TEXAS CITY — A Texas City convenience store owner who fatally shot a robber Friday night likely acted within the law, Texas City Police Department Sgt. Brian Goetschius said.

Police are still investigating the shooting that happened at Jones Grocery, 616 Ninth St. N., but Goetschius said he did not believe the store owner would face criminal charges.

“We believe the store owner acted in compliance with state law regarding the use of deadly force,” he said.

Texas law contains a provision allowing a person to shoot someone who is committing a crime on the person’s property.

Police have not yet identified the man who entered the convenience store about 8:40 p.m. Friday with a shotgun and demanded cash. The store owner complied, but as the robber fled toward the door, the owner shot and killed him, Goetschius said. When police arrived on scene, they found the robber dead in the doorway, Goetschius said. The owner’s gun was propped against the wall, he said.

Though the owner shot another robber at Jones Grocery years ago, he did not kill that man, despite earlier reports otherwise, Goetschius said.

“(The store owner) feels terrible,” he said. “It’s kind of a tragic story. There were no winners in this.”

The medical examiners office is conducting an autopsy and the police department is reviewing surveillance tape of the incident, Goetschius said. The tape won’t be released until the investigation is complete.

Meanwhile, police are searching for anyone who may have driven a getaway car to the robbery, Goetschius said.

“We’re not discounting that he didn’t act alone,” he said.