The police said that Martins threatened a clerk and grabbed money from a cash register at the Cumberland Farms store at 711 East Ave. Allen, who was nearby, arrived at the scene quickly after someone who heard commotion called the police.

Allen tried to use his cruiser to block Martins in the parking lot of the store. The police said that Martins rammed the cruiser two times with his car before driving out of the lot.

Allen then fired through his open car window; Martins' car crashed into seven other cars in a service station parking lot before flipping over. He was pronounced dead at the scene; the police later said that he died from a single gunshot.