This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

It's the kind of crime report that makes Salt Lake City police detectives wince: a convenience store clerk decides to fight an armed robber.

This time, though, it turned out all right: the male clerk, a firearms aficionado, made a grab for the 9mm handgun being pointed at him about 2:30 a.m. Thursday, after he noticed it was unloaded.

The clerk at the Maverik store, 1707 S. 300 West, struggled with the gunman, who was demanding cash while a second suspect pilfered beer. The clerk ended up with the handgun and both suspects — described as Latinos in their 20s — fled the scene.

"We've been seeing incidents where people tried to take a weapon or fight with suspects," SLCPD Sgt. Brandon Shearer said. "We want to stress that it's just not worth someone's life to do that.

"If people feel they have to defend themselves, that's a different story — but it's always dangerous to try to disarm someone. Just call us and let us try to get the people involved," he added.

Meantime, the hunt for the two suspects continues. Anyone with information on this case is asked to call SLCPD at 801-799-3000, or anonymously text 274637 using the keyword "TIPSLCPD."

Twitter: @remims