ATLANTA -- Police were working Friday to determine whether a southwest Atlanta store clerk should be charged after the worker fatally shot a man late Thursday who had allegedly stolen two cases of beer.

The incident happened at a convenience store on Sylvan Road. Police said the man, whose identity was pending, took the beer without paying for them.

The store clerk tried to stop the man by locking him in the store but was unsuccessful. After the man went to his parked Cadillac in the store's parking lot, he was shot by the convenience store clerk, whose identity was pending.

The man was taken for treatment to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police said they have not yet determined whether the clerk will be charged.

"We're going to have to get the statement of the clerk to determine what course of action we're going to" take, said police Lt. R.C. Robinson. "We will contact the Fulton County DA's office" after the investigation is complete.

Channel 2 Action News reporter Lynn Harasin contributed to this report.