SPRING HILL, Kan. — Police in Spring Hill continue searching for the suspects who beat up an fireworks-tent employee Monday morning during an armed robbery.
The incident took place around 1 a.m. in the 18700 block of U.S. 169.
"When they hit me, they broke a bone under my eye," the victim, Skyler Schimmel, said.
The wounds Schimmel suffered during the attack at the Spring Hill fireworks tent went beyond his physical injuries. It was an emotionally traumatic experience as well.
"I looked back and there they were at gunpoint," he said. "One of them turned around and said, 'Don’t effing move.'"
Schimmel, 20, was working security alone when he said two armed men wearing hoodies and masks ambushed him.
"I just froze up and didn’t move," he said. "They didn’t even give me a chance to do anything."
The thieves stole fireworks and his belongings before one of them pistol-whipped Schimmel.
"After that, I was knocked out pretty good," Schimmel said. "And after that, I woke up and they were gone."
With his cell phone stolen, Schimmel went to a nearby construction site for help. Police called his parents.
"He acted like it was his fault," his father, Roger Schimmel, said, "and I said, 'No, it’s not. It’s not your fault. You did the right thing.'"
Schimmel's mother, Valerie Peters, is glad her son didn't put up a fight.
"He’s been told whenever you get into a situation like that, let them have it," Peters said.
Schimmel's parents do believe more could be done to prevent a similar incident in the future.
"Have extra cameras, have that extra precaution, that way people that are watching over it overnight feel safer and can do it and don’t have to worry what’s next," Peters said.
Schimmel wants to pursue a career in law enforcement and said this incident won't deter him.
Anyone with information about the robbery and assault is asked to contact the Spring Hill Police Department at 913-592-2700 or call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
A GoFundMe has been set up to help with medical expenses and replace Schimmel's stolen property.
