North Belfast staff member threatened with knife 'left shaken' after 'terrifying ordeal'

A member of staff in North Belfast has been left shaken after he was grabbed by the collar and threatened with a knife.

It follows an armed robbery at a shop on the Crumlin road yesterday evening.

A man dressed in black with half of his face covered entered with a knife and demanded money.

He then took a sum of cash before leaving - pushing another staff member and injuring third.

A police spokesperson said: “At approximately 7.45pm, a man who was dressed in black and had the bottom half of his face covered entered commercial premises on the Crumlin Road, armed with a weapon.

“He confronted a staff member behind the till and demanded money. The suspect then grabbed the staff member by his collar and threatened him with a knife.

“He then proceeded to go behind the till and opened it, taking a sum of cash. Before fleeing the off-licence on foot, the suspect also pushed another staff member and caused a small cut to the hand of a third member of staff.

“The three staff members were understandably left shaken by what happened – this would have been a terrifying ordeal. Thankfully, the injuries were not serious.

“We have launched an investigation into this armed robbery and are asking the local community for its assistance in supporting our enquiries.

“If you were in the area last night and noticed anything suspicious, we would ask that you call us on 101 quoting reference number 1506 05/10/24.

“Anyone living in this general area or nearby is also asked to review your doorbell, CCTV or dash-cam footage. Your assistance is of great importance to us in our investigation.”

You can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/

Or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/