Matt Freed, Post-Gazette
	An Allegheny County homicide detective looks through evidence yesterday outside the Giant Eagle at the Chartiers Valley Shopping Center in Collier.

Shopping trips were interrupted by gunfire yesterday afternoon in the parking lot of a Giant Eagle in a Collier shopping center when a store security guard shot at a fleeing shoplifter.

It was unclear if the shoplifter was hit. His face was bloodied, possibly from a scuffle moments earlier inside the store, located in the 1000 block of Washington Pike at the Chartiers Valley Shopping Center.

The man got into a car and headed east on Route 50 toward Interstate 79.

He later turned himself in to authorities and Allegheny County police were questioning him last night. His name was not released.

Lt. Christopher Kearns said they planned to consult with the district attorney's office on whether to file charges.

Part of the police investigation will focus on whether the security guard was justified in firing his gun and whether he was properly licensed to carry a firearm, Lt. Kearns said.

Police were questioning the guard, whose name also was not released.

Dick Roberts, a Giant Eagle spokesman, said the guard was employed by Loss Prevention Inc.

No one from the security company could be reached yesterday.

Mr. Roberts said the Giant Eagle was independently owned by Rudy Zupancic.

Police examining the crime scene used a dozen shopping carts, some tied with yellow crime scene tape, to form a ring around evidence.

Inside the circle were a plastic bag, shell casings and broken glass.

The incident began at 2:54 p.m. with a 911 call about a shoplifter inside the store. A second call prompted police to hasten their response.

Lt. Kearns said the shoplifter was initially caught and escorted to a conference room inside the store by the security guard and a manager.

There was a struggle in the room when the man resisted and he escaped, Lt. Kearns said. The store manager was injured.

Once outside the store, a second confrontation ensued and the guard fired between two and four shots.

It was not clear exactly what prompted the guard to fire his weapon. Lt. Kearns said police did not have any information that the suspect was armed.

The manager was taken to St. Clair Hospital in Mt. Lebanon. The extent of his injuries was not known.