An armed robbery in a Queensland pub has left two women “traumatised” after two people in balaclavas, one brandishing a gun, charged through a pokie room.
The two people, believed to be a man and a woman, entered the Royal Mail Hotel in Tewantin on the Sunshine Coast around midnight on Sunday before threatening a female employee.
“Right on closing two offenders have entered, with one brandishing what we believe to be carrying a shotgun,” officer in charge of Sunshine Coast CIB Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Mansfield said.
“They’ve levelled to fire at a female employee and ordered her to get on the ground. There was another woman in the gaming room at the time.
“Both have been unharmed but obviously a very stressful situation. A terrifying incident for both of them.”
Police say the robbery occurred in a matter of minutes, with the two taking off in a vehicle moments later.
Senior Sergeant Mansfield said he has spoken to the two women in the pub at the time, offering support after the deeply disturbing incident.
“They were held against their will for a period of time. They are very traumatised by the event.”
Police are appealing for witnesses who may have seen a vehicle driving erratically in Tewantin around the time of the robbery, or anyone with information to come forward.
The pair are described as a man with a solid build and a slim woman, both Caucasian.
“They were completely covered head to toe, balaclavas on, wearing gloves, they appeared to be pretty organised with what they were doing.”
It’s the second armed robbery on the Sunshine Coast in a matter of days, with another taking place in a service station on Friday night.
Senior Sergeant Mansfield said the two incidents were unrelated.
“Again that male had a mask on and a hat. He had a knife and demanded a sum of money,” he said.
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“We haven’t had two close together like this in a while now, it’s obviously something we don’t want to see on the Sunshine Coast.”
Source: 9News
