Shop worker praised for seeing off armed thief

Shop worker praised for seeing off armed thief

The woman was confronted by the hooded and partially masked would-be thief as he tried to steal cash from Samarès Stores in St Clement on Saturday afternoon.

But instead of giving in to his demands, she told the man that she had phoned the police – then hit him on the hand with a 1.5-litre bottle of Highland Spring and ushered him out of the shop.

The assistant – described as ‘Wonder Woman’ in a post on the store’s Facebook page – has been widely praised on social media and described as ‘ incredibly brave’ by the States police.

The criminal, meanwhile, left empty-handed, and was still being hunted by the police last night.

Inspector Craig Jackson said: ‘This was a brazen attempt at robbery which was carried out in the daylight with a lot of people around. The store worker was incredibly brave in her actions despite being faced with a knife. She is now being supported by officers and her colleagues.’

CCTV footage shows the man arriving at the shop and loitering for about six minutes. He talks to the shop worker and scopes out the cash register when she moves away.

When she returns he takes a knife out of his pocket and demands cash but the woman refuses, telling him that she has called the police and they are on the way to the shop.

When they hear a noise outside she points at the window and tells the attacker that it is the police. The shop worker then hits him with the water which he pretended he wanted to buy and chases him out of the shop.

Insp Jackson said: ‘The man walks around the area for a long time before and sometime afterwards so lots of people will have seen him.

‘There are a number of specific people we would like to speak to, as well as anyone who was in the area at the time. They may have a tiny detail that could help us.’

The force particularly want to speak to:

*The driver of a black/blue Audi who may have seen the man jump over a wall opposite the Jersey Squash Club on St Clement’s Inner Road at 5.52 pm.

*A man and child who entered the shop at 5.35 pm and left at 5.37 pm.

*The driver of a black Audi convertible who was at the shop between 5.35 pm and 5.38 pm.

*The drivers of a black Fiat 500 and grey Honda CRV who parked outside the shop as the suspect left.

*A woman wearing a backpack who was walking towards Samarès Stores at 5.30 pm.

The suspect was wearing a dark hooded jacket and grey tracksuit bottoms both before and after the attempted robbery. It is believed he removed the jacket and was wearing a lighter-coloured grey Stone Island jacket when he committed the offence.

Anyone with information is being asked to phone the States police on 612612 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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