Pizza Worker Hit With Gun During Robbery

A robber in a ski mask struck a Pizza Hut employee in the head with a gun early Sunday morning, then pointed the gun at the man’s head while forcing a second employee to unlock the restaurant’s safe.

The robbery occurred at about 1:30 a.m. at the Pizza Hut at 323 N. Sullivan Road, sheriff’s deputies said.

The 21-year-old restaurant worker, who was in the process of closing up, told police he heard something unusual in the bushes behind the restaurant while taking trash to a Dumpster. When he went to investigate, he discovered the masked robber, armed with a semi-automatic handgun.

They exchanged a few words, then the robber hit the worker on the right side of the head with the gun, deputies said. The robber forced the bleeding worker to let him into the restaurant, where a 19-year-old female employee was mopping the floor.

He pushed the male employee onto the floor before pointing the gun to his head and motioning for the female worker to unlock the safe.

The man said only a few words during the burglary, workers said. He ripped all seven of the restaurant’s phones off the walls and counters before leaving. He appeared to know where all the phones were, they said, and where the safe was located.

He left with an undisclosed amount of cash and rolled coins.

The female employee then used her cell phone to call 911.

The robber was described as a white male, 5-foot-10 to 6-feet tall and weighing about 190 pounds. He was wearing baggy blue jeans, a blue hooded sweatshirt, black gloves and a dark ski mask.

A canine unit tracked the robber’s scent to the Sullivan Scoreboard Tavern at 205 N. Sullivan. A tavern employee had seen a man matching his description enter the business, head straight for the restroom, then leave, deputies said.

Anyone with information should call Crime Check at 456-2233.

, DataTimes