th and Porter Streets.

Police say the 31-year-old victim, whose father owns the store, was rushed to Jefferson Hospital but later died.

"When the paramedics arrived on location, that's when they realized the hospital case inside the store was actually a shooting victim. He was shot one time in his chest," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.

Police say a customer found the employee unresponsive and bleeding from his chest behind the counter of the store.

Small says investigators are unsure whether there was anyone else inside the store at the time of the shooting.

A motive, including a possible robbery, has not yet been determined.

"The cash register is still in the cashier booth. We don't know if anything was taken," Small said.

The news of the killing surprised neighbors like Jason Ortiz, who is a regular customer at the store.

"It's heartbreaking all around. I'm going to go pray for them. That's all you can do right now," Ortiz said.

Police are currently working on obtaining surveillance video.

No arrests have been made at this time.

CBS3's Greg Argos contributed to this report.

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