The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

July 10, 2012

Suspect rushes in, patrons ushered out

By Sandy Scarmack Herald Staff Writer

HERMITAGE — A Hermitage woman who, on the spur of the moment Monday, met her mother, her sister and her niece for lunch at Applebee’s was among those evacuated from the restaurant after the armed robbery of King’s Jewelry.

While she didn’t want to be identified, the woman said she and her family – including her niece who is pregnant and due any day – had just gotten their soup and salad when the waitstaff  “began acting odd and started telling everyone to get out of the restaurant.”

She said she was seated in a booth on the left side of the bar at about 11 a.m., when a man dressed in dark clothing ran in the side door reserved for the “to go” area of the restaurant and headed straight to the restroom.

“All I saw was pretty much a dark blur, but then I heard the waiters saying he was carrying a bag and possibly a gun,” she said.

“They came over to our table and told us we needed to get out right away,” she said. There was no panic, she added, because by the time everyone was outside, police were already there.

“One of the officers had his rifle out and at first, they didn’t know where he was, but the waitstaff told them he was hiding in the bathroom,” she said.

The woman said she and about 20 others gathered outside by the trees while police assembled and called for the Critical Incident Response Team.

“I didn’t want to leave without paying my bill, so we waited until the manager came over and told us just to go,” she said. “I went and found my waiter and gave him his tip so at least he got that.”

While she said she never felt in any danger, she thinks the staff at the restaurant needs additional training about what to do during unusual circumstances. “They were all peering into the front doors and windows trying to see what was going on, but I’m thinking if that guy had a gun and came out shooting, well, that wasn’t going to be a good thing for them,” she said. “There didn’t seem to be any kind of plan in place for what to do,”she said.

She and her family left before the suspect was caught, she said, because “they didn’t need us in the way.”

“I think it’s a shame that someone feels that desperate that they have to do that,” she said.

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