Employee stares down gun barrel during gas bar robbery

VERNON – A witness at the Safeway Gas Bar on 32 Street told Mounties the business was robbed at gunpoint Tuesday night.

The incident happened shortly before 10:30 p.m. January 6 at the gas bar located at 4300-32 Street in Vernon, according to an RCMP media release. The witness told police the suspect went inside the building, approached the teller and pulled out a gun. The suspect demanded cash and cigarettes, demanding it be placed in a bag. Then he left, running west on 43 Avenue towards Kal Tire Place. Investigators are working with the business owners to see if an image of the suspect was caught on a surveillance camera.

The suspect is described as a Caucasian male, 20-25 years old, head shaved or balding, 5'10 to 6' tall. He was wearing a black hoody with letters on both sleeves and a red T-shirt beneath, dark jeans and red-black-white skater shoes.

Anyone who has information or who may have seen someone of this description running in the area last night can contact the Vernon RCMP at 250-260-7171 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.