AKRON, Ohio — A cashier at an Akron gas station was charged with negligent homicide Thursday, police said, six weeks after shooting an innocent bystander during a dispute with another customer and one day after the bystander died after being taken off of life support.
The 55-year-old cashier was not taken to jail but was given a date to appear in court on the charge, according to Lt. Michael Miller with Akron Police.
Torres Bruster, 48, died early Wednesday morning, days after he was taken off life support.
Bruster was shot on Sept. 1 when police said there was a dispute between an irate customer and the cashier inside a Sunoco gas station on Lovers Lane in Akron. Bruster was an innocent bystander when he was shot by the cashier, officers said.
"It's chaos, a nightmare. It's unbelievable. It's just bad. It's all bad," said his sister, Linda Bruster, in an interview with News 5.
During the encounter, the irate customer reportedly made threats to kill the cashier, began damaging the store and tried to grab her through a plexiglass divider. A male employee called 911.
"He's going berserk, and we need him removed. We need a unit here immediately," the caller told the operator.
According to police, the female clerk fired one shot. The man who caused the commotion wasn't hurt, but Bruster was shot in the head. At the time, he was standing in line waiting to make a purchase.
"He was standing there like everybody else in line. It was not his business. He was not involved. He had nothing to do with it. Unfortunately, he was shot by the worker in the store," said Charles Tyler, an attorney representing the Bruster family.
Bruster’s family told News 5 that they were frustrated that no charges had been filed for the shooting that left Bruster in a coma for several weeks before his death.
The man who got into the dispute with the cashier was arrested shortly after the shooting and charged with aggravated menacing, police said.
Watch our report from Wednesday after Bruster died and before the cashier was charged with negligent homicide:
RELATED: Innocent bystander shot by cashier at Akron gas station dies six weeks after gunfire
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