Skeleton-Masked Armed Robber Guns Down Cranston Store Clerk

CRANSTON, RI—Cranston police are searching for an armed robber who opened fire on a store clerk at the Bestway gas station at intersection of Park and Dyer Avenues Monday night.

The clerk is being treated for multiple gunshot wounds, including to the head, at Rhode Island Hospital, said Cranston Police Acting Lt. Matthew Kite.

Police said the suspect attempted to rob the service station and convenience store at around 7:30 p.m. and the crime was captured on camera.

The clerk, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds, called police at 7:38 p.m. to report the robbery.

Cranston Police Chief Michael J. Winquist told reporters at the crime scene that the suspect walked into the store brandishing a handgun, demanded money and ”without hesitation fired multiple rounds at the clerk.”

The suspect was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, a skeleton mask and gloves.

If anyone has any information, call police at 401-942-2211.

Numerous police officers were dispatched to the scene and a K-9 officer was deployed to check the surrounding area, which includes a nearby bike path.

The victim is currently in critical condition and was conscious when he was brought to the hospital, police said.

The Bestway is located at an intersection that has seen stagnation in recent years. A former Shell gas station across the street was demolished last year, leaving behind an open and vacant gravel lot. Across Park Avenue, the shell of the former DeFusco’s Bakery remains vacant nearly five years after a salmonella outbreak linked to zeppoles made there sickened about 80 people and caused two people to die.

This is a developing story.

Photo courtesy: Walter Belonos