Customer charged with shooting clerk at Johnston County vape shop

A Clayton man has been arrested after police say he shot a clerk at a local vape store Sunday afternoon.

Richard Ben Cappelletti, 46, is charged with armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury for the shooting at Vape and Tobacco World in the Clayton Corners shopping center, according to a news release.

He is being held at the Johnston County jail on $250,000 bail, the release stated.

The shooting was captured on the store’s security camera and showed the suspect’s face. Authorities released images from the footage to help find the suspect.

The images show a man in a green T-shirt, dark pants and sunglasses walking away from the store counter.

The incident happened after a customer got into an altercation with an employee at the shop, located at 11801 U.S. 70 Business West in Clayton, Police Chief Greg Tart said Sunday.

“The customer pulled out a handgun and shot the employee,” the chief said in the release. “The suspect then left the store.”

The employee was taken to WakeMed and “is going to be OK,” store owner Ali Kaid told The News & Observer

There hasn’t been an incident like this before at his store, he said.

“First time I’ve seen that in all my life,” he said.

The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office responded to another shooting incident around 10:30 p.m. Sunday on Sequoia Drive the Sierra Heights subdivision in Clayton, WRAL reported.

The N&O has contacted the Sheriff’s Office for more information.

This story was originally published May 23, 2022 at 7:59 AM.