A brazen and bizarre early-morning robbery – a suspect was wearing a wolf mask while brandishing a large knife – left a Sarnia convenience store employee rattled.
“She’s OK now,” said Neethu Vijayan, owner of the Circle K at Cathcart Boulevard and Colborne Road. “At that time she was so scared.”
Anukriti Chhibber, a Sarnia resident in her mid-20s, was working the night shift Sunday – something she rarely does – when a mask-wearing suspect came into the store around 5:20 am
“While holding up a knife, the suspect threatened to kill a store employee,” Sarnia police said in a statement. “The suspect demanded money – which they were given, then left the store and ran away.”
Vijayan said roughly $50 was stolen and pointed out they don’t keep much cash in the register overnight. The incident was over quickly, she added.
“Less than two minutes,” she said.
It was still dark out at the time, Vijayan said, but she also pointed out a nearby Tim Hortons was open and had customers there. Sarnia police and the OPP’s canine unit arrived and searched the area, but after being unable to find the suspect they issued a statement around 10:30 am asking the public for tips.
The suspect has a slim build and was wearing a black sweater with white detailing on the shoulders, gray jogging pants, tan colored work boots and the wolf mask, police said. Police attached a photo of the suspect taken from the store’s video surveillance.
A Sarnia police spokesperson said they couldn’t conclusively say if the suspect is a man or a woman, but Vijayan said she believes it was a man. Anyone with information is asked to contact Sarnia police at 519-344-8861 extension 0. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
The store, which is open 24 hours per day, was closed for about three hours before reopening around 8:30 am, Vijayan said. It’s the first time she can recall an incident like this taking place there.
“This area was safe from that type of thing,” she said.
Despite being initially scared, Vijayan said Chhibber told her she’s ready to come back to work and is still willing to do night shifts.
“She said she’s OK,” she said.