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Mid Ulster: Gun pointed at shop staff in spate of armed robberies

Mid Ulster: Gun pointed at shop staff in spate of armed robberies

BBC News30-01-2025
A number of shop workers have been held at gunpoint in three armed robberies across Mid Ulster.Two masked men armed with a handgun entered a store on the Ballinderry Bridge Road of Coagh at about 06:50 GMT on Thursday and placed a gun to a man's head forcing him to open a till, before making off with cash in a car driven by a third man.The second robbery, which was reported to police after 07:00, was at a supermarket on the Shore Road in Ballyronan when two men armed pointed a gun at a staff member's head before making off with cash and cigarettes.A third armed robbery was then reported at a shop in the Moor Road in Clonoe, where cash was stolen.
Police said the vehicle used by the robbers, a blue Audi A6, was stolen early on Thursday morning from outside an address in Portadown.It was found on fire at about 08:40 at Drumcree Community Centre in the town.Police said the staff had suffered no serious injuries but were "shocked by the ordeal they experienced".
Sinn Féin assembly member Linda Dillon condemned the incidents and said staff in Clonoe were left incredibly frightened . "It was a very, very frightening experience for the staff, they really are traumatised. I'm just glad that nobody was seriously hurt," she told BBC News NI. "These were people were coming in early to do a day's work and they didn't deserve this."This shop really is the beating heart of this community in Clonoe and a lot of the staff are from the locality."Armed robbery is a very serious offence and I sincerely hope the people that carried out this attack are caught, because these are dangerous people. "Dillon appealed for anybody with information about the robberies to come forward.
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