A frightening armed robbery of a convenience store in the township has police investigating.
The incident unfolded at around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon when a masked man burst into a bodega located in the 900 block of Stuyvesant Ave. shouting demands according to reports
Once inside the store, the suspect reportedly sprinted behind the counter, announcing a robbery while wielding a metal pipe and threatening physical violence to the store owner and several customers that were inside.
In fear of bodily harm, the customers and clerk reportedly laid on the floor.
According to store officials, while the suspect was behind the counter taking cash and other items, the clerk and customers seized the opportunity to flee from the store.
Once outside, the store owner rolled down the steel security gate, temporarily trapping the armed robber inside the store causing the suspect to go into a panic where he then began to smash the glass entrance door.
The suspect then rolled up the gate just enough to make his escape.
Police were called to the scene where they were able to catch up with the suspect and place him under arrest a short distance away.
The suspect took an unspecified amount of cash.
There were no injuries reported.