The first of a rash of Subway robberies started at 10405 W 75th St. in Shawnee Jan. 25.
Police believe the same suspects are involved in another robbery that day at 13507 South Murlen Road in Olathe.
Then on the 26th, a man matching the description of one of the suspects from the two robberies the day before walked into the Subway at 3714 State Ave. in Kansas City, Kan.
“My reaction was like, it shouldn’t be happening in the beginning,” said store owner Hieran Patel. “I don’t blame the neighborhood, but you know, that's a part of the town."
In security footage obtained by 41 Action News, the man walks in, grabs a bag of chips and sets them in front of the register. He then takes the chips away and ask for a cookie. When the teller opens the register for the transaction, the man pulls what appears to be a dark gun from his coat pocket.
Can you believe this guy? He stretches b4 using a gun to rob a #KC K Subway worker. 8 other metro Subways hit. pic.twitter.com/NMFDKlPNOC
— Brian Abel (@BrianAbelTV) February 4, 2016
“Man walks in, black male. He walks in and I was putting on my gloves when he walks in because I thought he was going to get a sandwich too,” says Lee’s Summit Subway employee Kris Johnson.
The 20-year-old says the exact same scenario that was caught on camera in KCK happened to him the day after his birthday. It was armed robbery No. 5 at the location at 1808 NW Chipman Road in Lee’s Summit, the second of the day following one at 905 Westport Road in Kansas City, Mo.
“He just grabbed a bag of chips, placed them on the counter, and so I ring him up for the bag of chips, and right when the cash register opened, he pulled out a gun out of his trench coat and demanded the money out of the register.”
Johnson says he initially froze up before hurrying to get the crook the cash so he would leave. Johnson says he must have been visually shaking because the gunman told him to stop trembling and just give him the money fast.
The robberies continue
- Jan. 30 at 1720 E North Ave. in Belton
- Feb. 1 at 3550 E Truman Road in KCMO
- Feb. 3 at 8415 Wornall Road in KCMO
If you have any information, you are asked to call the TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS.
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Brian Abel can be reached at brian.abel@kshb.com.