Armed clerk thwarts robbery

An armed robber was turned away at a north Spokane pizza shop Wednesday night when the clerk pulled his own handgun and told the robber to drop his weapon. The robber then fled the Pizza Pipeline at 1724 W. Wellesley Ave. about 9:45 p.m., according to Spokane police. An officer found parts of a gun in the parking lot, but the weapon was likely a pellet gun, authorities said. A police dog and officer searched for the robber’s trail but were unable to locate the man, who ran north from the store. The clerk was legally carrying the handgun with a concealed weapons permit. The robber was described as white, 5-foot-9, “younger” and very thin. He was wearing jeans, a dark zip-up sweater, light-colored gloves and a green mask.