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Cops: Attendant struck with handgun during armed robbery

Empire_gas

A gas station attendant was struck in the face by a suspect with a handgun during an attempted armed robbery early Thursday morning in Riverhead, according to Riverhead Town police.

Police received a report at 1:30 a.m. of an attempted armed robbery at Empire Gas on Route 58 across from Oliver Street. The suspect allegedly asked the attendants for money while displaying a handgun, police said. When an attendant offered the suspect money, he was struck in the side of the face with the handgun, police said.

The suspect fled the scene with money and could not be located during the subsequent search. Riverhead patrol units searched the area with assistance from the New York State Police K-9 unit. The attendant suffered minor injuries, police said.

The only description of the suspect was a man wearing dark colored clothing and a dark colored ski mask, according to police.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at (631) 727-4500.

Several businesses on Route 58 have been victims of similar robberies in recent months. An attempted robbery occurred at Mobil in August, at Walgreens in September and Chase Bank in August.

Photo caption: Empire Gas station. (Credit: Nicole Smith, file)