PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A robber was shot while he was emptying out a cash register at a Spring Garden pizza shop Thursday night, according to police. The owner says the person who pulled the trigger is the teenage son of an employee.
Just before 10 p.m., police said, a 33-year-old man walked into Bold Pizza at 15th and Spring Garden streets to rob it. The new business still has its "grand opening" signs hung up outside.
It is not clear if he had a gun during the robbery, or if he just claimed to.
While the man was taking money from the register, police said, he was shot in the face. The suspect ran off, and officers arrived to investigate.
The initial police report on scene was that an employee of the shop fired the shot. The store's owner told NBC 10, however, that it was the 14-year-old son of an employee.
It is not clear yet who the gun belongs to.
"The cash register was open. There was money on the floor. There was also some broken glass inside the store. And there was also a large amount of blood," said Chief Inspector Scott Small.
He said there was a trail of blood leading away from the scene.
"After [officers] followed the trail of blood about three blocks," Small said. "It went down, the trail went into the subway at Broad and Spring Garden streets."
Small said the officers found the man in the station. He had the stolen cash on him, police said, but nota a weapon.
Police took him into custody and said he went to the hospital in critical condition.
Investigators believe this man was one of three who robbed a CVS Pharmacy nearby, just minutes before going into the pizza shop. There were no other arrests in that case.
