Clerk pistol whips robber

A local store clerk pistol whipped a possible would-be robber Monday night in downtown Wilmington.

Just before 11:00 pm, a man pulled a knife on the clerk at the Chestnut Food Market. The clerk took a pistol from his side holster, and fired at the assailant with the knife. The clerk missed, and then hit the suspect across the face with the gun.

The suspect with the knife was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, and is being held in the New Hanover County Jail.