ORANGE PARK, Fla. – Recently installed surveillance cameras at an Orange Park seafood restaurant recorded an armed robbery Thursday evening, as a man wearing a "Jason" mask and holding a .38-caliber handgun took cash from the register.
A robbery at the Sam's St Johns Seafood Restaurant on Park Avenue three months ago prompted management to install the surveillance system, and police are hoping that the images it produce could help them catch the gunman.
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"My employees backed off and opened the register for him," restaurant manager Mike Bajalia said.
Then, in a twist that baffled even the detectives, he then walked to the far corner of the restaurant and tried to grab a customer's purse.
"She resisted, so he hit her three times over the head," Bajalia said. "As her husband got up and tried to grab him, he slung him off and then ran out the door."
e woman had minor head injuries but did not require medical treatment.
A group of customers went after the bandit, but they stopped when police said the gunman fired a warning shot into the air.
Police said the purse that was snatched was found by Lane Avenue on the Westside. Investigators are also looking at similar robberies to see if there is a pattern.