CLACKAMAS, Ore. — The family of a Clackamas man who was shot at a gas station is asking for the public’s help to find the suspects.
Just before 1:00 a.m. on Feb. 8, a group of three men tried to steal a car from the victim, Clackamas County Sheriff’s investigators said. Ben Tibbets, 22, said he and a friend had just pulled into the 76 Station at 12230 Southeast Sunnyside Road when the suspects confronted them.
"One of the guys told me to give him my keys and I said 'No,'" Tibbets said. "He pistol-whipped me over the head a few times and once he kind of gave up, he shot me. He was out of there pretty quickly."
Tibbets said the bullet went through his hip and lodged in his leg where it remains.
"I got pretty lucky," he said. "The bullet missed every vital organ it could have hit."
Before paramedics arrived, Tibetts said a gas station employee wrapped a T-shirt around his wound to stop the bleeding. Tibbets' sister, Nicolle Dransfeldt, is thankful for them.
"The workers were awesome and they helped a lot," Dransfeldt said. "They did more than they needed to do and I’m sure it was scary for everybody, but they were totally there for my brother."
Tibbets is home recovering and expects to miss at least two months of work. Because of that and medical bills, Dransfeldt started a GoFundMe for her brother.
"I want him to focus on healing and not being so stressed out about money," Dransfeldt said.
Investigators are still looking for the suspects involved in the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 503-723-4949, or through an online form and reference case number 24-002449.
Dransfeldt hopes anyone who knows the suspects and what they did will contact authorities.
"If somebody hurt somebody like they hurt my brother, you would do the right thing and say something," Dransfeldt said.