Starbucks customer shoots man attacking employee in Utah, police say

MILLCREEK, Utah (KSL.com) — A frequent Starbucks customer shot a man who attacked a clerk at the Millcreek coffee shop Thursday morning, police said.

Officials recently identified the alleged attacker as 37-year-old Benjamin Overall, according to Unified police detective Ken Hansen. Hansen said investigators believe there may be a mental health issue involved.

Police received reports of a man being aggressive with customers and employees at a 7-Eleven near 3900 South and 900 East just after 6 a.m., according to Hansen. When the man was confronted by customers at the 7-Eleven, he ran over to a Starbucks across the street.

Overall, who police say is in his late 30s, then jumped behind the coffee shop counter and began to attack a female clerk working there, Hansen said. He hit her on the back of the head, then may have hit her again with a metal object, Hansen added.

A frequent customer of the shop, a man in his late 60s, saw what was happening and diverted the man’s attention away from the clerk, police said. As the alleged attacker began to approach the customer, the customer pulled out a gun and shot him once in the chest.

Police arrived as Overall stumbled out of the coffee shop and used a Taser to take him into custody, Hansen said. Police then realized he had been shot and called for medical help for both the alleged attacker and the clerk.

The clerk was transported to a hospital in fair condition, and Overall was transported in critical condition — though he has since been upgraded to satisfactory.

The customer who fired the shot is “very cooperative” with police, Hansen said. The man had a concealed weapons permit. Though Hansen cannot say for sure if the shooter will face charges, he believes it could be construed as an act of self-defense.

This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

This article was originally published by KSL.com. It is used here with permission.