Closing Time: Palo Alto Movie Clerks Robbed While Cleaning Up

PALO ALTO – The movies were finished for the night at the CineArts at Palo Alto Square Theatre. The crowd had gone home. Two employees remained, cleaning up, getting ready to close.

Palo Alto police say two men armed with handguns suddenly entered through the unlocked front doors and robbed the two movie clerks after finding little cash in the safe.

About 10:05 p.m., police say their dispatch center received a 9-1-1 call from employees at CineArts at Palo Alto Square Theatre reporting they had just been robbed. Palo Alto officers responded immediately but say the suspects could not be found.

Police say no moviegoers were present when the incident occurred.

One suspect allegedly walked into the lobby and pointed a gun at the first employee, an adult man in his teens.

A second suspect then came in and put a gun to the head of the second employee, a woman in her twenties.

Police say the suspects demanded the cell phones of the two workers, and demanded to be taken to the safe. The employees complied and opened the safe, but when the two robbers didn‘t see much cash, police say they quickly fled on foot.

There were no injuries, and the suspects are at large.

The employees described the first suspect as a Hispanic male in his twenties, about 5 feet 8 inches tall with a skinny build. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, black gloves, and a black mask similar to an athletic training mask.

Employees described the second suspect as a black male in his twenties, about 6 feet tall with a skinny build. He also was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, black gloves, and a black mask of some type.

Palo Alto Police say both suspects were armed with black semi-automatic handguns.

No surveillance video exists, and no suspect sketches are available at this time.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the police 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413.

Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously through a free mobile app, downloadable at bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.