Another gas station robbery in Jericho over the weekend has attendants spooked and cops calling for vigilance.
According to authorities, a suspect entered the Shell Gas Station at 460 Jericho Tpke. on Sunday at 10:23 a.m. brandishing a handgun and demanding cash. Cops said the attendant complied and handed over an undetermined amount of money. There were no customers or other employees in the store at the time of the incident and there were no injuries reported.
The suspect is described as a black male standing at 6’0″ with a thin build. He was wearing a black-hooded sweatshirt, black mask and gray sweatpants. Detectives request that anyone with information regarding this crime to contact the Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-8477.
Police have reported several robberies in the area, including one at a BP station in Jericho on Jan. 28 that left the attendant, 56-year-old Hany Awad of Levittown, dead. Before that, a man armed with a handgun robbed another BP station in New Hyde Park on Jan. 26; later that day a BP station in Thomaston was robbed by a man with a similar description.
Inspector Kenneth Lack, Commanding Officer of the Nassau County Police Department’s public information office, said the department is asking gas station employees and customers to remain vigilant and comply with any robbery attempts. He also said the department is investigating possible links between the cases.
“We are running ballistics tests to see if there is a match in the three cases,” Lack said after the killing of Awad. “If anyone comes in with a gun asking for money, comply with them. It is not worth your life.”
Gas station attendants and clerks at local convenience stores in the area are hoping to see more police patrols in light of the recent incidents. But as one attendant said, crime or no crime, they have to go to work.
“We are worried, but there is no hiding,” said a clerk at a 7-11 on Jericho Tpke. “This is our job. We have to be here.”
