LYNNWOOD – A pet store employee was trying to save a customer’s pet duck when she was run over today by a suspected shoplifter.

The pet store employee, a Marysville woman, was taken to a Seattle hospital with serious injuries to her leg. The suspect, a Seattle man, was arrested for investigation of vehicular assault. The suspect’s friend, a Seattle woman, and her pet duck were not seriously hurt.

The odd events all unfolded outside a busy shopping center near the Alderwood mall.

The suspect and the Seattle woman parked outside the Petco on 196th Street SW. The woman went inside the pet store with her duck. The man walked over to Linen ‘n Things, Lynnwood police spokeswoman Shannon Sessions said.

The man allegedly shoplifted something from the linen store. A security guard followed him outside and tried to stop him. The man ran off, dropping the stolen merchandise, and jumped into his friend’s car, Sessions said. Meanwhile his friend, the woman with the duck, was leaving the pet store, unaware that the man was trying to escape the security guard.

The woman opened the passenger door as the man was backing out. She was struck by the door and knocked backward. She lost her grip on the pet duck.

The commotion brought a pet store employee to help. The employee ran out of the store and attempted to keep the duck from being hit. Instead, the suspect reportedly ran over the employee’s leg, fracturing her ankle, Sessions said.

The man sped away but didn’t get far before he rear-ended another car. Police officers arrived and arrested the man.

He likely will be jailed for investigation of vehicular assault, Sessions said.