Clerk pepper-sprayed, threatened with suspected gun as west Erie store robbed of cash

A couple armed with pepper spray and a suspected gun assaulted a female clerk and emptied a west Erie store's cash register during a robbery on Thursday night that remained under investigation on Friday.

Erie police had no suspects as of Friday morning in the robbery, which happened on Thursday at about 10 p.m. at the Food Mart at 363 W. Fourth St.

Officers who responded to a report of an armed robbery in progress arrived at the store to find the suspects gone but encountered a lingering amount of pepper spray, Deputy Chief Rick Lorah said Friday morning. The female clerk told officers she had been sprayed multiple times with pepper spray while being robbed by a male and a female wearing dark clothing and with hoods over their heads, he said.

Surveillance video from the store showed the suspects enter the store and approach the front counter, with a male holding an object in his right hand, Lorah said. The male raised the object, which was in the shape of a handgun and wrapped in a cloth, and pointed it at the clerk, he said.

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As the male walked toward the clerk, the female is seen walking up to the clerk and spraying her with pepper spray, Lorah said. The cash register was then opened and the male grabbed cash from it before he and the female suspect fled, according to Lorah.

Erie police detectives will be following up on the robbery.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie robberies: Clerk pepper-sprayed, threatened with suspected gun