East Earl Township police are looking for a man who they say pepper-sprayed a convenience store clerk, emptied the store's cash register and stole a donation box containing nearly $200.
The suspect entered Terre Hill Mart at 300 E. Main St. about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Atif Shabbir, who was working alone in the store at the time, said.
"I remember he came in and he was just walking around the store," said Shabbir, whose parents own the business. "I asked him if he needed help with anything, and he wouldn't answer me."
After the third or fourth time Shabbir questioned him, the man replied by demanding that the 20-year-old hand over all the money.
"He said, 'Open the register. I have two guns on me,'!\p" Shabbir said.
The suspect then reached around the register and began to push buttons. As the clerk opened the cash drawer, the suspect pulled out a can of pepper spray.
"He started spraying me," Shabbir said. "It went in my mouth and eyes, and I started choking."
Shabbir said he attempted to push the suspect's arms away, but couldn't. As he fell to the ground, however, Shabbir grabbed the phone and hit the alarm button, alerting East Earl Township police.
Shabbir did not suffer any serious consequences from the attack.
"I'm doing good," he said Tuesday. "My hands and face were burning for like the whole day. I couldn't really breathe that well and kept coughing and coughing. He sprayed me a lot."
Shabbir said the robber stole about $700 from the register and took a donation box containing close to $200. Shabbir, whose family is from Pakistan, and some friends had been raising the money for the less fortunate in the Middle East.
East Earl police Chief Kevin McCarthy said the donation theft was "just plain rotten."
"It's bad enough to steal from the store — they're probably insured," he said, "but to take from the organization that gets the donation … ."
McCarthy said the incident was unusual.
"Actually, that might be the first robbery I've had since I've been here," said McCarthy, who was named East Earl Township police chief about 18 months ago.
Shabbir said the suspect looked familiar.
"I've seen him a couple of times at the store before," he said. "When he came in, I recognized him. I really didn't have any idea (of what was happening); he just looked suspicious."
Witnesses on the scene, including some children who were buying candy and a family about to pump gas, provided police with a detailed description of the thief.
According to police, the suspect is a white male in his mid-20s, about 6 feet tall, with a thin build, dark hair and a slight goatee. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with white lettering, slightly baggy blue jeans that hung below his waist, sunglasses and black Nike running shoes with the tongues exposed.
He left the scene in a blue Chevrolet pickup truck with a loud exhaust system and a Pennsylvania license plate that starts with the letters "YXY," witnesses said.
Officer Christopher Young is investigating the case. According to McCarthy, the department is "actively pursuing some leads."
Anyone with information about the robbery or suspect is asked to call East Earl Township police at 355-5302 or Lancaster City-County CrimeStoppers at (800) 322-1913.
"I'd love to say we arrested someone," McCarthy said. "We're getting there."
E-mail: stephweaver@lnpnews.com