Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are continuing the search Tuesday afternoon for a suspect wanted in connection with an attempted restaurant robbery Monday night in east Charlotte that ended with two other suspects being shot to death by an employee.
Police have only a limited description of the man who got away – a man who might have been wounded by the Pizza Hut employee who killed the suspect’s two cohorts.
The robbery was reported about 11:15 p.m. at the Pizza Hut in the 5400 block of East Independence Boulevard, near Idlewild Road. Police say two employees were in the rear of the restaurant, cleaning up for the night, when three men walked in the front door. The employees told police at least two of the suspects were carrying handguns.
The suspects ordered the two employees into the cooler, and for some reason, at least one of the suspects began beating a Pizza Hut employee.
CMPD Sgt. Gerard Farley said the other employee pulled out his own handgun and began shooting.
When police and paramedics arrived, they found two suspects on the floor, shot to death. The other suspect had run off. One investigator said early Monday morning that it is possible the third suspect was wounded by the employee.
“We found some other evidence in the area of the business and are looking into that,” Farley said.
Investigators appeared to be looking for a possible trail of blood around the front of the restaurant to the side of the building.
Police called in their K-9 dog search unit and canvassed the Independence Boulevard-Idlewild Road-Monroe Road area for much of the night, looking for the suspect who got away, but without success.
“He was described as a black male, wearing a brown jacket or shirt,” Farley said.
No customers were in the restaurant at the time of the incident.
Police say they found two handguns near the dead suspects. The names of those killed have not been released, while police work to contact their relatives.
Kristin Young, a spokeswoman for Medic, said the injured employee was taken to Carolinas Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening.
Investigators are questioning the employee who fired the shots but would not say if any charges will be filed. WBT-Radio is reporting that the Pizza Hut worker who shot the suspects had a law enforcement background.
A spokesman for Dallas-based Pizza Hut could not be reached, but according to numerous published reports, Pizza Hut’s corporate policy forbids employees from having firearms while on the job.
A Pizza Hut employee in Columbia resigned last year after police said he shot and killed a robbery suspect. The employee resigned, according to Pizza Hut spokesman Chris Fuller, because of the company’s policy forbidding employees from carrying firearms.
In one well-publicized May 2004 case, a Pizza Hut employee in Carmel, Ind., was fired after he shot and killed a would-be robber. And in 2008, a Pizza Hut worker in Des Moines, Iowa, lost his job after shooting and wounding a robbery suspect. Both of those Pizza Hut employees were delivery drivers.
Anyone with information in the case is asked to call detectives at 704-432-TIPS, or they can leave information anonymously with Crime Stoppers, at 704-334-1600.
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