7-Eleven clerk shot in robbery quit softball so she could work, Oklahoma friends say
.jpeg "Laura Taylor was shot and killed at the 7-Eleven where she worked on Sept. 3.")
Friends are mourning the death of a 30-year-old store clerk who was killed at a 7-Eleven gas station in Oklahoma City on Sept. 3, officials say.
According to friends, Laura Taylor was a formerly shy woman with an “infectious laugh” who grew up playing softball, KFOR reported.
“She was very proud of who she was. And she was very sweet and caring,” childhood friend Ashley Selvidge told KFOR. Taylor played softball for three years on the Mad Batters team, KFOR said.
“She had to quit the team this season to work and it just seemed like such a waste,” Wendy Darnell, Taylor’s former coach said to KFOR.
Friends also took to social media to express their grief for Taylor.
“My heart hurts...” wrote Stefanie Smith, a friend of Taylor’s on Facebook. “I got to share my adventurous camping trip with you, and many years of softball together.”
Oklahoma City Police arrested 21-year-old George Lorenz Way on suspicion of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm. Police told KOCO that they believed Taylor was alone during the robbery and was shot after she chased the suspect out of the store, which was robbed around 2:30 a.m.
“It’s not unusual for a store clerk to do that to see which direction a person was fleeing,” Oklahoma City Police Master Sgt. Gary Knight said to KOCO.
Customers and other “people who didn’t even know Taylor have dropped off flowers” at the 7-Eleven, according to KOCO.
This story was originally published September 7, 2020 at 1:37 PM.