A Newark police officer is being hailed a hero after saving the life of a gas station attendant during a robbery attempt.

According to the gas station's owner, two alleged robbers showed up at the Sunoco station located at the corner of Washington and Court streets in Newark just after midnight Thursday. They demanded money and one of the suspects allegedly had a gun.

A Newark police officer came into the station and ordered the suspects to stop. According to witnesses inside, the armed suspect would not comply and that's when the officer opened fire and shot the suspect in the stomach.

Station attendant Eric Afriyie was inside the store when the robbery occurred. He says that he was shaken up by the incident.

"When someone points a gun at you, you don't feel right," he says.

This is not the first time this gas station has seen violence. In November 2012, a man named Hykine Johnson was killed in the food mart. He allegedly he had gang ties. In 2010, four people were shot at the station during a drive by.

Other shop owners in the area say that the area as a whole isn't very safe. Gustavo Araya works at Union Liquors. He says he is not surprised by the latest robbery attempt. He says he believes the only reason the gas station attendant is alive is because a police officer interrupted the robbery.

Other residents in the area say that the community needs to be more conscious of what is going on and more police officers are needed to patrol.