Investigation ongoing into attempted armed robbery
A YOUNG shop worker was left badly shaken last week after an attempted robbery by a man wielding a hatchet.
The incident took place shortly before 7.30 p.m. on Thursday evening at the Centra store on Trinity Street. A man entered the store with a hat and a face-mask before pulling a hatchet or a small axe from an Aldi bag and asking the staff member: ‘Sorry hun, will ya open the till?’
The startled young woman, aged in her early 20s, immediately ran through a back door behind the counter and when left on his own in the shop, the man simply scarpered himself, running up Parnell Street.
‘It was all over very quickly and it was quick thinking from our staff member to run out the back door,’ said Trisha Kenna, who owns the store along with her husband Anthony.
‘The poor girl was quite shaken and we made sure she was okay and dropped her home. Thankfully she wasn’t hurt and the culprit didn’t actually take anything. It was strange because he was actually quite polite, but it was a frightening incident nonetheless.’
The gardaí were immediately called and several units were on the scene within minutes and began patrolling the area in search of the would-be armed robber. CCTV footage from the shop was quickly examined and door-to-door enquiries were carried out in the area.
The man was said to be of average height and was wearing a black hoodie with red/brown writing that said ‘original’, with grey joggers, a cap and a face mask pulled right up on his face.
A garda spokesman said: ‘While this is a very serious incident and was frightening for the staff member involved, it’s not on the higher end of the scale for an armed robbery.
‘Thankfully there were no injuries sustained and the perpetrator made off empty-handed. We carried out a number of house-to-house enquiries and at this stage a full investigation is ongoing. I would say that we are following a number of lines of enquiry, however if anyone saw anything suspicious on the night in question, we would urge them to come forward.’
You can contact Wexford Garda Station on 053 9165200, or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666111.