Police: Robber holds employees hostage in Salem

SALEM, Mass. -- Police on the North Shore are searching for a suspect in a brazen robbery at a Shaw's Supermarket in Salem on Wednesday morning.

Authorities said the man, dressed all in black, pulled a gun on the first two employees at the supermarket, an 88-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman. But the two employees didn't have access to the store’s office or the safe.

The robber made the two employees wait outside in a car. The suspect then placed the next two employees that arrived in the same cars because they, too, didn’t have access to the safe.

After an hour, a fifth employee showed up, but did not have access to the office. The robber then made the employees gather what they could from the cash registers and took off, according to police.

“I was like, ‘Whoa, I can’t believe this is happening,’” said Stanley Kurps, one of the employees that was ambushed when he arrived to work.

“I just hope it don't happen again or something. Believe me. I’ve got to be here tomorrow morning and I don’t want to see anything like that again,” Kurps added.

“A pretty brazen kind of crime to sit there for an hour with these people in his control. There’s a lot of variables that could have came into play to really cause some very serious things from happening,” said Captain Thomas Griffin of the Salem Police Department.

Police said they found what they believe to be the car the suspect stole to flee the scene in a nearby cemetery.

Shaw’s is providing counseling for its employees.

Police said the suspect is about 6-feet-tall and 200 pounds, but the suspect could have stuffed his coat to look more intimidating and throw off the investigation. Investigators said they have not heard of any other similar crimes.

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