JENNINGS, Mo. — During his 28 years of operating his convenience store in Jennings, Missouri, Mike Udo has never experienced anything like what he went through Sunday afternoon.
"Not in my store. This is the first time that ever happened to me," said Udo.
The long-time business owner stood behind the counter of his store and suddenly heard multiple gunshots.
"It was crazy. I heard pow, pow, pow, pow, pow. I froze in my tracks," said Udo.
When the gunfire finally ended, a man had been shot while sitting behind the wheel of a dark gray Lincoln.
It happened in the parking lot of the busy strip mall at the corner of Lewis and Clark and Jennings Station Road, just feet from Mike Udo's store.
RELATED: Man found shot in car in Jennings strip mall parking lot, nearby crash may have been connected
"My last customer had just left," Udo added.
Police found several dozen shell casings at the scene
Mike Udo found bullet fragments lodged in the glass door of his doors, windows and drink cooler.
"Man, I'm so glad I wasn't hurt and I'm glad nobody was inside my store at the time," Udo said.
"We heard a pop. We turned and saw the guy with the gun and got on the floor," said a woman who witnessed the shooting.
The woman tells 5 On Your Side she and sister were inside a nearby restaurant when the bullets flew.
"I couldn't believe it. It was just madness. It's been out of control around here for a long time. Thank God our children weren't with us. It was just very scary," the woman said.
A "scary" ordeal three days before Christmas.
"I just think something has to be done about all these shootings. It's a shame. I'm glad I'm okay. I'm glad everybody survived it," said Mike Udo.
Meantime, police say the man who was shot suffered life-threatening injuries.
As of Sunday, he was listed in critical condition.
Police say the victim is about 30 years old.
They also tell us they are still looking for two people in connection with the shooting.
Investigators believe they left the scene in an SUV, hit a curb near the intersection of Bellefontaine and Larimore Road and overturned.
The pair then hopped out of the vehicle and ran.
