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Robber wearing gas mask fires shot in ceiling of Pasco store, deputies say

 
Deputies are looking for the man in this video who they believe robbed a Pasco convenience store at gunpoint. [Pasco County Sheriff's Office]
Deputies are looking for the man in this video who they believe robbed a Pasco convenience store at gunpoint. [Pasco County Sheriff's Office]
Published Aug. 20, 2018

Deputies are searching for a man who held up a convenience store with a shotgun while wearing a gas mask, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.

On Friday at around 9 p.m., deputies say a man robbed the Beacon Square Grocery in Holiday. During the robbery, the man fired one shot into the ceiling and fought with the store employee.

In a video posted on the sheriff's office Facebook page, the man can be seen jumping through the door of the store. He was wearing a gas mask, black baseball hat and some kind of tactical vest during the robbery. All of the robber's body was covered except the back of his neck.

The two other people in the store — one customer and an employee — froze as the masked robber pointed the shotgun at the employee.

The masked man then jabbed the shotgun toward the employee behind the counter, hitting display items on the counter.

He then started to run behind the counter, hitting the edge of his barrel on a fridge in the cluttered store. He pointed back to the customer who hadn't moved before continuing behind the counter.

The store clerk opened the register as the gunman approached. The robber started rifling through the register, grabbing bills. He then pushed the clerk out of the way and began to throw items out of another drawer.

The robber then sprinted out of the store, past the customer — still in the same spot as when the assailant entered.

Deputies are asking anyone with information to contact the Pasco Sheriff's tip line at 1-800-706-2488 and to reference case #18-32786.