The Tribune

By ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

EMPLOYEES at the Buy 4 Less food store on Blue Hill Road South were left shaken after an armed robbery on Wednesday afternoon.

Ellis Major, proprietor of Buy 4 Less, Budget Foods, and Xtra Value, said that around 2pm on Wednesday a lone gunman entered the business and targeted cashiers. “I know it was around 2pm,” he said. “A lone gunman was able to rob two of the cashiers.”

According to Mr Major, after obtaining cash, the suspect fled through the rear of the property. “And then they ran on the easterly area in the back of the store, and they jumped into the bushes,” he said.

Mr Major said he missed the incident, explaining he had been visiting other store locations and arrived around 30 minutes after the robbery occurred.

“I missed it by about a half hour, because I went to a couple other of my stores yesterday and when I came in… I came upstairs, and I had to make a couple phone calls. So I came in the office upstairs, and I heard the guy call me and say ‘We’re getting robbed.’ I said ‘Oh shoots’.”

Mr Major said the incident had taken an emotional toll on staff, while expressing gratitude that no one was physically harmed. “It’s something you have to live with,” he said. “It’s sad but very disgusting. All they did was terrify these staff members. Nobody got hurt. Thank God.”

He added that employees reacted quickly as the situation unfolded. “The manager was at the front and a few others, and all of them scattered,” Mr Major said. “They ran toward the back. So there was only one of the cashiers. She was really brave. She was at her register and let them have whatever was in there.”

Mr Major said a second cashier managed to flee from her station, and the first employee assisted by opening an additional register. “The other cashier who was next to her, she was able to get the hell out of there,” he said. “She ran. And the cashier left from her station to go to the other station and opened the register for him… Thank God nothing happened.”

Following the ordeal, Mr Major said he instructed staff that if confronted during future robberies, co-operation is the safest response. “We closed for about 45 minutes because the police had to come in and do what they got to do,” he said.

Mr Major noted that the suspect escaped with what he described as a relatively small amount of money. “That was a small amount he got away with, Thank God,” he added.

Despite security infrastructure being in place, Mr Major acknowledged the challenges businesses face when suspects conceal their identities. He said the person who robbed his store wore a long sleeved shirt and a mask.

“We got everything in place,” he said. “We got all the camera systems, and all that stuff. But the only part of it is, you could have all the cameras in the world, but the problem is when they come in the mask.

“The only thing you’re looking at with the description of the person is he had on a long-sleeved shirt and he was masked.” Mr Major said public assistance can sometimes help in identifying suspects.

“A lot of times somebody, they probably wouldn’t see the face, but somebody could recognise the structure of the person. And sometime they volunteer to give you information,” he added.

Mr Major also revealed no security guard was on duty when the robbery occurred. “No. I think the security was supposed to come on at two,” he said. He added that he was relieved the store’s security guard, whom he described as an elderly man, had not yet arrived.

“Thank God because if he was at the door - normally he would be standing to the door - who knows what would have happened,” Mr Major said. “Their whole thing when they come is they come to get what they want to get, and if anybody get in their way, they got to take them out. These guys don’t care.”